BARSTOW • Larry Collins has paid top dollar for Christmas trees for the past several years. Just how much has he paid? A few years ago, Collins, a sales manager at Valley Ace Lumber & Hardware, shelled out $2,500 as the highest bidder during an auction at the Toys for Tots Telethon. And he plans on bidding again this weekend. For Collins, it isn’t about a special tree so much as it is about a special cause.

This Saturday, telethon volunteers will fire up the phone lines and take auction bids at the Elks Lodge as it opens its doors to the community to help collect toys and raise money for chidrens’ gifts this Christmas through Toys for Tots. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., where event organizers invite the community to enjoy live music by The Boogiemen and Bob Fogle as well as take pictures with Santa Claus. All that, of course, comes second to the main focus of the event: collecting toys and fundraising through phone pledges and auctions.

It’s a cause that Mal and Connie Wessel, as president and coordinator of Toys for Tots, respectively, have championed for almost three decades. The popular local event consistently draws a crowd, particularly with hot auction items like cars, a barbecue grill, a pet bird, and, of course, a nine-foot Christmas tree decked with bows and 1,700 lights as goods up for grabs this year. And Collins will be keeping an eye on that tree.

“There’s only two years I haven’t got it,” Collins said. He’ll face stiff competition from Jim and Donna Eicher, who also will be keeping a watchful eye on that tree. For the past seven or eight years, the Eichlers have given Collins a run for his money.

“It’s turned into a friendly bidding war,” said Jim Eicher, owner of H & B Refrigeration & Services.

This Saturday marks the Wessels’ 30th telethon, as well as their last. Mal Wessel has seen the fundraising event through good times and tough times and said he expects a solid turnout this year, despite hard economic times. He said he fully expects to meet the goal of a combination of either 6,000 toys or $60,000.

“Barstow will come through, there’s no doubt about it,” Wessel said. “Somebody will reach into their pocket and dig a little deeper.”

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com

When: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Elks Lodge, 1501 W. Main St.
What: Auctions, live performances by local musicians, and free photos with Santa
Watch: Time Warner Cable Channel 6
Contact: To participate in the telethon, call 256-TOYS