Scouts Sell Mementos Of The Stars
In the search for the perfect Christmas gift, don’t forget to shop with Moscow Cadette Girl Scout Troop 538.
Where else will you find Olympic gold-medal gymnast Shannon Miller’s autographed red plush leotard or super speed skater Bonnie Blair’s signed Olympic program?
Nifty stuff for a Girl Scout troop, n’est-ce pas?
Sixty-six other items also are up for auction Saturday. This troop is hoping to make big money so it can tour Europe next summer.
Leaders Carolyn Todd and Margaret Jenks proposed the trip four years ago, partially to hold the girls’ interest in Scouting through middle school. The plan worked.
Since then, the girls have sold baked potatoes and hand-pressed apple cider at Moscow fairs. They’ve run haunted houses and baked cookies. Their work has raised $3,500, but they need $13,000.
Finding big bucks required a big project. So, two years ago, the girls launched a letter-writing campaign seeking donations of autographed valuables to auction. At every meeting, the troop wrote to athletes and actresses, authors and astronauts.
“We decided to limit ourselves to women celebrities because we’re Girl Scouts,” says Margaret, who’s a geologist and has no daughters of her own. “We wanted to impress on the girls that there are as many notable women as there are men.”
Tennis star Chris Evert responded first with an autographed picture of herself.
Then Margaret found packages in her post office box daily. “It really was like Christmas every time I opened the box,” she says.
Golf gloves from Nancy Lopez. A color poster from Martina Navratilova. Signed books from Belva Plain, Colleen McCullough, Madeleine L’Engle. Photos from Wynona Judd, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood. A CD from Annie Lennox.
Athletes and authors were generous; actresses weren’t. But Margaret’s favorite item came from Whoopi Goldberg - a full-size movie poster from “Star Trek Generation” with Whoopi’s signature in silver.
“It’s gorgeous,” Margaret says, and it’s easy to envision a piece of art worthy of van Gogh. “If you’re a Trekkie fan, this is good stuff.”
Beat Margaret’s bid and it’s yours.
Troop 538’s “Buy the Stars” silent auction will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Eastside Marketplace in Moscow. The troop also will sell bakedpotato dinners at 5 p.m. for $6 for adults and $3 for children.
For an auction catalog and dinner tickets, call 882-0317. The troop will accept bids during auction hours by phone at (800) 488-5557 and by fax at (208) 883-4897.
Toot your horn
Coeur d’Alene’s Cultural Center has an unbeatable publicity department - Lakes Middle School.
The center could have found adult volunteers to do the job. Instead, it gave the kids a chance, and they have proved themselves.
The students are advertising a show that has the potential to attract some sizable crowds. On Dec. 7, the center will hold a “Magical Musical Instrument Sale” featuring the work of Coeur d’Alene instrument-makers.
No kazoos here. This is the place to go for mandolins, dulcimers, drums, didgeridoos.
Start saving now and go with Christmas in mind.
The preceding is thanks to information crafted by seventh-grader Victor McFarland. A few publicists out there could learn a lot from Victor. …
In the fast lane
Sometimes it’s quicker to drive than fly. I drove a carload of high school kids home to Coeur d’Alene from Boise last Sunday while their friends flew. Roads were great, and we got home for dinner. But fog kept planes from landing in Spokane. For all I know, the flying kids still are stuck in Boise.
What are your airport horror stories? Jet your tales to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; or send a fax to 765-7149, call 765-7128 or send e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes