MOUNT VERNON — One could almost hear the crunch when 92-year-old Britta Bridges displayed her crunchy caramel apple pie at the annual Kiwanis pie auction on Saturday.
Wendi Fowler paid $500 for the privilege of tasting that crunch, which included a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice in a flaky butter-flavored Crisco crust baked in a Hull Brown pottery plate.
Bridges, who baked her first pie as a teenager, baked this one on behalf of Mount Vernon Nazarene University. She was a founding staff member of MVNU, serving as assistant to the registrar and director of student financial aid.
“I am a pie baker. I do it at home, and I love to bake pies. Sometimes, I give them away,” Bridges said.
“I grew up in a large family, number 10 out of 11, and I did a lot of cooking.”
Bridges said she found the crunchy caramel apple pie recipe in a book, and it looked good.
However, she confided that before she puts the top crust on the pie, she sprinkles lemon juice over the apples.
Bridges’ husband, Bill, attests to the quality of his wife’s crunchy caramel apple pie.
“It is outstanding,” he said.
He stopped short of saying it is his favorite.
“It’s one of them. You know, pecan, lemon meringue, coconut cream … All of those are good,” he said with a grin.
He also noted he helped Britta by operating the apple peeler core slicer and picking the apples.
The auction took place on Public Square during the Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival and netted $4,910.
Auction proceeds will go to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library through the United Way of Knox County. The Kiwanis Club of Mount Vernon commits $4,000 annually to children’s literacy through the program.
Buyers come up big for children’s literacy
Auctioneer David McDowell kicked off the bidding at 3:30 p.m. In addition to Bridges’ pie, other pie donors and buyers include:
•Central Ohio Technical College, American apple pie: Kathy White, $200.
•Crystal Snell-Tomes/eMerge, triple berry pie on a serving tray featuring “A Book of Pie”: Greg Galieti, $460.
•ACS Title Services, Dutch apple caramel: Mike Copley/CES Credit Union, $450.
•CES Credit Union, cherry pie displayed on a wood cake stand that doubles as a charcuterie board: ACS Title & Closing Services, $250
•Happy Bean, gluten-free maple pecan: Jackie K’s Vintage & Venue, $200.
•Ohio Eastern Star Home, homegrown black raspberry: Cliff Ruggles/Cliff’s High Performance.
•Knox County Career Center, famous pecan pie: Wendi Fowler, $500.
•Kenyon College, strawberry rhubarb: Jackie K’s Vintage & Venue, $550.
•Mount Vernon Nazarene University, strawberry rhubarb: The Ruckman Group auctions & Appraisals, $200.
•Nancy Jo Todd, apple cranberry crisp in an antique Fire King casserole: Diane Henwood, $200.
•Park National Bank, blueberry pie with engraved pie plate: The Ruckman Group Auctions & Appraisals, $300.
•United Way of Knox County, peachy pie: Miller Electric Solutions, $250.
•Mount Vernon City Schools, strawberry: Alice Hutzel/Knox Community Hospital, $200.
David McDowell Auctioneer bought CenterWell Home Health’s strawberry and Reeses cream pies for $300. The strawberry cream pie resold for $150 to Jackie K’s Vintage & Venue.
(Below are Cheryl Splain’s photos of the auction.)
