By Mari Radtke
Each Saturday of the Marcus Community Fair features the auction of special items. In addition to the wood carvings made on-site during the first days of the fair, a quilt made lovingly by Bonnie Means and donated to the cause was a special feature this year.
Bonnie is an avid quilter and faithful donor of her creations to causes in Marcus. The 92” x 92” quilt won “Best in Class” at the 2024 Marcus Fair. Bonnie has quilted for more than 70 years. “I can hardly wait to get to the next one. It’s kind of addictive,” she says. She made her first quilt when her oldest daughter was a baby. Bonnie explained a little bit about how many different methods of quilting there are. And she has worked on many of them. “Crazy quilt is kind of fun. There are applique kits.” The piece auctioned Saturday was her first effort to do paper piecing. It won her the Marcus Fair prize in 2024. She emphasized, “It’s a fun thing to do. (A quilt) takes a lot of hours.” She has a room in her basement and 3 different sewing/quilting machines. She means business!
Auctioneer Chuck Ogren opened bidding on this feature item, and with the help of his callers advanced the bids upwards quickly. The bidding didn’t slow down until reaching more than $800. Committed bidders kept prices climbing. It was finally won by Ken Ogren for $1000.
Ogren raved how much work and how many hours Bonnie had put into making the quilt. He was sure to show his appreciation. The event being to benefit the Fair, he was all in.
He commented that he thought he would give the quilt to (we won’t say here in case it supposed to be a surprise).
Worthy community projects in Marcus are always well-supported. This is a great example of the support for the Marcus Community Fair.