By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
Bidding is open for the Ladies Library Club’s annual Christmas auction featuring an impressive exhibition totaling 80 items.
“Silent” bids started Nov. 4 and will close at noon Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Mabel C. Fry Public Library, 1200 Lakeshore.
Auction proceeds will be used by Yukon library staff to purchase items not covered in the annual city budget.
People are welcome to stop by the library during regular operating hours to check out the auction and write down their bids.
There are small Christmas trees, wreaths, holiday décor, framed pictures, and a wide variety of gift baskets filled with goodies. A Barbie-themed tree is popular.
“There’s a minimum bid on each item and a ‘buy it now’ price for anyone who wants it right away,” said Sara Schieman, head librarian at the Mabel C. Fry Library. “We’ve already sold a few that way.”
Members of the Ladies Library Club’s auction committee are: Pat Hazelwood, Penny Budzien, Sue Kilmer, Linda Perry, Amy Rains, and Schieman.
Club members showed their skills by putting together the many gift baskets and auction gifts, which are displayed on tables and shelves near the library’s front circulation desk.
“The Oklahoma Thunder tickets are probably the biggest items that we have,” said Budzien, the Ladies Library Club’s president. “We have everything from small items to big baskets with all kinds of things.”
Auction donations came from several local sources.
“We have businesses in the community and library patrons who have donated,” Schieman pointed out.
SANTA COLLECTION
A Christmas auction highlight is an impressive Santa Claus display donated by Yukon’s Glenda and Larry LoBaugh.
“Larry has collected Santa’s his whole life and Glenda brought some of them,” Schieman shared. “Those are special to us because they’ve been friends for such a long, long time and have always supported the library.”
Also featured in the silent auction are four tickets to an upcoming Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers basketball game, along with parking passes and buffet dinner.
Two tickets and a parking pass to the Nov. 30th match-up also will be auctioned off live during the Friday, Nov. 17th Yukon Community Coffee at the Yukon library.
“We did that year, and it was a lot of fun,” Schieman said of the live bidding. “Tom Manske is going to be our auctioneer. He’s always good.”
Because of the annual Christmas Silent Auction, the Mabel C. Fry Public Library will not accept donations through Nov. 27.
The Ladies Library Club meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. A Nov. 9th Guest Day Tea featured a tea party for anyone interested in becoming members.
The Christmas Silent Auction is the club’s largest annual event.
