Auction to help group's cause

The effort to save Mount Prospect's 1896-vintage one-room schoolhouse is at a fever pitch.

On Friday, an auction will be held on the upstairs level of Bogie's Ale House 303 E. Kensington Road, Mount Prospect.

The event will include a Pizza Buffet for $10 per person from 6 to 9:30 p.m., musical entertainment provided by a DJ from 9:30 p.m. until midnight and silent auctions that include everything from vintage decorated school chairs to pictures autographed by celebrities.

The school chairs were decorated by such groups as Mount Prospect Public Works Department and St. Raymond's School.

Six of them are on display at the Mount Prospect Public Library until Thursday. These include desks designed by: Officer Friendly of the Mount Prospect Police Department, St. Raymond's School, Sally Tibbitts, Mel Blomberg, Nancy Fisk, and the village of Mount Prospect Public Works Department.

The celebrity silent auction will feature autographed cards collected by the Mount Prospect Historical Society and the Mount Prospect Library Foundation.

"We have amassed quite a collection ranging from presidential candidate John McCain to movie star Kevin Costner and from game show host Bob Barker to documentary film maker Ken Burns," said Gavin Kleespies, executive director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. "In fact, we have a complete, signed set of Ken Burns' groundbreaking Civil War documentary.

"We will also be auctioning over 100 items of sports memorabilia including signed White Sox and Cubs jerseys, footballs signed by the Bears, signed Wolves hockey pucks and more. Rounding out the auction will be an auction of school chairs that have been decorated by local artists and village notables. This will be a huge auction with literally everything from Elijah Wood to Tiger Woods," Kleespies added.

For more information, click on www.yourcentralschool.org or call the historical society at (847) 392-9006.