Auction: part two

The 2026 Geneva Cancer Auction - “FIGHT THE FIGHT” - resumed on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Geneva Bar & Grill, as Jamie Hagen welcomed everyone. Sorry to say I am, guessing that the weather may have kept some people away, but I am pleased to say that many people braved the cold weather and attended and that over 100 sets of items were put up for bid that night.

 

And with that said, Jamie asked for the first item to be put up for bid, which included the famous “stew package,” which includes of a bag of potatoes, a bag of onions, and a pound of the great HOPE BUTTER. That was followed by another “staple” of the Geneva Cancer Auction, which is a quart of Sue Hills’ pickles, which this time were the HOT pickles that Sue makes.

 

Following those two items, many other great donations were auctioned, including several different collections of plaques that Vicki Wright, whose daughter Amber is fighting blood cancer, had donated.

 

Also, a jar of Apple Pie Schnapp’s was donated by Doug Felt in memory of his son Matt, who passed away following a fight with cancer.

 

Victor Mrotz once again arrived at the Geneva Cancer Auction and brought in a number of cases of his famous HOPE BUTTER, which were included with a number of other items that were put up for bid over the course of the night. 

 

Later in the auction on Friday night, a pound of Hope butter was auctioned. Troy Hagen was the lucky bidder and he decided to donate the pound of butter back again, so that more money could be raised.

 

The butter was auctioned, donated back and resold a total of eight times before it was decided that it should be put in the refrigerator on Friday night.

 

And if that isn’t enough, I believe after the first time it was donated back to the auction, Victor Mrotz was asked to sign the pound of butter, and many others followed suit and also signed their names on the wrapper of the butter.

 

The pound of butter was once again put up for bid on Saturday, and it was sold five more times and a total of over $1,000 was raised at the auction this past weekend from one pound of Hope BUTTER.

 

Some say, ”Butter is like GOLD,” and I guess I tend to agree after seeing all that took place at the auction over the weekend.

 

Many other pounds of Hope butter were “paired up” with other items put up for bid over the course of the night, as well as dozens of farm fresh eggs, of which many of them were ”brown” eggs that had been donated by David Christensen, in memory of his mother, Agnes, along with a number of dozens that were from Tim Simon, while others were from Gout & Jill, among others.

 

Another item up for bid was a large wood flag, which was one of four that had been made many, many years ago using wood that had originally been purchased at the Botsford Lumber Company, which was in Ellendale at the time. The wood flag had originally been on display and enjoyed in the home of Gen Koppen Wayne.

 

Once the flag was sold, it too was donated back to the auction and auctioned again and raised a total of $575. Later another wooden flag, which was smaller than the first, was put up for bid and it was sold and the new owner was pleased to take it home.

 

Speaking of items being donated back, Ruth Hagen made a batch of chili for the auction on Friday night and put it in the crock pot that had contained “meatballs” during the first weekend of the 2026 Geneva Cancer Auction.

 

We later learned that the batch of chili was the 7th time that the Royal brand, “reddish orange” colored “Crock Pot” had been used to raise money for cancer over the past years. On Saturday afternoon the “Geneva Cancer Auction Crock Pot” was back at the auction once again. This time the crock pot was filled with homemade scalloped potatoes and ham and it was delicious. I know because my husband Daryl was the high bidder. 

 

Along with the crock pot of scalloped potatoes, a large serving ladle, disposable soup bowls and forks were included for the auction, so we were able to enjoy the nice hot potatoes and ham while the auction was going on. We also shared bowls of the potatoes and ham with a number of others sitting in our area as well.

 

I guess I will have to fill up the crock pop again in April and put it up for bid again.

 

A large container of “Spoody Snacks” had been put up for bid previously at the auction and another large container was put up for bid again on Saturday. The snacks had been made and donated by Luke “Spoody” Wiersma. “Spoody” also donated a pan of “Yummy Bars” too and they were yummy too.

 

This past weekends’ auction once again included a number of items from Florida that Steve Pence had donated along with a couple of groupings of hard covered books. Up for bid this past weekend were several more Twins Baseballs, including ones that Justin Berlader, Wade Boggs and Jack Morris had autographed.

 

It was great that Steve, even though he now lives far away, still continues to donate items for the auction which helps FIGHT THE FIGHT” for cancer research.

 

This weekend’s auction once again had a “piggy bank,” - a cow that was donated and taken around the bar and it was filled to “overflowing” with money, before it was auctioned. Two different groupings of bracelets that Barb Kuckenbeckes’ grandchildren had made were also put up for bid and the lucky bidders selected their favorite bracelet and took them home with them, as was a beautiful necklace and a St. Patricks’ Day basket.

 

A 55-inch Samsung TV was donated by Sorenson’s, as was as a “backpack” sprayer, an electric chain saw, a neck massager, a food processor, a couple of horses with a wagon, in memory of Jule Tukua; as well as a cowboy hat. A large number of cutting boards, many donated by Gary Anderson; a “coat tree”; a large round mirror; a small braided rug; a small child size bench that had an American flag painted on it; and a kids’ rocking chair with a stuffed bear and a “Cookies for Santa” book were also put up for bid. 

 

A variety of “welcome' signs, including one with Harley Davidson on it; a dog basket. a homemade fishing pole that was paired up with a cross-stitch picture of fishing lures, as well as a wood fishing pole, or pool cue holder were also put up for bid.

 

A couple of people donated a couple of very unique items this year too. One was an iron butterfly made using the tablespoons we use to eat soup and cereal with; and another was a “HOPE” sign made using “horseshoes.” 

 

Speaking of horseshoes, it was interesting to note that the Yaunt 2 Ranch Rodeo event that was held this past summer had 75 different riders. That is a lot of cowboys.

 

An assortment of “metal” type items were also up for bid, including a beverage stand, a large “jingle Bell,’ another of the Minnesota Wild emblem, as well as an Eagle; and a couple of Wheaties cereal boxes with sports teams on them.

 

Daisy Blue Naturals donated several collections of beauty products, and there were also several groups of hair care products, and a couple of purses, one of which was homemade. A number of items that Zola Wayne had enjoyed having in her home, including a large silver star, a Santa Claus, a blanket and a CD were donated in her honor.

 

And we can’t forget the Lottery Board that was donated by Barb & Jack Kuckenbecker, the gift certificates to Lerberg’s Car Wash, as well as a two-months certificate to the Fitness Center, also at Lerberg’s.

 

In addition to all of the many great items that were put up for bid this past weekend, there were, of course, a great number of gift certificates for oil changes, a couple of certificates for detailing on vehicles; groups of cleaning items for the home and shop; as well as a screwdriver set, wrenches, shovels, a hammer, a 25-foot tape, along with a fire ring that all had been donated by many great supporters. The fire ring was also donated back and auctioned again, like so many other things this year. And speaking of fires, there were a couple of “fire blankets” too.

 

The auction also had a leather Minnesota gophers coat, as well as a number of other types of coats and sweatshirts, gloves, stocking hats, some homemade and in memory of loved ones that will keep people warm this winter, as well as “ball caps” that included many different “names” on them.  

 

This past weekend's auction did not have many quilts like there had been the first weekend of the 2026 auction this year, but there were a large number of blankets using a variety of cloth types and designs, as well as a couple of knitted items, and even some for babies.

 

And, of course, there was a great variety of FOOD type items, Including a “half a hog” with processing, as well a number of “half” of hams and other “meat packages. There were a great number of meat & cheese trays with crackers, and assorted jerky. Casey's, along with the Pizza Cellar in Blooming Prairie, brought in hot pizza ready to eat and enjoy too. And there was a great selection of sweet things too, including pies, cakes, bars, cheesecakes, cookies, along with homemade candies and caramels.

 

It also had a great assortment of breads and cinnamon rolls, as well as lefse, that were paired up with a pound of Hope butter. And we can’t forget the assortments of jams, jellies and jars of honey. 

 

And what would a Geneva cancer auction be without deviled eggs, a variety of different types of pickles; a few groups of pickle rollups, which some compare to caviar; and five sets of stuffed mushrooms?

 

And if that wasn’t enough, there were a few jars of homemade spaghetti sauce, certificates for containers of salads, along with dips and chips, gourmet fruit snacks and jars of peanuts.

And we can’t forget the great variety of wines and moonshine, along with Bloody Mary mix, “Rum Chata” and “Jello shots” that were donated.

 

The auctioneers for the second weekend of the Geneva Cancer Auction were Jonny Kraling, from Blooming Prairie; Jim Manges, from Albert Lea, along with Jamie Hagen and Waylen Busho from our Geneva and Ellendale area, along with the assortment of people who helped take the items up for bid around to the people in attendance for a closer look. The auction would not be a success without them.

 

Also in conjunction with the auction, the Geneva Cancer Auction raffle tickets were also being sold for the 42nd Geneva Cancer Auction drawing. The drawing this year included a GRAND PRIZE of $1,000 in cash, 2nd, $500, 3rd, 300 and 3rd, $200.

 

At 8 p.m. the raffle winners' tickets were drawn and include the Grand prize going to Jim Johnson, 2nd prize, Jolene Swenson, 3rd prize, Clinton Pirsing, and 4th place, T & T Body Shop.

 

It was also announced this weekend that the Geneva 2026 “Mini” cancer auction will be held a bit earlier this year, on March 28, starting at 2 p.m., which is a week before Easter this year, instead of the first Saturday in April as it has been in years past.

 

A Geneva Cancer Auction Pancake Breakfast will also be held on Sunday, March 29 at the Geneva Bar & Grill from 8 a.m. – noon.

 

On Sunday morning Keith & Tina Hagen and Keith & Ruth Hagen drove to Rochester to make the yearly presentation to the Eagles Cancer Telethon from the many different fundraising events that were held here in our area over this past year. A check in the amount of $155,000 was presented during the telethon, which was the total of this past years’ cancer fundraising activities.

 

Jamie shared a story about an event that happened during the Geneva Cancer Auction this past weekend, and went on to say that all those dollars that are raised or donated for Cancer Research all add up and that a great number of local people and businesses are to be thanked for what they do to help raise money for Cancer Research.

 

Jamie explained that, in our Geneva area, we are always “Fighting The Fight,” and, before the 2026 auction came to a close, he offered up a big “THANK YOU to everyone for their support this past year, as well as for the current auction.

 

It is also hoped that the people of our area will continue to do what they can to support the many different cancer fundraising events over the course of this year.