EATON — On Saturday, July 30, the Preble County Fair Pie & Cake Auction was held for the winners of the baked goods judging and the elected officials who chose to participate.
This year the auction raised $11,010 with $10,755 from the auction itself and $255 from a $10 pie and cake table, according to organizers.
The bakers of the pies and cakes split the profit of the baked goods 50/50, with half of the price a buyer paid going to the baker and the other half going to fundraising. If the baker of the item was an elected official, the entirety of the bid went to the fundraising effort.
“All elected official’s are strictly to donation, the rest is 50/50 left for the fairgrounds, buildings, or that person,” baked goods committee member Annett Mann said.
This year the money raised is meant for the restoration of the Produce Building where the auction was held. According to Mann the Senior Fair Board has been debating on whether to keep the barn or to tear it down and rebuild. She estimated the upkeep of the building would cost about $300,000.
According to Mann, the turnout for the auction was about the same as in past years. She said the crowd coming in when the elected officials participate in the auction helps.
The highest sale for the night was Preble County Auditor Lavon Wright’s apple crisp, which went for $650. The items selling for the highest prices included the Grand Champion Cake, which was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing by Audrey Burton, Reserve Cake, which was a strawberry cake by Leslie Newton, the Grand Champion Pie which was a lemon cream pie by Cathy Combs, and the Reserve Champion Pie, which was a mixed berry pie by Stephanie Hurd.
