Homesteader Museum raises thousands from generous pie auction bidders

Posted 9/13/22

When little Ruby Hopkin-Gilbert carefully walked through the crowd with a lemon meringue pie in her tiny hands, it brought a flurry of bids and a collective smile to the faces of those in attendance …

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Homesteader Museum raises thousands from generous pie auction bidders

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When little Ruby Hopkin-Gilbert carefully walked through the crowd with a lemon meringue pie in her tiny hands, it brought a flurry of bids and a collective smile to the faces of those in attendance at Saturday’s Homesteader Museum annual pie auction.

The pie was a masterpiece, cooked by her mother Tori Hopkin-Gilbert — granddaughter of Powell’s famed pie-maker Ruby Hopkin, who died in 2019. 

Tori learned to bake pies from her grandmother, who turned a pie into a verb.

“She loved to pie,” Tori said as she addressed the crowd ready to bid for the first pie on the auction block; a beautiful cream cheese brownie creation by Sheri Gifford.

“She loved high bidders,” she continued. “Nothing flattered her more than people willing to bid hundreds of dollars on her pies. So this is such a special way to honor her memory.”

Though no longer living in Powell, Tori was able to bring her entire family to the Homesteader Days event to help raise much needed funds for the city’s historical museum. Every curl in the meringue on her tall pie was perfect and the crust appeared to be as crispy as a winter morning in the mountains.

She was worried about getting a good price for the pie because her biggest fan couldn’t make it to the auction this year.

“My dad [Fred Hopkin] always bought the pie I made,” she said.

Her grandmother found joy in serving the community, Tori said. She served food to her neighbors until the day she died. She made a big fried chicken dinner for her church that day while she was bleeding internally. Afterwards, she cleaned up and went to the hospital.

“Cooking was her love language,” Tori said. “On her death day and birthday [anniversaries], we make cookies for our neighbors,” she said.

What Tori didn’t know was that her husband, Chris Gilbert, made the winning bid of $360 for the work of art created with her heaping helping of love. But neither the pie nor the money used to buy it was Chris’. Fred had asked him to buy his daughter’s pie because he couldn’t make it to the auction, but he wanted to carry on the family tradition of supporting the museum.

“It tasted as good as it looked,” Fred said.

It was the top money-making pie sold at the event.

Museum Executive Director Brandi Wright made two pies for the first time since taking over the position from Rowene Weems, who began the tradition.

“This is her vision. And I’m honored to carry it on,” she said while nervously waiting for the auction to begin.

Wright made two “rustic” strawberry rhubarb pies for the event. One was gluten-free — a kind gesture to Steve Bailey, president of the Homesteader Museum Association Board, who is gluten intolerant. Both pies sold for about $200.

“Homesteader Days is about community. It’s about agriculture. It’s about the farmer and its hometown nostalgia that people continue to hold onto,” Wright said, adding “It displays our pride. That’s our main goal.”

Combined with Friday’s Farm to Table dinner, the festival and pie auction —which is held adjacent to the Ruby Hopkin Memorial Garden — helps keep the museum strong, Wright said. The pies are donated from some of the area’s top cooks, like Gifford.

“It makes me feel good. It really does,” Gifford said. “It just gives me satisfaction to help the community.” 

For decades Gifford has been sharing her mastery in the kitchen with the community, including in the school system. She said the secret to her yummy creations is simple; “They are my mother’s recipes,” she said of Bonnie Hiller, who passed away in 2013.

“I try them and people like them, so I just keep making them. But that’s not really a secret,” she said with a grin.

Several entries in the auction were donations from Denise Laursen’s top students in her family and consumer science culinary class at Powell High School.

Larry French sat in the front row of the auction, clutching a stack of 50-dollar-bills in his meaty paw. His goal was a blueberry pie. 

“I hope I can get one for about $100,” he said before the bidding started.

He misjudged the intensity of the bidding war that would rage over the fruit pastry, but he won. He wasn’t in much of a sharing mood, paying his bill and quickly disappearing with the delightful creation in his hands before the auction was over and his friends could find a fork.

The museum raised about $3,500 from the auction, topping last year’s total of about $2,750.

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