Colfax boy’s rooster sold 11 times at Dunn County fair auction to raise more than $1,500 for juvenile diabetes

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE  — “Going once! Going twice! Sold!”

Usually the  phrase is heard only once at an auction, but John Riebe of Colfax, who sold his rooster at the Dunn County Fair’s small animal auction July 29, heard the phrase a grand total of 11 times.

That’s right — 11.

Riebe, a member of the Colfax Comets 4-H Club, donated the proceeds from selling his rooster to the Cammie Johnson Juvenile Diabetes Concert.

The bird was listed on the auction bill as a “barnyard cockerel.”

The concert, scheduled in September, will raise money for juvenile diabetes education, for nursing or medical school scholarships and to help area residents with diabetes supplies.

All together, the sale of John Riebe’s rooster raised $1,575.

The proceeds from the sale of other poultry, amounting to a little over $2,000, also was donated for the Cammie Johnson Juvenile Diabetes Concert.

A Grand Champion four-month old white tom turkey offered by Sam and Gracie Steinmeyer of Menomonie sold for $1,600 to Vets Plus.

Rylan Maves of Elk Mound sold his Yokohama rooster for $200 to C R Cooks Construction.

Kamdon Quast of Colfax sold his Welsh Harlequin duck for $150 to Pure Pride Show Cattle.

Kyah Quast of Colfax sold her runner duck for $70 to Last Chance Acres.

Proceeds from the small animal auction donated to the Cammie Johnson Juvenile Diabetes Concert amounted to $3,595 all together.

The sale of John Riebe’s rooster started with Pure Pride Show Cattle buying it for $150. Pure Pride donated it back right away to be sold again.

Bill Miller purchased the rooster next for $150, and then donated it back.

The third purchaser was C R Cooks Construction, which purchased the rooster for $100 and also donated it back.

The fourth purchaser was Red Cedar Chiropractic for $200, and the fifth purchaser was Troy Steinmeyer for $150.

The sixth buyer of the rooster was Bruce Villeneuve/Red Cedar Landscape for $225, and the seventh buyer was the Zanzibar Restaurant for $200, while the eighth buyer was Ben Powers Hoof Trimming for $200.

The ninth buyer was Lee Real Estate and Auction Services for $100, and the tenth buyer was Bill Miller for $50.

The eleventh and final buyer of the rooster bought it for $50 but was only identified by the buyer’s number and not by name.

Robin Johnson, chair of the Cammie Johnson Juvenile Diabetes Concert, said that so far, $41,000 has been distributed in scholarships for area high school students planning to go to nursing school or medical school.

Cammie Johnson was Robin Johnson’s step-daughter and was the daughter of Mark Johnson, owner of Zanzibar Restaurant and Pub in Menomonie, and Lori Johnson of Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Cammie was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was ten years old, and she died of diabetes complications just five days before her 21st birthday, Robin Johnson said.

Proceeds from the concert also will be used for scholarships to send youngsters to “diabetic” camps, she said.

In addition, the concert proceeds provide financial support for people who need help purchasing diabetic medical supplies, Johnson said.

The Cammie Johnson organization currently works through the Medicine Shoppe of Menomonie to help people with their supplies, but Robin Johnson said she is hoping to expand the opportunity to other communities in the area.

The Cammie Johnson Juvenile Diabetes Concert is scheduled for Saturday, September 9, at the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts in Menomonie.

For more information about tickets for the concert, visit — http://www.mabeltainter.org/theater_events.phtml and go to the September calendar.

The event is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and will offer “food, auctions and lively entertainment.”