Community
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
A9
Memorial auction
grows every year
Auction raises
record $33,442
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Eleven-year-old Macy Carter of Seneca tells Santa, with a big smile, she’d like a
baby brother for Christmas as her mom, Jennifer, standing nearby, laughs. Santa
visited with children and also held pets for photos at Saturday’s Blue Mountain
Hospital Auxiliary Christmas Bazaar.
Eagle photos/Richard Hanners
Becky Sharp forks out a plateful of spaghetti at the 25th
annual Carrie Young Memorial auction at the John Day
Elks Lodge on Dec. 1.
Christmas shoppers flock
to fairgrounds bazaars
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
From left, Ritter and Brogan Rookstool and their young
friend Sawyer Hammon were drawn to a basket of Star
Wars items at the 25th annual Carrie Young Memorial
auction at the John Day Elks Lodge on Dec. 1.
acher and Christie Winegar.
Donated items were sorted
into categories and placed
in more than 250 baskets at
a warehouse owned by Mike
and Sharrie Slinkard, where
they were decorated a hun-
dred different ways. Wine-
gar, Immoos’ sister, helped
run the kitchen where a spa-
ghetti dinner was prepared
and served by a group of
volunteers.
Immoos and her helpers
left for Ontario at 4:30 a.m.
Sunday to shop for cloth-
ing and other items for res-
idents in the assisted-living
homes.
Twenty-three high school
students will wrap the items
and deliver them to the
homes on Wednesday, she
said.
Helping the county’s el-
derly is a major part of the
auction, but not the only
benefit, Immoos notes.
“I love to see the expres-
sion of people as they wan-
der around the Elks Lodge
looking at the baskets and
the decoration,” she said.
“Newcomers don’t know
what to expect.”
A basket for chocolate
lovers at the 25th annual
Carrie Young Memorial
auction.
The parking lot at the
Grant County Fairgrounds
was full as shoppers en-
joyed a plethora of hand-
made goods and other items
for sale at the pavilion for
the Blue Mountain Hospital
Auxiliary Christmas Bazaar
and the Keerins Hall Holi-
day Bazaar.
“People were waiting in
line in the cold this morn-
ing,” said Mary Jones, the
auxiliary’s bazaar coordi-
nator. “It didn’t slow down
until this afternoon.”
At the pavilion, 46 ven-
dors manned 67 booths and
tables, selling a variety of
handicrafts such as wreaths,
wooden signs, Christmas
ornaments, jewelry, hand-
sewn items and knives with
antler handles. Lotions,
soaps and goodies such as
pies, jams and honey were
also for sale.
Several vendors said this
year’s sales were as good or
better than last year.
Fairgrounds
manager
Mindy Winegar, who over-
sees the bazaar at Keerins
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Elaine Mezzo, left, of Hope4Paws: Grant County finds
a handmade craft (created by Anna Smith) to give
to Alice Shawn, a Blue Mountain Hospital Auxiliary
member and volunteer at the bazaar. Shawn collected
items from vendors for a raffle table.
Hall, said they had 20 ven-
dors with 27 tables.
Wares included clothing,
handmade candles, minia-
ture Christmas trees, quilt-
ed items, lotions and soaps,
fruit and much more.
“The atmosphere was
wonderful. Sales were good
for the vendors that we had
from all over Grant Coun-
ty — a few from outside
Grant County,” Winegar
said.
Find just what you need
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28859
Ny
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am
’s
It’s been 25 years since
Lucie Immoos’ sister Carrie
Young died in a car crash in
Alaska, but her name is kept
alive with a cause close to
her heart.
“She was young, vibrant,
full of life,” Immoos said.
“When I found out how she
helped elderly people, I felt I
wanted to carry on the cause
in her name.”
The 25th annual Carrie
Young Memorial auction
was held at the John Day
Elks Lodge on Friday, Dec.
1. Money raised by the auc-
tion is used to help seniors
pay for utilities and buy gro-
ceries and other essentials.
In 1993, the auction
raised $175. That figure
grew to $18,000 in 2015 and
$28,000 in 2016, Immoos
said. This year the auction
raised $33,442, a new re-
cord. Items in the auction
were donated by local busi-
nesses, family and friends.
“The local businesses
have been phenomenal,” Im-
moos said. “I know they get
hit a lot with requests, but
they continue to give. I nev-
er get turned down.”
Immoos estimates they
will help 130 to 160 seniors
in their own homes or at four
assisted-living homes —
Blue Mountain Care Center,
Valley View Assisted Liv-
ing, Elderberry House and
Mothers Creek Ranch.
“People ask me, ‘How
do you know who to help?’”
she said. “I’ve lived here for
45 years, grew up in Prairie
City, so I know who needs
help.”
Immoos said she main-
tains a list of elderly people
in the county throughout the
year — where they live and
if they heat their homes with
oil, propane or firewood.
Special items in this
year’s auction included
carved bull elk horns from
her brother-in-law Bill Im-
moos, a birdhouse resem-
bling a church made by Dor-
man Gregory and a wildlife
print by artist Leon Parson
from Charlie O’Rorke’s col-
lection, which sold for more
than $1,000.
“The print is part of the
No-Tellum Series,” Immoos
said.
Immoos credits five
core women for making
the event happen — Terri
Bowden, Sharrie Slinkard,
Dawn Wood, Carol Schum-
652 W Main St.
John Day
541-575-0549
28689
04885
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