Newark Valley Historical Society to host benefit auction on April 29

The Newark Valley Historical Society will host a benefit auction at the Newark Valley Fire Hall on Saturday, April 29, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; the doors open at 5 p.m.

At the auction will be a wide variety of goods and services, the silent auction, and door prizes. There will also be a variety of desserts available.

After a long hiatus, the Newark Valley Historical Society decided to once again hold the benefit auction. A wide variety of businesses, local farms and individuals are donating over $3,000 of goods and services to help the Society fulfill its mission to preserve the history of Northern Tioga County, and to educate the public regarding its importance.

If you patronize the local restaurants and support small-scale sustainable agriculture, there are a wide variety of offerings. Fifteen different restaurants are offering gift certificates, along with eight different local farms. One of their members is also donating a home-cooked meal for four in her home.

Some of the services offered include sewing, haircuts, lawn care, and craft classes. You can bid on a $100 gift card from Mirabito and $175 worth of photographic work from Animal Images. There will be a wide offering of antiques, collectibles and other such items.

Of special interest are some generously donated gifts from the management of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies to include four tickets, two tee shirts, and an autographed baseball by Max Scherzer. Max, currently playing for the Mets, is one of the outstanding baseball players for the first part of the 21st century. He has also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Detroit Tigers, the Washington Nationals and the LA Dodgers. He has been a MLB All Star 8X, won 3 Cy Young Awards, has two no hitters to his credit, and led the Washington Nationals when they won the World Series in 2019.

He signed with the Nationals for $210 million in 2015. At the time it was the largest deferral in MLB history. On May 11, 2016, he became the youngest pitcher to defeat all 30 MLB teams. On Sept. 12, 2021, he struck out his 3,000th batter. He has been given the nickname “Mad Max” because of his intensity and competitiveness.

His connection with Binghamton came last year when he was pitching for the Rumble Ponies as he recovered from an oblique injury. Sportcasters are already saying that he is a likely candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame when he retires.

Max is part of a list of baseball greats that had some connection to the Binghamton area; others include Babe Ruth (came for a visit), Whitey Ford, Saichel Paige, Bud Fowler, Thurman Munson, Mikey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Ron Luciano, and Billy Martin.

For more information regarding the benefit, visit nvhistory.org, email to nvhistory@stny.rr.com, or call (607) 642-9516.