RUSSELLVILLE — A slice of Americana tasted good to American Legion Auxiliary, Post 20, members, guests and visiting politicians who congregated last week for the annual “Meet Your Candidates” Political Pie Auction in downtown Russellville.
Begun at least 10 years ago, vice president Karen Bagwell said, the event has weathered the test of time well.
“The building was filled to capacity with a dozen candidates vying for the microphone and the chance to take home a prized cherry or pecan pie,” she said.
American Legionnaires Richard Ruble and Dennis Cook controlled the stage for the evening, with Ruble acting as auctioneer and Cook attempting to recognize the bidders, but the bidding came fast and furious as several preferred pies and cakes had their time on the auction block.
Members and local bakeries donated the 60 whipped, creamed, iced, meringued and dipped desserts that were elegantly displayed in the center of the room on combined tables festooned with red, white and blue.
Bagwell, the baker of two cherry pies, two apple pies, two homemade fudge brownie trays, two lemon Bundt cakes and a plate of her grandmother’s Christmas cookies, had high praise for the community, which rallies together to support the event.
“One of the reasons we have this pie auction is to provide college scholarships,” she said. “The other reason is to provide for structural improvements, and none of it would be possible without the support of our friends in the community.”
The historic, native-stone Riggs Hamilton Building is located in the epicenter of the city’s downtown.
“It was built in 1932,” Bagwell said. “One thing we really need is an elevator. We are no longer able to climb the stairs to the upper story, and we really need to provide access to our members, and we need to utilize the space.”
After the crowd saluted the flag and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, Ruble gave a state-of-affairs update.
“We need so many things. This is an old building, and we could really use an elevator. In regards to the auction, there’s a lady timing three minutes of bidding time for each entry,” he said. “The last to offer a dollar gets the pie.”
The bidding wars began when Ruble raised Norma Watson’s Cinnamon Apple Crumb Pie above the podium, and a flurry of arms holding dollar bills shot up into the air. The smoke had barely cleared when a possum-pie craze took over the assembly.
“Are we going to duke it out over this pie?” Ruble asked when multiple last-minute bidders attempted to skew the results their way. “I don’t know,” he said, as he handed the pie down to Caroline Larkin, 8, and hollered at auxiliary member Cindy Lewis. “I think she’s tougher than you.”
The next pie Ruble held up was a sugar-free pecan pie.
“Some people in this room need this,” Ruble said. Mayor Tyrone Williamson, a diabetic, shot up his arm and monopolized the bidding.
“It’s hard to find good sugar-free desserts,” Williamson said, “and homemade, too.”
Bagwell’s cherry pie, with decorative lattice work resembling the stripes and stars of the flag, was still warm from the oven, Ruble said, as he held it gingerly.
“Who’ll give a dollar?”
As a coconut pie passed the $4 mark, Ruble said, “Now, we’re getting down to business,” and added, “folks, this is a real coconut pie — not a fake one.”
Cook peered into a pie box to remove a peanut butter pie.
“Oh, my goodness,” he said, inhaling deeply.
The pie auction provided more than $500 in donations that night, and members like president Katherine Zimmer were grateful.
“We’ve worked so hard putting this on,” she said. “We were here last night until 12 midnight and all day today cleaning and setting stuff up.”
“We baked all day, said Linda Cook, sergeant of arms, and some of us for several days.”
In addition to the impromptu pie-eating, the women set up a complimentary buffet for guests who scrambled in line during a brief intermission. Visiting politicians, including Elvis D. Presley, an Elvis impersonator and write-in candidate for governor, took turns addressing the crowd.
“The auxiliary is involved in the community in so many ways,” Bagwell said. “On Oct. 12, we’re having a Flag Retirement Ceremony at 6 p.m. We’ll also have an informational booth, and we’ll be promoting our Lapel Poppies and the Downtown Russellville Fall Fest Oct. 30 and 31.”
Promoting patriotism begins with education, she said. The American Legion Auxiliary supports Flag Day at area schools, conducts flag education and annual patriotic-essay competitions. The group also offers Operation Gratitude, a community campaign to write letters to soldiers; distributes Lapel Poppies to raise funds to honor veterans and their families; and provides solid support to youth programs such as Boys State, Girls State and American Legion Baseball.
Anyone is welcome to join as long as a relative, no matter how distant, served in the armed forces during wartime, Bagwell said.
“Those who can’t lay claim to a relative can always act as supporters,” she said.
The auxiliary meets at the Legion Hut (the Riggs Hamilton Building) at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month.
Ruble hushed the crowd with a rhubarb pie that he held over his head. The second run of the auction began.
“If I could figure out how to mail that to my dad,” Auxiliary member Cindy Lewis mumbled, “I’d buy that in a heartbeat.”
The evening ended with a noisy and fast rally around a homemade pie followed by a reminder to vote.
“Vote early; vote on Election Day; just vote,” Ruble said.
And the cost of a homemade pumpkin pie? Forty-four dollars. Sounds like it’s worth every penny.
The Riggs Hamilton Building is at 215 N. Denver Ave. in Russellville. For more information, call Karen Bagwell at (479) 518-3779.