LUSK – Donated items are being awarded to the high bidders in silent auctions to benefit the Niobrara Senior Center. 

A recently awarded coveted prize was a beautifully crafted wooden windmill that the late Stan Aamodt had built from cedar wood. Mildred Lewis, a long-time quilter and former Niobrara County School district employee, has donated a queen size quilt to bid on for the Center. Pat Hoffman and Marlyn Hoffman have donated a colorful handmade scatter rug. 

The highest bidder in the silent auction for the quilt will own a keepsake with all the signatures of past LEMS employees during 2004, the year it was created. Or they could win a beautiful rug, in a separate bidding, which is durable as well as very pretty. Funds raised will go to replace the aging linoleum in the dining room, which gets a lot of use for serving the seniors’ meals and is enjoyed also for community meetings and receptions held in the Center. 

The quilt is on display in the Senior Center dining room beside the colorful knitted rug donated by Pat Hoffman and Marlyn Hoffman, also available to bid on, in silent auction bidding. 

On Aug. 26, the Senior Center will be holding a fun activity and announce the winning bids for both. Bidders can visit the Senior Center to see either item and place a bid or call 307-334-2561. 

Mildred chose a colorful fabric featuring butterflies and had the staff members of Lusk Elementary Middle School sign blocks along with their birth dates. It is a long list of personnel from the principal to teachers, office staff, cooks, maintenance, etc. The center block states, “We put it altogether.” She remembers them all as “a good group of people.”

The quilt has the signatures of the following individuals: Becky Peterson, Barb Rapp, Dalynn Tetrick, Louis Hammer, Bob Heimbaugh, Coach (Jim) Craig, Roxanne Olveda (Fish), Ross Diercks, Jana Holman, Pam Peterson, Holly Nelson, Laurie Wasserburger, Jamie Marak, Clara Powers, Karla VandeBossche, Wanda Brewster, Cindi Gruwell, Becky Diercks, Sandra Dobson, Mildred Lewis, Debbie Stanley, Wava Tully, Samantha Johnson, Teri Coffey, Amy Oldaker, Kathy Coon, Dean Pischel, Teresa Tucker, Don Kraft, Matt VandeBossche, Shelly Bruch, Lisa Pischel, Cindy Hladky, Gary Hoopes, Teri Goddard, Norma Langston, Danese Reed, Paul Miller, Debbie Rose, Anita Troudt, Robyn Hospodka, Carol Riley, Steve Wedemeyer, Tracianne Zerbe, Josette Dreesen, Barbara Cushman, Dawn Minder, Dory Pfister, Barb Vetek, Allen Bush, LaVonne Skrukrud, Shayley Dockery, Carol Kilmer, and Gary Troudt.

Mildred Lewis retired in 2005 after 18 years serving as a teacher’s aide (now termed paraprofessional) and often had a day of fun, rambunctious students under her watchful eye. When going home, she chose to “unwind” by sewing for an hour and has a closet full of quilts to remember her days at LEMS.