Congregational Church's 53rd Auction

Last Saturday, May 5, was our church's 53rd annual consignment auction. We had quite a day.

One auction ring sold household goodies. The other sold tools, motorized equipment, and furniture. Nearly $2,500 was raised to benefit the ministry of Bill & Carol Cowell at Victory Village--a boarding school for troubled teenage women in Hutchinson, KS. Our Women's Fellowship sold sloppy joes, bbq baked beans, and home made pies. Our youth entertained kids with the Lolly Pop Trolly and Leaping Lizard rides. Kendall Hodgson's Sunday School class raised $63 with .25 tries to climb Jacob's Ladder. And my wife told Bible stories to kids all day under a big, bright red and yellow tent.

What makes the sale fun is members and friends coming together to casually socialize, all the while pulling off an auction.

On Friday, me and a couple of guys went to a woman's house to pick up some stuff she was consigning to the sale. Included in the pile was a garden hose, an old shelf, and some other odds and ends. Also included in the pile was a huge pile of big limestone rocks.

After we loaded the easy stuff, the guys and I looked at the limestone pile and asked, "Are we supposed to take that too?" The pile was three feet high, about 4 dozens pieces. Each rock probably weighed between 40-80 lbs. To avoid taking what we shouldn't--check that--to avoid some really hard work, we agreed to wait and ask the lady when she came home from work.

Late in the day, I found the woman and asked her what she wanted to do with the limestone. She didn't expect us to take it--given that the rocks were so heavy--but she did say, "If you know anyone who wants it, they can just come over and take it."

So I took this report to the guys who helped load the lady's pile earlier. I said, "We don't have to take the pile. But, if you know anyone who'd like the rock, they're welcome to go over and take it."

Immediately, one fellow said, "I know my wife would love that rock. She'd put it around the flower garden." The other guy said, "My wife too. She'd find a project for it." I said, "Well, it's all there for the taking."

And both guys said in unison, "We're not telling!"

Wives, if you're looking for some nice, free limestone rock, I know where a pile is.