The Auction, now in its’ 59th year, was held Saturday, January 26, in the Melba High School Commons. Started in 1950 as a fund-raiser for local families afflicted with Polio, the auction has evolved into a community auction that donates funds to several local causes, such as the Melba Quick Response Unit, Little League teams, the library and local families stuck by disaster.

In March, committee members will review those from the community requesting funding. Most of the money raised at the auction is donated, while the committee keeps a portion in the bank in case of emergencies that arise during the year.

Several times during the afternoon event, Jason Knopp, auction chairman thanked the sponsors for their time and efforts in making this year’s event the best ever. Heatherwood Retirement Community, as a sponsor, provided the bingo and prizes for the children’s area.

‘Swingin’ and signin’
Boise seniors take the stage
By Sarrah Benoit of Idaho Statesmen Newspaper

Heatherwood swingers make their own instruments from washboards, bed pans…

A band of 18 silver-haired senior citizens nod their heads and sway their hips while strumming along to a hip-hop beat on their make-shift instruments.

Two young men clad in baggy pants and backwards caps have challenged the band to play a rap song – and the Heatherwood Swingers never back down from a challenge. Diana Cullin, keyboardist and community relations/activity director for Heatherwood Retirement Community in Boise, said the band takes requests all the time, even from skeptics. As they launched into an impromptu hip-hop remix of “You Are My Sunshine,” the two young critics were immediately shocked and silenced.

The Heatherwood Swingers was the brain child of Cullin, who approached residents in the retirement community in April 2005. “I just called everyone into the Centennial Room and told them what I wanted, she said. “And they all looked at me like I was crazy.”

Band members assembled most of their own instruments from materials gathered from the retirement community. Hall plays the “piddle fiddle” – a guitar made from a bedpan and strings. Other instruments include washboards, shakers, tambourines and a keyboard. And some instruments have no names but are called the “what-cha-ma-call-it” and the “thing-a-ma-jig.” Most instruments are designed to keep rhythm, Cullin said. There are some vocalists too, but most band members have no musical experience.

Hall never played an instrument in his life, but his wife and band mate Florance, 88, used to play the piano. Now she plays the maracas. The Heatherwood Swingers perform at parades, festivals, senior centers and parties in Idaho. They have a bus driver who dances with audience members and has become a favorite among the ladies, Cullin said.

The band is in high demand, performing nine gigs this month. The record so far stands at 12 gigs in one month - four in one day. Despite their many appearances, band members don’t practice. Art Hall said they play enough as it is. Florence Hall adds that members are tied to the band – it’s just a fun activity, she said. “This band is exciting,” Cullin said. “It’s a get-your-adrenaline-pumping kind of thing.”

The Swingers raise money for local fundraisers, and sometimes they collect money to buy uniforms. Art and Florance Hall are dressed in the latest uniform - purple button shirts and embroidered black vests. Florance said it’s great she can be in the band with her husband. The two met at a dance in Boise the summer of 1935 and married two years later. “We took our vows seriously. It’s a lifetime or no other way,” Florence said. “And it just got deeper, and we remained friends.”

The Halls marked their 70th wedding anniversary last month, and celebrated with what else? A party featuring a performance by the Heatherwood Swingers