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 for all the men on your list 28859 Ny d 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 Thru ’ n i k Truc Snow the