Amish auction

ST. IGNATIUS - From belt buckles to log cabins, if you couldn't find what you were looking for at the eighth annual Mission Valley Amish Auction held Saturday in St. Ignatius, you weren't looking hard enough.

According to the event's spokesperson David Kurtz, 300 to 500 people attended the all-day auction put on by the Mission Valley Amish community to raise money for their school with a student body of between 30 and 40 children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Community members and local businesses offered all sorts of goods for consignment. At the end of the day, 12 percent of the profits went to the school.

"It is getting better and better each year," Kurtz said. "We had a lot of local businesses donate."

The school grounds buzzed with a constant run-off from the self-taught auctioneers who rotated with their ringmen to run three separate auctions at once. A large blue tent provided some relief from the harsh sun and brief showers. It housed the main event: Quilts, about 100 in total, some coming from as far away as Pennsylvania. Place-mat-sized or as big as a king-sized bed, the elaborate quilts represented a long quilting tradition in the Amish community.

Tired and hungry auction-goers were never out of luck. Refreshments, like a full-course lunch, home-made pies and ice-cream with fresh strawberries provided a much-needed break.

"A lot of Amish communities do this to raise money for their schools," Kurtz said.

Auctioneer Orlie Troyer told the crowd before auctioning off a completed gazebo for $900, "It's an opportunity for us to raise money for our school and for you to buy what you wanted to buy for a long time at a price you are able to pay."