It was some pretty good caramel apple pie.
So good, it provoked a rapid-fire bidding war before the winner finally collected her prize – but only after shelling out $850.
The friendly war was part of the game, the pie auction that Lawton Public Schools’ FFA holds each year to raise funds to cover chapter activities, from entry fees to meals at conventions. This year, the auction and other activities from Sunday’s event had raised $14,200, by Monday morning’s estimates.
The top bid came for Maisie Perez’s caramel apple pie, and the MacArthur High sophomore shrugged modestly when asked what it was that made her apple pie so popular. The final bid was definitely more than she expected.
“Maybe $200,” Perez said, of the hope she had for the baked good that she – along with other FFA members – brought for Sunday’s auction. “I make it every time I need something. It’s my favorite dessert.”
Adam McPhail, LPS director of workforce development, had a reason closer to home to offer the second-highest bid, $750 for a banana split cake. That dessert, carried through the auditorium by one of his daughters in a bid to raise the price, also prompted a bidding war before auctioneer Don Armes sounded the final gavel.
McPhail was one of the more active bidders: in addition to his own, he was bidding for five other people who had conflicts Sunday and couldn’t attend the auction in person.
Jayson Holley, a seventh grader at MacArthur Middle School, got to see his dessert come back home – at least, what was left of it (about half never made it out of the Prairie Building).
Holley’s mother Tonya Kopsky made four containers of fudge, then bid $35 on the one her son was carrying around. Holley did more than show off the fudge to entice more bids.
“I chopped,” he said, of his contributions to creating the sweet masterpiece with nuts.
In all, it was a pretty good auction and the auctioneers were helpful. Billy Bridges, who handled the first lots before Armes took over, helpfully provided advice to those who weren’t certain how an auction worked.
“If you don’t understand, just raise your hand,” he said, to laughter, before launching into the first item: six cinnamon rolls made by Lesa Sparks, that drew a winning bid of $115. By contrast, the last item, a berry cobbler, sold for $225.
The auction wasn’t the only fundraiser. FFA officers suggested something new this year, then ended up paying for it.
Chapter President Larrett Donnell explained the rules: two buckets were on display at a table along a wall, one labeled officers; the second, advisers. The bucket with the most money by the end of the auction was the “winner.”
“Whoever raises the most money gets pied,” Donnell said.
Unfortunately for Donnell, that was him and his fellow officers, whose bucket held $111 more than the advisors’ bucket did.
“Cheaters!” more than one FFA officer yelled, as they were led to the wall, fitted with black plastic bags, then lined up so they could receive plates full of whipped cream in the face.