FORKS — The Quillayute Valley Scholarship Auction burst past last year’s total of $61,000 by almost $8,000 more.
A Native American basket donated by longtime Forks resident Muriel Huggins went for $3,000 alone.
The biggest ticket item was a GMC recreational vehicle that went for $4,500, said Jerry Leppell, president of the auction, who along with the law firm McMenamin & McMenamin donated the vehicle.
The total neared the $72,000 record, which Leppell said he is aiming to surpass at next year’s auction.
With blackberry pies going for $100 each and a dozen chocolate chip cookies bringing in $50, the auction was more than Leppell had hoped for, he said.
“We beat last year’s total, even in a down economy,” Leppell said.
“It’s awesome — just think of what we can do during an up economy.
“We are so thankful to everyone in Forks — also in the surrounding areas of LaPush, the Hoh, Clallam Bay, Sekiu, Neah Bay, because we really consider all of them part of our community of Forks.”
A special military memorial went for about $1,000 from local chain-saw carver Dennis Chastain.
He was inspired to carve the memorial, which depicts military boots and an M-16 rifle with a hat on top, when he had a visit from several of his military friends from the 1960s, Leppell said.
“They started talking about the old times and the buddies they lost, and he wanted to carve something in their memory,” he said.
Forks Outfitters made the winning bid on the carving, Leppell said.
A smokehouse donated by Darrel Gaydeski and made out of a fir stump and cedar roof went for $2,350.
“It really looked awesome and went really well,” Leppell said.
“This year was really great; a lot of things went really well.
“I told the senior kids before we started that if they all believed and I believed, we could beat last year’s total — and we did.”
Robert Rosmond, Russ Thomas, Millie Thompson, Jane Waters and several other Forks residents began the auction in 1963 through a committee called the Quillayute Valley Scholarship Fund.
The group raised funds for scholarships for Forks High School graduates by soliciting donations.
Any Forks High School graduate can receive a scholarship for up to four years.
The scholarships can be used for college, technical school or any kind of job training.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
