By SANDRA LEPLEY
Anything from an old grandfather clock in chestnut wood to an Autumn Splendor design quilt or a surrey with the fringe on top and even a Jersey bull is being sold Saturday to help with the Old Order Amish Hospital Fund.

“With the costs of health care, an auction like this for the Amish will fill a need,” said Jesse Maust, auctioneer for the event second annual benefit auction. “Their health insurance stays within their own community.”


The public auction begins 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Sunset View, Route 669 (Springs Road).

The committee members for the event are Bennie C. Yoder, Albert P. Yoder, Mark Brenneman, Moses L. Yoder and Levi Fisher.

This year’s auction is being held in June instead of October, when it was held for the first time last year, said Maust. Several volunteers have collected items, and some of the items are posted on www.auctionzip.com under Maust’s name.

“I was impressed by how people last year wanted to consign things to help out with this cause,” said Maust. “They (the Amish) are planning for high-quality items with a few miscellaneous items thrown in. A majority of the furniture and quilts will be made by Amish and there will be new and used farm equipment.”

Maust said there will be several different auction areas at one time. Plus, different items will be sold at different times. The household items start selling at 8:30 a.m., furniture at 9:30 a.m., farm equipment at 10 a.m., quilts at 11 a.m. and livestock at 1 p.m.

Maust also pointed out that this year there will be two different tents set up and there will be five different lines for people to get a number, while the food lines will be elsewhere, so there shouldn’t be any problems with congestion.

Antiques like a fringed surrey, early 1900s wooden items, a scalding trough, a maple syrup trough, an old quilt frame and a two-man saw will be part of the sale.

The quilts are homemade and include several patterns like autumn splendor, mariner’s twilight star, starburst of hearts, flower basket (an old quilt), star over Georgetown, blue star cross stitch, log cabin maple leaf, wedding ring, lone star, crazy patch, Amish stripes and a few quilt tops as well. There are also wall hangings and crib quilts.

The guns available will be a new Remington Model 700 BDL deluxe 30-06, Mossberg 500 12 gauge, 8mm Mauser model 98.

For the farmer and hobby farmer alike, machinery will include a two-row corn picker, a haybine, a kick baler, a grinder mixer, an elevator, a hay conditioner, a disc, a harrow, cultipacker, hay wagon, manure spreader, bulk tank and a variety of other things.

Various outdoor, shop and garden items will be available. There will be firewood, a 26-foot windmill tower and motor, a gazebo, mini barns, a 14-foot white water raft, porch swing, glider, air compressor, chain saw, drill press, lawn mower, garden hoes, snow fence and a variety of other outdoor items.

And, livestock including horses (Haflingers, Standardbreds and Belgian crosses and a Hackney pony), cows (Holstein, Jersey, Brown Swiss and Red and White dairy cattle) both heifers and bulls will be on the auction block. Pigs will also be sold. Pedigrees on some livestock will be available during the sale.

A large selection of tack, including bridles, pads, saddles, a two-seated buggy and a new two-wheel pony cart, will be available for purchase.

Even if visitors don’t find anything to their fancy, the home-cooked Amish meals and goodies alone should appeal to most. Breakfast sandwiches, beverages and homemade doughnuts will be served for breakfast at 7 a.m.

Lunch will be available and includes hamburgers, hot dogs, potato and macaroni salads, chicken soup and chili and desserts. There will also be a bake sale with pies, cakes and doughnuts. This year, they will be serving barbecue chicken for lunch and hand-dipped ice cream.

“We invite everyone out for a day full of fun and fellowship,” said Joel Brenneman, one of the volunteers for the event. “Bring a chair and spend the day. There’s something here for everyone and these are high-quality items, new and used and some antique furniture.”

Quality concessions will be accepted until 8 a.m. that morning, Saturday, the day of the sale.