Every year when the Kump Education Center Pie Auction planning starts, I am surprised by the endless creativity of our Board of Directors and local volunteers. The pies themselves are hidden treasures. That is what I like best about pies. Each one is a baker’s present offering something special wrapped inside a tasty pastry. They all make pies for the preservation of the historic Kump House.

Once again, this year our resourceful and creative pie collector is Laura Santmyer, and she tells me she is planning on having 40 pies. Laura has a host of helpful friends who bake wonderful pies with sweet fruits and savory meats. If the baker wants to bake a cake instead, that happens. Last year we had a huge hatbox full of delicious cookies too.

The talented Casseday brothers will start off the event at noon with fiddle and banjo music. Visitors will find new vendors this year, but we are not sure if they will be outdoors or move into the learning lab in case of rain. Jessica Kelley is a potter who trained with Scottie Wiest. She has her own shop now and has developed her own ceramic style. Suzi Gordon makes colorful stained-glass window jewels to catch the sunlight. She has ramps for the spring and holly for Christmas. Summer Seanson creates homemade flower paper that has seeds in it. When the paper is planted, the seeds will sprout and flowers bloom.

This year, for the first time in ten years, we plan to sell some of Mary Gamble Kump’s foreign jewelry and a few Kump magazines that are 40-80 years old. Grace Wilson Sundelin, one of our first KEC Board members, gave me the idea that we should have a Table Collectibles like the ones she has seen in Virginia where she moved to be near her son. She is donating some collectible tee shirts that may appeal to a younger readers that love the Harry Potter books.

As I work with many generations of friends, I am beginning to realize that I am becoming a relic myself. Nevertheless, we are so lucky to live in an old-fashioned community that still cares about education and preservation. We hope to see many Inter-Mountain readers at the pie auction Saturday afternoon to support Kump Education Center.