ALTONA, MB
After failing to get the winning bid at the last five church quilt auctions, Mrs. Donna Toews, 71, of Altona is now claiming that the whole system is rigged.
“I’ve got evidence – I won’t tell you what it is – but, folks, it’s pretty clear that from the biased elder board that organized the quilt auction, to the auctioneer with the iffy microphone, this whole auction is rigged,” says Mrs. Toews. “They simply don’t want me to be able to keep warm in winter. I think they’d prefer to see me freeze.”
Toews claims that there’s just no way Mrs. Hildegaard Klassen had the highest bid in the last three auctions.
“It’s impossible. I’m a tremendous bidder. Just tremendous!” said Toews. “If I lose it must be because the fix is in.”
At this year’s auction, Toews bid on three quilts, including the prized crazy quilt hand-made by locally-renowed quilter Mrs. Eleanor Peters, but failed to win any of them.
“Let me tell you. They’re all against me,” said Mrs. Toews. “I think it’s because I’m an outsider from jantsied.”
In response to the allegations of auction rigging, Mrs. Klassen called Mrs. Toews “a whiner” and said she should save her pennies if she expects to beat her in the upcoming auction.
(Photo credit: by Mennonite Church USA Archives)
