Friends of the Library raise about $14,000

Cecilia Budd Grimes gave those at the “Southern Accent at the Library”  April 13 Friends of the Library fundraiser a lesson on what being Southern truly means.

Photo by Amanda Hickey Author Cecilia Grimes explains what it means to be Southern as featured speaker at the April 13 Friends of the Library fundraiser. A silent and live auction raised funds for student scholarships.

“We have these expressions [such as ‘Give me some sugar,’ and ‘That makes me so ill’]… and we understand what they mean and we use them freely,” Grimes said.            

“Bless your heart” is another expression that Grimes explained to the audience.

“Bless your heart” can be used when scolding, when being “unkind,” and when sympathetic, according to Grimes.            

“Lots of people don’t know how our words work but Southerners are taught to say these things,” Grimes said.    

Grimes also explained the difference between a hissy fit and a conniption.            

“In the South, we have hissy fits… There is a rule about hissy fits--don’t interrupt them,” Grimes said.  “Let those hissy fits run their course,” because if interrupted they start all over. However, conniptions rarely happen.

“We just threaten [conniptions],” Grimes said.            

The audience bellowed with laughter throughout Grimes’ presentation, especially when Grimes brought out salted peanuts which she mixed into a Coke.  “A Southern girls’ mixed drink,” she called the combination.

There is one simple test to see if a person is Southern, according to Grimes.  Ask for directions.  If the person is truly Southern, they will tell directions by telling who owns the house and telling the person asking for directions a story about the people who own the landmarks.             

The directions will end with “But you come back, ya hear?” according to Grimes. 

Grimes visit was a part of the Friends of the Library benefit which also included a silent auction, a live auction, and musical performances.  The money raised by the auctions will go to future Friends of the Library scholarships.                           

“What we’re doing will help a number of students next year and I, for one, appreciate all you’ve done,” said President of the Friends of the Library Dr. Anthony R. Curtis.             

According to Dr. Elinor Foster, dean of Library Services, “We are still offering a few of the items that did not sell at the benefit to people in the library, so the total for the silent auction is not yet finalized but will be about $5,000. The live auction total was $3,000. The ticket sales amounted to about $6,700, although we are still checking on a few of those, also.

This gives us an approximate total income of $14,700, but as they say for election results, this is the unofficial total,” Dr. Foster said.            

Raz Autry, a retired superintendent of the Hoke County Public School system and current peach farmer, was the auctioneer for the event.

“The library… is the heart of the school, there’s no doubt about it,” Autry said before beginning the auction.            

Items that were auctioned off included two quilts by Margaret Folger, mother of Dean Foster, and a Tobacco Barn Bird House  donated by Sgt. Major Edward L. Flint of Ed’s Bird Houses and created specifically for the auction.

Autry eagerly took bids from the audience and even offered, “I’ll give you a whole bushel of peaches I don’t have,” Autry offered the audience in exchange for bids.  Autry’s crop didn’t turn out this year due to “Mother Nature’s” late frost.            

But all items were sold, with final bids ranging from $125 to $800.

Other items auctioned off included paintings by Kathryn White, Matt Thompson and Ricky Evan, a framed photo of the Lumber River, pottery vases, a car wash kit, snow babies figurines, and a Harley-Davidson jacket.