Cobblestone Museum brings back membership dinner and auction

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Larry Albanese and Dick Remley ham it up with a pair of puppets from a Dutch store in Jakarta, Indonesia, which were donated to the Cobblestone Museum’s auction Wednesday night at Carlton Firemen’s Recreation Hall.

CARLTON – The Cobblestone Museum brought back its annual dinner and fundraising auction at Carlton Firemen’s Recreation Hall on Wednesday evening. The crowd was smaller than in recent years, due to concerns over the rising cases of Covid, said Cobblestone director Doug Farley.

“However, we are glad to be back in business again,” Farley said. “This is a great kickoff for our Welcome Center, and it’s good to see people out and enjoying themselves. The money raised tonight will go a long way in helping get the Welcome Center going.”

Dick Remley, finance committee chair and head of the committee to raise money for purchase of the c. 1830 home formerly known as Fair Haven Treasures, said the Visitor’s Center will not only be for the Cobblestone Museum, but for all of Orleans County.

“It couldn’t be more centrally located,” Remley said. “In fact, in the 1800s, Childs was the county seat for a day. This house will give us room to show movies to tourists, ample space for parking and indoor bathrooms, all things we don’t have now.”

He explained their goal is to add a meeting room for up to 100 people, where they can have educational programs all year long and provide office space for Orleans County Tourism.

“This will be a one-stop location for information regarding all of Orleans County, including the Medina Railroad Museum to the fishing industry,” Remley said.

Doug Farley, left, director of the Cobblestone Museum at Childs, scans the audience as former sheriff Randy Bower solicits bids on donated items.

Remley is very encouraged at the support the project has already received. So far $400,000 of the $750,000 goal has been raised for the project. Click here for more information.

“We’ve only been fundraising for four weeks and we are already at more than 50 percent of our goal,” he said. “The Cobblestone Museum is the only National Historic Landmark in Orleans County and we are on the road to making sure it continues for a long, long time.”

The evening continued with dinner catered by Zambistro, followed by a live auction with former sheriff Randy Bower as auctioneer. Bower egged the crowd on to secure the highest bids for each item. There was a variety of donated items, and when there was an occasional item with no opening bid, Bower started the bidding himself.

There were bargains to be had, such as 10 one-day park hopper passes to Disney World, valued at $150 each, which the bidder got for $200, and a pen and ink painting by Roger San Miguel, whose paintings are said to bring $4,000 to $6,000, which went to the highest bidder for $200.

Two unusual puppets from a Dutch store in Jakarta, Indonesia, were more than 100 years old and brought laughs when Remley and Larry Albanese started dancing around with them.

A silent auction followed with three dozen unique items and a basket raffle.

This was the Cobblestone Society’s third annual membership fundraising dinner. Next year’s membership dinner will be May 11 at the Carlton Recreation Hall.

Editor’s Note: Museum Director Doug Farley reported the event on Wednesday raised $10,000 for the museum.

Marty Taber, left, holds a painting by the late Roy Bannister as Larry Albanese points to a bidder during the Cobblestone Museum’s live auction Wednesday night.