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Make new traditions

By Rebecca Bria rbria@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Although tradition is one of the main reasons people come back to the auction year after year, the auction committee still tries to keep the event fresh. This year two more crafters and two additional food vendors will come on board, as will two new booths.

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"So what do you think, Mom?" asks Julia Bojarcik of her mother, Diane, about a purchase she’d like to make.

Charlotte Bartizek File Photo/ For The Dallas Post

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Wild Orchard Catering, the catering service of Applewood Golf Course in Harding, is new to the auction. Proprietors Brian O’Neill and Maryann Szczucki have over 30 years of combined experience in the catering business. They established Wild Orchid Catering as an outgoing business five years ago and became onsite caterers for Applewood two years ago.

Applewood Golf Course was also the site of the auction kick-off dinner on June 1 where guests enjoyed food from Wild Orchid.

O’Neill and Szczucki plan to offer several selections at the auction, including Italian wedding soup, grilled chicken breast over a tossed salad and different pasta dishes such as penne pasta with vodka sauce and tortellini in a creamy pesto sauce.

Szczucki, of Larksville, has never been to the auction, but is very excited. O’Neill and his wife, Suzanne, have been attending the library auction annually since they moved to Harveys Lake from Queens, N.Y. 13 years ago.

“We love the auction,” O’Neill said. “I take my vacation around the auction every year.”

Geraldo’s Fresh Baked Pizza will also tantalize the taste buds of hungry auction-goers for the first time. Gerald Nemshick, of Mountain Top, has been running the business for 25 years. He also helps his son, Gerry Jr., with his restaurant, Whistle Stop Pizza, in Mountain Top.

Nemshick sells Neapolitan pizza, which is a thin-crust pizza. His pizza varieties include cheese, pepperoni, white and broccoli.

“We bake the pizza right there with fresh dough balls,” Nemshick said of his vendor business.

Although Nemshick has never been to the auction, he and his pizza business have been at the Arts at Hayfield at Penn State Wilkes-Barre for the last 15 years.

Mary Ann Butala-Dougherty will sell glass and sterling silver cuff bracelets, watches, pendants, earrings and beaded bracelets at the auction. She will also have handmade business card holders, paperweights, sushi dishes, candle holders and window art.

Butala-Dougherty, of McAdoo, has been a crafter since 1985 when she started experimenting with stained glass. Now she specializes in glass and sterling silver jewelry items.

“It (the auction) was something new I wanted to try to get in the area and show my jewelry,” she said.

Local crafters and friends Janice Schmidt, of Hanover Township, and Kim Beeserman, of Swoyersville, are excited to join the auction.

“I’ve been making crafts for a million years, but I never went to craft fairs until last October,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt creates cork trivets, baby bonnets, tooth fairy pillows, fairy angels and purses whileBeeserman makes jewelry and gift items.

“I’m excited about it,” Schmidt said. “I just never seem to know when it is, that’s why I never went as a spectator. But I heard it’s very nice so I am looking forward to going there.”

The A Tisket-A-Tasket Basket Booth, run by Vicki Grzyboski, will have a wide assortment of baskets and floral arrangements.

The Candy Booth, chaired by Laura Davis, will feature old-fashioned penny candy. Baked goods will also be available at the booth.