Organizers did a bang-up job with Fort Ligonier’s Cannon Ball, securing 450 RSVPs for the annual fundraiser.
There was plenty to draw a crowd to the Sept. 20 event, not least the prospect of bidding on a rare 1911 bottle of Old Overholt Rye during the live auction.
For those not in the know, Old Overholt was made at the West Overton distillery in East Huntingdon once owned by Henry Clay Frick and the Mellon family.
Not as rare but perhaps more intriguing to some in the crowd, auction items also included a stay at a coastal retreat in Nags Head, N.C., an end table created by Ligonier master woodworker Paul Sirofchuck and a four-night trip for two to Ireland’s Drumoland Castle.
Priming the crowd was the music of the Pittsburgh-area Wayward Companions, an ensemble playing tunes popular in 18th-century parlors and taverns. The group also plays for the fort’s annual Twelfth Night gala.
Cocktails served by Matt Wolff and Don Kramer also might have loosened a few purse strings. Hors d’oeuvres were courtesy of Vallozzi’s.
Welcoming guests were the fort’s interim Executive Director, Henry Scully, and president of the board of trustees, Richard Danforth. Cannon Ball committee chairwoman was Pamela Wolff.
Committee members included Pamela Anderson, Janice and Joe Byers, Carl Campbell, Katie DeMayo, Linda Ferry, Jill Frey, Stacy Gongaware, Janice and Steve Gooder, Anne Haines, Nancy Heider, Patti Jacobina, Kim Kramer, Sandy Morgan, Margie Morris, Helene Paharik, Jo Rossi, Lynn Scalise, Janet Seifert, Ruthie Stewart, Annie Urban, Sally Van Ingen, Stephanie Van Norman and Molly Walton.
And the Old Overholt? It went for $5,500 to a high bidder whose name was not immediately available, according to Julie Donovan, the fort’s director of marketing and public relations.
