Fashion show, auction mark Historical Society’s 75th jubilee

May 3, 2016 at 4:00 a.m. | Updated January 1, 2021 at 12:00 a.m.

Bernadette Miller models clothing from Saffees during the Cole County Historical Society's 2014 fashion show and luncheon fundraiser.
Bernadette Miller models clothing from Saffees during the Cole County Historical Society's 2014 fashion show and luncheon fundraiser.

The Cole County Historical Society, celebrating its 75th jubilee this year, will hold its annual fashion show next Monday at Capitol Plaza Hotel.

People can browse for items in a silent auction starting at 10:30 a.m., then enjoy the luncheon and fashion show at 11:30 a.m. Saffees will provide the fashions for the show.

Tickets are $35 and can be bought from the society at 635-1850 or from Lorraine Adkins, 635-5651. Saffees and Super Hair also have tickets, said Adkins, a past president who is helping organize the event.

This is the society’s main fundraiser of the year, she said, and it typically brings in around $12,000.

“We’ve got a lot of renovations (needed) at the society,” Adkins said. “They really need a lot of repair, and this year we’ve done as much as we could.”

Proceeds also go toward the society’s mission of preserving the history of Cole County.

Last year, the event sold out all 230 seats. This year, the bigger venue will allow up to 300 to be seated.

The auction will have all the usual fare, including restaurant and car wash certificates, Adkins said, but will also have something different this year: grab bags for $5 and $10 of vintage costume jewelry from the 1960s and ’70s.

“Little girls love to play dress up,” Adkins said. “My grandgirls love when I give them a sack of these to play with.”

She said she’s thrilled with the food Capitol Plaza plans to serve — the hotel already provided organizers with a tasting.

“We are having a salad that’s one of the best I’ve had,” said said. It includes chicken breasts, blueberries, strawberries, walnuts and mixed greens, as well as rolls and, for dessert, a choice of chocolate bunt cake or strawberry cake.

Matt Michelson, son of pianist Mike Michelson, will be the auctioneer at the live auction, said Betty Weber, wife of current society president Jim Weber.

The live auction also will feature donated items, plus a unique offering: 20 vintage and decorative cookie jars.

They were purchased from someone in Columbia with 120 of them, and Weber said they were able to pick the best of them for the auction. The names of the jars include Little Red Riding Hood, Pierre Chef, 1940 Clown, Wishing Well and Turn-a-Bout Mice.

Weber said they hope to be able to add a little something in one of the jars for one lucky buyer, but that the plan still is tentative.

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