Lind Chamber auction provides evening of fun, community

Lind residents and members from the surrounding communities gathered at the Lind Grange Hall on Saturday, Oct. 4, for the Lind Chamber of Commerce Auction. Between both the live and silent auction items, the event raised an estimated $8,500.

The auction, with the theme “Amber Waves of Grain”, celebrated the rural communities and highlighted donations from local businesses and individuals.

The auction serves as the primary fundraiser for the Lind Chamber of Commerce.

With nearly 50 items donated to the live auction and another 20 items in the silent auction, those in attendance had a variety of items to chose from and bid on throughout the night.

After a social hour, an extensive meal of salads, vegetables, beef, ribs and chicken was served by Cathy Jo’s Catering. This is the final Lind Chamber Auction that Cathy Jo Wills will cater, as she is in the process of transferring the license to Marie Borth and Classic Country Catering.

At the conclusion of the meal and brief statement made by Karin Monroe and Phil Kent, auctioneer Warren Kragt took center stage to begin the auction and the evening’s festivities.

After auctioning the first eight items, the auction took a break for the ever-popular flashing rings game, this year won by Lynden Knodel. The prize for winning the game is half of the pot from the money collected to play the game.

The remainder of the auction ran smoothly, with slight intermissions for jokes or laughter from the audience. Throughout the evening, door prize items and gifts were distributed to those in attendance.

Midway through the auction, another game intermission took place for attendees to participate in the entertainment. The winner of the Chance Card game Katelin Davidson won half of the pot from the money collected for the game.

The highest selling item for the night was the final auction item, a large quilt made by Darlene Rehn and quilted by Janet Sackmann. The quilt was donated in memory of Lind resident, Rehn.

Dave Greenwalt purchased the exquisite quilt for $585. The second highest bid auction item of iron flowers made and donated by Blowtorch Annie’s went to Doug Wahl for $425.

Other top selling items of the night included a framed serigraph for $348, Gonzaga Bulldogs tickets sold for $340 and a guided hunt at Miller Ranch sold for $300.

The money raised from the auction goes to support graduating seniors, the annual parades, a Christmas community event with Santa Claus, and various other organizations and events within the Lind community.

The Lind Chamber of Commerce relies heavily on community support at the annual auction to make their sponsorships possible throughout the year.