Mantua – Last Saturday, folks joined their neighbors at the third annual art auction to help raise funds for a community center at the Mantua Center School. The afternoon event included music, art, comfort food, lots of cookies, and the opportunity for neighbors to banish their cabin fever for a few hours. The auctioneer, Rick Painley, encouraged bids on a variety of artwork including watercolors, posters, photography, and dimensional pieces. Just like previous years, over a dozen hand-made art quilts from local artists were also available at the event, as were homemade cookies, along with crocheted and handcrafted ‘whimsies’, as well.
In addition, this year, organizers decided to sweeten the event with a specialty dessert auction. Items included several pies baked by men, including Mantua Township Trustee Victor Grimm’s famed apple pie, a blueberry pie baked by Bob Stehli of Wintergreen Tree Farm, and Leone Krohn’s famous lemon meringue pie baked by Ken Parker from the Community Center Task Force. Several other decadent desserts were donated, including butterscotch pie made by Pat Miller, apple dumplings from Nora Brant, and a Valentine Tea Party cake decorated with a miniature tea set by Mary Gould.
According to Lynne Harvey, who tabulated the day’s earnings, the fourteen specialty desserts were a big draw for bidders. The top selling item, bringing in $100, was a candy-filled confection promoted as a ‘veritable Valentine Candy Cake’ made by Beth Schabel. The dessert auction brought in $500 while the art auction and cookie sales brought in $700 and $530 respectively. Last but certainly not least, the whimsies brought in $460. The Mantua Restoration Society and the Community Center Task Force held this event to help fund projects at the historic building where the event was held. “It was a very successful day,” beamed Harvey.
