August 16, 2012
ORR'S ISLAND – Community spirit and generosity at its best were on full display once again at the annual yard sale and auction to benefit the Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department.
Held on the weekend of August 11 and 12, the 19th-annual event raised more than $40,000 to help support the all-volunteer fire and rescue department.
“It was a great year,” said Assistant Chief Wes Haynes, the auction chairman. “We had a lot of good items and a lot of very generous bidders and buyers. We can’t thank the community enough
for the great support they show the department every year.”
Much of the proceeds came from the Sunday auction, which included hundreds of items donated
by members of the community throughout the year. Among the biggest bids were nearly $3,000 for a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, $1,001 for a new hot tub and $700 for a wooden boat model made in the 1940s by the late Bim Doughty, a well-known island resident. Numerous other items, including antique furniture, kayaks and collectibles, sold for bids ranging from a few to several hundred dollars.
Some special auction items – including fresh-baked pies and a pair of roller skates purchased and donated back each year with the addition of the buyer’s signature – also raised hundreds of dollars.
In addition, records were set in income from the two-day yard sale held in and around the adjacent Old Orr’s Island Schoolhouse and from a silent auction of services, gift certificates and
merchandise donated by area businesses. Sales of fresh-cooked breakfast and lunch also set new
fund-raising records.
“The generosity of bidders was amazing,” said Deputy Chief Ed Blain, who once again served as
auctioneer along with Rescue Captain Ed Sparks. “The community really stepped up to help
support the department.”
Blain gave much of the credit for the event’s success to Haynes, who has served as auction
chairman for the past several years. He said Haynes works year-round on the event, spending
countless hours at the fire station to receive and sort through donations and coordinating the
efforts of dozens of volunteers who help plan and work at the auction and yard sale.
“Wes works tirelessly on the auction all the time and it’s really thanks to him that it does so well,” said Blain. “The department – and the whole community – are really lucky to have him.”
Haynes, in turn, praised the department members and community volunteers who on the event,
including auctioneers Sparks and Blain; Fire Chief Bill Beazley and Capt. Walter Johnson, who
sold the raffle tickets; Kitsie Beazley and her large crew, who ran the yard sale; Board of
Directors member Laurie Blain, who oversaw the food concession team with several other
volunteers; board members Richard Regan and Ann Gulesian, who ran the silent auction; Compliance Officer Steve Minkowsky, firefighter Steve Galhardo and several others who
handled traffic control and parking; and the dozens of others who helped in many different roles.
Haynes noted that immediately after the auction, planning began for next year’s event, scheduled
for August 10 and 11, 2013.
All money raised at the sale helps fund the operation of the all-volunteer department which provides fire and rescue services for Orr's and Bailey Islands and portions of Great Island east of the Mountain Road bridge and south of the Nazarene Church on Route 24.
For more information about OBIFD or volunteering, visit the department's web site at www.obifd.org.
Photo Captions:
Top: Bidding under way at the Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department annual fundraising auction held Sunday, August 12, at the Orr's Island fire station.
Middle: From left, Ed Blain, Ed Sparks and Wes Haynes auction off a homemade blueberry pie at the Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department annual fundraising auction on August 12.
Bottom: People search for bargains inside the old Orr's Island Schoolhouse during the
Orr's and Bailey Islands Fire Department annual fundraising yard sale on Saturday, August 11.