Hope Moural/SCi
From left, Jeanne Jeary, Jeanne Gee and Virginia Cattle reminisce on their years serving at the Seward United Methodist Church’s annual bazaar. Ruth Downing is not pictured.
The Seward United Methodist Church held its 67th annual fall bazaar Nov. 9-10. The Seward County Independent spoke with a few members who founded the event: Virginia Cattle, Jeanne Jeary and Ruth Downing.
The three women are members of the Seward United Methodist Church and have been involved with its annual fall bazaar since it began in 1952.
“My husband and I got the idea from a trip we took to Indiana,” Cattle said. “A church there was having a sale and I thought ‘Why can’t we do that?’”
According to church minutes, Cattle made a motion June 19, 1952, to sponsor a Christmas bazaar. It was approved and the church has held it ever since.
Currently, the event is called the “Four Seasons” bazaar.
Jeary said “scrubbies,” balls of tulle used to clean pots and pans, and handmade quilts are staples of the bazaar.
“The littlest thing is the most important,” Cattle said.
A variety of items are sold at the event, including plants, woodwork, baked goods and more.
Downing said she used to provide baked goods and would knit baby clothes to sell.
The Seward United Methodist Women’s Club plans the event year-round, although no official action is taken until the summer before.
Jeanne Gee, a UMC member, said this year there were at least 150 volunteers who helped with the event.
All the money from the bazaar goes to support youth camps, mission outreach and financial needs of the church.
Whatever items are not sold at the bazaar are either given back to the individuals who brought them or donated to Goodwill or another nonprofit.
Jeary, Downing and Cattle said there have been no major changes to the event since 1952. For the most part, each woman has taken a step back from her duties and let members like Gee organize the bazaar.
“It was always a fun time and we always had good people to work with,” Downing said.
