82-Uncaster Farming, Saturday, November 22,1986 Communities Combine Resources To Create Successful Bazaar BY SALLY BAIR Lancaster Co. Correspondent COLUMBIA - The Columbia Hospital Auxiliary Bazaar, held each November since 1968, is much like any other bazaar - it offers lots of good food and many beautiful handcrafted items for sale. But this is a bazaar with a twist - it is a truly community bazaar, and it raises nearly $lO,OOO in two days! One of the reasons for its success is the total involvement of chur ches, service clubs, businesses and industry from not only Columbia, but the nearby communities of Marietta, Maytown, Mountville, Washington Boro and Wrightsville. There is also widespread support from the agricultural communities between these small towns. Carol Carruthers, publicity chairman for the event, says, “I don’t know of any other organization that gets the cooperation from so many people. People do not realize that we don’t rent tables. Everything that is at our bazaar is given, made or donated to benefit the hospital. Judy Geyer's special talent is working with dried plant materials to create unusual crafts and home accents. She grows many of her own plants, and spent “hours and hours" getting together the 80 different dried arrangements she contributed to the bazaar. There was a “barnyard” full of animals available to visitors to the Columbia bazaar. Animals of every description could be found in a variety of materials - wooden, cloth, and plush. Every animal lover could find something special at this table. Some of it is worked on for a whole year. We strive for quality, and we are so proud of our work. I don’t know of another bazaar that is so community oriented.” One of the most popular features of the bazaar is a market basket table, literally groaning from the weight of produce generously donated by area farmers. The most beautiful cauliflower, broccoli, and pumpkins are for sale there as are walnuts, dried apples and a wide array of fall crops. Straw from local farms also is used to enhance other exhibits. Area farmers support the bazaar because they feel a part of the hospital coverage area. Although the bazaar is sponsored by the auxiliary, help comes from many sources. Typical of the contributors is Linda Bachman who is neither an auxiliary member nor a town dweller. Linda and her husband, “Sox,” live just outside the borough on a small horse farm. For the past three years she has made small dried le wreaths and donated them to S * f .esh produce is one of , more rings at the annual Columbia Hospital Auxiliary Bazaar held each November. The produce for the “market basket” table is donated by generous farmers outside of Columbia. the bazaar. Linda is a hairdresser and counts among her customers and friends many of the auxiliary members, and she feels this is one way she can help out. The apples come from old trees on the property. While they are not sprayed and take some careful cutting, Linda says they are perfect for the wreaths she makes. To prepare the apples, she simply slices the whole unpeeled apple through, core and all, and spreads them on drying racks in her basement. Linda said she prefers the apple slices to be very thin and uses a vegetable cutter to get them the appropriate thickness. It takes about a week for them all to dry, she said. The next step js to string them on craft pipecleaners, and form the pipecleaners into a circle, then twist the ends together. Linda says she uses about sixty slices, or about four apples, to make one small wreath. For the final touch, she adds a loop to the top for hanging, and a bow to the bottom for decoration. It makes a lovely addition to the home. Since dried apple wreaths are so popular, it is not surprising that hers sold out the first day. Linda normally hangs hers in the windows of her old farm home, and when someone admires them, she simply tells them to take it along. The wreaths will last about a year, just getting a little darker with age. Another contributor to the success of the bazaar is Shirley Newcomer, a 4-H leader with the Mountville Community Club and a member of Farm Women #4. An accomplished seamstress and lover of homemade dolls, Shirley works on making dolls throughout the year. This year she is co chairing the bazaar, with Linda Grubb and Judy Geyer. Shirley started making dolls when her own children were small. Her oldest is 35 years old, so she’s juntville Community 4-H Shirley Newcomer contributes dolls to the bazaar. She works with other auxiliary members throughout the year to find interesting new dolls to create and donate. She also makes dried apples and apple dumplings for the bazaar. .4^ ytfomesipad dotes had some practice. She recalls that she made Raggedy Andy dolls then, but since then has expanded into a wide variety of dolls. As a 4- H sewing leader, each year she comes up with a different project for the 4-H’ers to make, each one more clever than the last. She uses up “whatever I have” to make the dolls, and this year made miniature clowns which can be “walked” by inserting two fingers in their bottom torso. She explained that a few people do the sewing and embroidery for ’urn to P' B 4)
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