First-time fundraiser a success for library
press release
The Herr Memorial Library’s first Silent Auction, held on June 7 in the gymnasium of the Mifflinburg United Methodist Church, was a success.
Since 1944, part of the mission of the Herr Memorial Library in Mifflinburg has been to assemble, organize, and preserve materials that are of historical value to the community. To that end the library has a second-floor Pennsylvania Room collection that features a wide range of items of cultural and historical significance, including books, pamphlets, original documents, photographs, Civil War resources, local family histories and oral history recordings.
Recently, though, the library has become involved with quilts.
Jeanne Roberts, Director of the Herr Memorial Library, many years ago worked at Mary Koons’ Mifflinburg quilt store, and Karen Shipton, treasurer of the library’s Board of Trustees, is an avid quilter. The two knew that there was a great interest in quilts in the area, so they planned and produced a new fundraiser for the library: a Silent Auction that featured new and heirloom quilts and quilted items.
The “Stitch in Time” Quilt Auction, with a “Various and Sundry Treasures” gift basket section, was held on June 7, during Buggy Days, in the gymnasium of the Mifflinburg United Methodist Church, and raised $3,717.49 for the library’s general fund, with several more sales pending.
The gymnasium was open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for bidders to register, receive a number, and place their bids on sheets corresponding to each item. At the close of bidding, the highest bidder won the item. New and heirloom quilts either were donated to the library or were sold by their owners. All of the gift basket lots, which included a wide variety of materials such as sports tickets, sewing patterns, books, and jewelry, were donated to the library.
“The event took a lot of work from staff and volunteers, but we are very pleased with the results,” Mrs. Roberts said. The Silent Auction will become an annual fundraiser for the Herr Memorial Library.
The same day, the library also hosted a Commonwealth Speaker program by Candace Perry, “The Fabric of Daily Life: Pennsylvania German Textile Traditions” at the Mifflinburg Buggy Museum which drew an audience of 21 people.
For more information call 523-1172 or visit the library at 500 Market Street in Mifflinburg.
