Geneva wraps 31st annual event
LIFE IS BETTER THERE — Kate Quam holds a "Life is Better at Beaver Lake" sign during the 31st Annual Geneva Cancer Auction, which wrapped up this past weekend at Geneva Bar and Grill. (Star Eagle photo by Kathy Paulsen)
EXPENSIVE EGGS — Kenadie Rodriguez, Medford, granddaughter of Staci Timm, holds a dozen home laid, hand picked eggs Staci had donated. That dozen eggs brought $110. (Star Eagle photo by Kathy Paulsen)
By KATHY PAULSEN
Staff Writer
The 2015 Geneva Cancer Auction concluded this past weekend.
Auctioneers for the weekend included Whitey Hagen, Jim Manges, Greg Hagen, Waylon Busho, and Tracy Holland.
We wish space would permit us to list all the items donated and all the auctioneers, clerks and others who helped in so many different ways.
At 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Rochester Civic Center, during the live broadcast of the 61st Annual Eagles Cancer Telethon, Whitey Hagen presented a check to the Eagles Cancer Telethon in the amount of $100,000.
The money was raised from many different fundraising events, including the Wild Game Feed, $19,500; Geneva Cancer Golf Tournament, $1,000; Matt Felt/Dillon Gordon Run, $2,500; 3rd Annual Geneva Cancer motorcycle run, $2,500; Matt Felt Pool Tournament $900; Cloie Arndt's locks of love "Wigs for Kids" donation, $1,017; Brielle Goodnature’s locks of love, $350; Kaitlyn Grandia's haircut, $635; and Whitey’s son Keith Hagen’s haircut, donations totaling $718.
Whitey walked around with a serving tray on his head so that people could donate money in honor of Keith Hagen’s upcoming "locks of love" donation.
With the two weekends of cancer auctions and raffle ticket sales, the amount raised totaled $100,000.
At 7 on Friday night, Jan. 16, Jamie Hagen began the second weekend’s auction with the "staple" Geneva Cancer Auction starter, a bag of potatoes, a bag of onions, and a pound of that famous Hope butter.
The next item up for bid was a homemade blueberry pie Verona Winegar had donated that was still hot – which raised $25. A caramel apple crisp pie brought $50. A container of three golf balls and 24 homemade turtle candies made by Judy Christensen and donated in memory of her father-in-law, LeRoy Christensen, was put up for bid.
Someone all the way from Thompson, Iowa donated an ice fishing pole that brought $40; Motor Inn in Albert Lea donated a vehicle detailing and a gallon of windshield cleaner, and Jack and Barb Kuchenbecker donated several plates of rhumchata pudding shots over the course of the night, a large glass jar of "snack mix," and a Jack Daniels bottle lamp. Fred Vokoun donated a Jack Daniels car, and Cali Davis and Vokoun donated a large plate of deviled eggs with a small stuffed bear in the middle. Another one of Cali’s deviled egg donations had horseradish added.
Misgen Trucking donated a couple $50 gift certificates for Geneva Bar and Grill, and Steve's Meat Market in Ellendale, a great contributor over the years, once again donated several meat and cheese trays. Wagner Foods in New Richland donated a John Morrell spiral ham.
Next came a 60”x80” quilt made by St. Peter Lutheran Church in New Richland, who would later this month be celebrating their 125th anniversary. The Geneva Community Lutheran quilting group also donated a quilt, as did Jen Schumacher, who donated a quilt that she had made that included a large picture from the "Frozen" movie.
A pink cancer ribbon blanket was also donated and Julie Haroldson donated a colorful "tie blanket." A pink "Hello Kitty" quilt and pillowcase, made by Pat King, was one of the last items of the night on Friday.
A unique dog dish was also donated to the auction this year. It looked like a small wood picnic table that held two stainless steel dog dishes. A Minnesota Vikings sign that had been made, welding chain links together, was also put up for bid.
Several loaves of Kathy Paulsen's banana bread were paired up with a pound of Victor Mrotz’s famous Hope Butter and were auctioned on Friday night. Once again this year Victor donated four cases, which held 36 pounds of butter.
That great tasting Hope butter was paired up with many different loaves of homemade dinner rolls, cinnamon raisin breads, cinnamon rolls, and homemade lefse donated by Bryce and Sandy Ingvaldson.
Next was a quart of Sue Hill’s famous Hot Pickles, then a gallon size bottle of Doug Felt’s famous, "Hit Them In the Eye Apple Pie Schnapps." The bottle brought a high bid of $140.
Several "Clinks and Canvas" picture/creations were donated over the course of the evening, as well as a gift certificate to one of their upcoming classes. Several wall plaques were donated for the auction on Friday night. One was a "Life Is Good", another, "It Is What It Is."
Jim Manges took over and auctioned off a large number of items before Waylon Busho took over.
Waylon announced that he had a "Big Boy" 2XL Geneva Bar and Grill sweatshirt up for bid, a Geneva Lumber Company Jacket and stocking cap, then a heavy duty wood homemade hat and coat rack donated by Curt Underdahl.
The Pizza Cellar in Blooming Prairie brought over five hot pizzas, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, all meat, a house pizza, and a manager’s special, and a large box of cheese bread and dipping sauce. The pizzas were soon devoured. A collection of "Lia Sophia" jewelry saw some good bids too.
Cookies included Jean’s peanut blossom star cookies, Kathy’s Chocolate Chip and Carole’s "bird nest" cookies, and turtle cookies.
Whitey brought Friday’s auction to a close. "You have been a great crowd,” he said. “God bless you.”
Saturday afternoon began with a quart of Sue Hill’s famous hot pickles and shrimp dip and crackers Kathy Paulsen had donated. Next up was a pecan pie donated in memory of Louise Kilian Fox who had died earlier that morning. Several dozen home laid, hand picked, eggs had been donated by Staci Timm and Steve Jensen were put up for bid. The first dozen raised $110. Sally also donated deviled eggs too. One plate sold for $130.
Lisa Full, from the Full Service Station in Geneva, provided several haircuts for "Locks of Love" on Saturday afternoon. Four-year-old Brielle Goodnature, daughter of Nick and Shannon Goodnature of Medford, donated 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love in memory of Mary Beth (Goodnature) Mulligan and Susan Wacek, of Elmore. Mary Beth and Susan were both aunts of Nick’s. Mary Beth grew up and graduated from Ellendale 1972, and died of lung cancer four years ago. Susan passed away in the fall of 2014 from pancreatic cancer.
Brielle’s dad, Nick, was the one chosen to cut off Brielle’s hair.
Eleven-year-old Kaitlyn Grandia, daughter of Connie and Drew Grandia of Owatonna, also donated "locks of love" for the first time. Kaitlyn had been growing out her hair for two years, and decided now was the time.
Kaitlyn received $63 in donations for her haircut.
Erling Hommedahl of Owatonna donated a dozen yellow roses in honor of his wife, Karen, who has been cancer-free for 22 years.
Whitey auctioned off the roses individually. He was able to get a high bid of $45 for each rose.
Then came a queen size John Deere quilt donated in Larry Deml’s memory.
A red scarf was auctioned during in honor of Judy Klukow, who donated a scarf for last year’s auction, now has colon cancer and is a resident at St. John’s in Albert Lea.
Brittni Stieglbauer donated several handmade knit caps, Tom’s Taxidermy donated T-shirts and caps, and there was also a Geneva Cancer Run T-Shirt. The Star Eagle donated subscriptions and a 2XL Miller High Life red plaid shirt, and Geneva Bar and Grill donated a hooded sweatshirt that had “FIGHT” in big letters, and pink boxing gloves on the back.
Much food was donated. Banana bread, cinnamon raisin bread, cranberry nut bread, caramel nut rolls, cinnamon rolls and homemade dinner rolls were paired up with pounds of Hope butter.
Cargill donated five cases, which included four each, of 12-pound turkeys. The turkeys brought $25 each.
Many different kinds of pies were donated – lemon meringue, chocolate cream, French silk, peach, coconut cream, and raspberry rhubarb.
Cheryl Howell donated certificates for four homemade pies. Cheryl is a 30-year cancer survivor, and made the donation in honor of her parents who both lost their lives to cancer.
Cheesecakes of many flavors and cinnamon rolls were put up for bid.
Several people donated crock pots of soup, complete with all that was needed to enjoy it right away: a soup ladle, bowls, spoons and crackers.
George’s of Geneva also brought over several hot food items. First up was a hash brown omelet, a dinner of ribs, baked potato and coleslaw, a prime rib dinner, and a walleye dinner with au gratin potatoes and coleslaw.
Wagner Foods of New Richland donated a spiral cut ham. John, Luke and Matt from Nielsen Farms donated a half of hog to the auction. It was explained that you can't have a half of hog running around, so the second half was also auctioned.
There were also several packages of pork chops and several items from Geneva Meats.
Several different varieties of "snack type" mixes, some Minnesota-style popcorn balls, and a large container of Chicago brand popcorn were donated, as well as a Super Bowl Sunday basket.
Two tickets were donated by the Geneva Fire Department for the "Tale of Healing" event, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Blooming Prairie Servicemen’s Club. The event will be a "black tie affair" which will include dinner, dancing and special entertainment, celebrating the life and art of giving. It was announced that the proceeds from the event will be given to the Blooming Prairie, Geneva, Hayfield, and Hollandale fire departments.
Farm-related items included a 40-pound bag of sweet corn and two bags of Pioneer Seed Corn donated by Brian Wayne. Alex Wayne, WFS and others donated DeKalb and "Round-Up Ready" corn. Mike DenHerder donated 45 units of soybeans, and Sun-Opta donated two 50-pound bags. A Dekalb jacket was also donated.
A large wildlife picture donated by Greg & Chelsea Hanson was auctioned, a 50-pound bag of sunflower seeds, and several bags of wild bird seed. Two square shovels were donated, one left-handed and one right-handed.
Sports-related items included state champion NRHEG Panther girls’ basketball team T-shirts the girls had all signed. A large red Panther head signed by the Panther girls’ basketball team was also up for bid, as was a large picture of the 2015 Minnesota Gopher women’s basketball team, which includes #33, Carlie Wagner. It was noted that Carlie had signed the poster, and announced that the Gopher women was going to be playing at 2 on Sunday.
Rick Schultz donated two Minnesota Gopher hats that had Carlie Wagner’s number 33 on them. There was also a signed state champion Panther girls’ basketball cap, a NRHEG Panther hooded sweatshirt, a red NRHEG Panther sweatshirt with two big eyes on it, as well as a white Elite basketball labeled “NRHEG Panther State Champs.” The football raised $190 and a round of applause. Many of the Panther clothing items were donated by New Richland Drug.
The Saturday auction also included a white Twins fan zip sweater from Tiger City Sports and a Green Bay Packer blanket.
A handmade Panther sign, a wood Minnesota Wild sign, a "Life Is Better at Beaver Lake" sign, and a Harley Davidson Cycle Sign from the Pour House in Clarks Grove were put up for bid. The auction also included a unique Schwinn Sting Ray Bike. Al’s Tow and Travel purchased the bike last year during the auction and decided to donate it back this year.
A Vikings canopy unit was auctioned, an electric charged John Deere utility backhoe tractor, a set of 16-inch aluminum rims for a General Motors vehicle, from Reese Brothers repair of Geneva, and a handmade fishing pole from former Geneva resident Terry Peterson, which drew a top bid of $500.
At 10, the winning tickets were drawn for the 2014 Geneva Cancer Auction raffle. The grand prize, a 48" Smart LED TV and Blu-ray Player, was won by Jensen Heating of Geneva; the $500 prize was won by Chubby’s Bar in Albert Lea; $400, Lori Holland; $300, Diane and Marv Bednar; $200, Chelsea Hanson; and $100, Gary Palm. The Bednars donated back half of their winnings to the auction.
Brenna Hagen, Whitey’s granddaughter, also stepped forward and said, "Grandpa is always thanking everybody else, but it’s time we thank Grandma and Grandpa (LaJune and DeWayne/Whitey),” which brought a standing ovation from everyone.
Four of Whitey’s granddaughters helped with the auction over the weekend. Whitey also acknowledged Barb and Jack Kuchenbecker for seven years of assistance with the Geneva Cancer Auction. The new owners of Geneva Bar & Grill, Greg and Chelsea Hanson, also thanked Barb and Jack for all their help.
Circle your calendar for April 4th, as a clean-up auction will be held, starting at 2 p.m. Any leftover items will be put up for bid. The people of our area have been very generous in their giving, and the Geneva Auction committee would like to made all of the donations that they had received available so that "Together We Can Make A Difference."