Rails to Trails Auction set for June 13 at Harvest Ridge

The 21st annual Holmes County Rails to Trails Benefit Auction will be held Saturday, June 13 at Harvest Ridge, 8880 state Route 39, one mile west of Millersburg.

According to Jen Halverson, Holmes County Park District director and Rails to Trails Coalition director, the Holmes County Rails to Trails Auction is a slice of Holmes County at its best.

From community-made furniture and tools to local food, the auction offers a part of every community in Holmes County. The auction was founded to help the Rails to Trails Coalition develop and maintain the trail that aids safer and more scenic travel through Holmes County.

As the director of the Holmes County Rails to Trails Coalition, Halverson said, “We are extremely grateful for all our volunteers and donors and everyone who comes out to support the trail, as it would not be possible without their support. It takes a village to host this event, and it takes an entire community to support the auction.”

Halverson said Harvest Ridge is a perfect location for the event, offering plenty of vehicle parking space while also offering designated areas for hitching horses, parking buggies and even e-bike charging stations.

The auction has partnered with Pomerene Hospital to offer a shuttle service from the Millersburg Depot to the location of the auction, Harvest Ridge. This service allows commuters to avoid traveling on state Route 39 if they wish not to. The shuttle service, provided by Pomerene Hospital, will start leaving from the Millersburg Depot at 7:30 a.m. The service will shuttle auction attendees between Harvest Ridge and the Millersburg Depot throughout the day. Parking for buggies and bikes will be available at the Millersburg Depot.

The auction also provides a variety of ways to arrive. Those wishing to go the entire way to Harvest Ridge via bike or buggy may use the bridge on the Holmes County Trail across the Killbuck Creek to the old fairgrounds.

A path will be laid out with signage through the old fairgrounds to County Road 349, which will lead to state Route 39. Then Harvest Ridge is only 0.6 of a mile on state Route 39.

The auction will offer plenty of space to park vehicles, harness buggies and horses, and charge e-bikes.

The auction will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will include locally made furniture, quilts, plants, lawn mowers, grills, tools, a swing set and buggies. Beginning at 12:30 p.m., the specialty items will hit the auction block including a white oak timber frame pavilion, an 8-by-10-foot greenhouse and a 24-foot grain bin gazebo.

As a bonus the purchaser of the timber frame pavilion can purchase one of two sizes: either a 12-by-16-foot or a larger 16-by-24-foot pavilion.

“If someone has a bigger space, they can opt for the larger one,” Halverson said.

Another option during the auction is the return of the “build your own bedroom set.” This one was so popular last year the auction committee decided to up the ante and add a second one, a “build your own dining room set.”

“This was such a great idea that we wondered why we haven’t done this all along,” Halverson said. “This allows the buyer to pick out certain wood species, stains and styles so it perfectly fits their décor.”

She said for those who want to take something home that day, there will be plenty of fine furniture on the block as well.

The day’s events also will include a locally made light breakfast and a bake sale, but the big meal deal is the popular barbecue chicken dinner, which comes complete with noodles, ice cream and plenty of fixings. The dinner is either dine-in or carryout.

There also will be a silent auction stretching across most of the day, ending at 1 p.m.

Since last year’s auction, the coalition has completed a stretch of 4 miles of the trail from Glenmont to state Route 520, moving one step closer to finalizing its goal of a trail across Holmes County.

The coalition now has zeroed in on its final phase, with work on the portion of trail near Killbuck being the final piece of the puzzle.

“It’s 4 miles, but because a portion of the trail travels along established roadways, it’s about 3 miles of trail we have to complete, but we’re very excited to be approaching this final step in the trail,” Halverson said. “We can now set our sights on this final major project that will build upon the scenic environment the trail already offers.”

For more information call the Holmes County Trail at 330-674-0475, email holmesrailstotrails@gmail.com or visit www.holmescountytrail.org. All proceeds benefit the Holmes County Rails to Trails Coalition and support the ongoing year-round maintenance and development of the Holmes County Trail.