ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 24, 1996 TAG: 9612240069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
Q99 AND LOWE'S RAISED $1,170 for the Salvation Army from the auction of six Elmos and other donations. .
As the "Mission Impossible" theme blasted from loudspeakers, a shiny red Wells Fargo armored truck pulled into the Lowe's parking lot. The Elmos had arrived.
A moment of awe came over the crowd Monday as it took in the sight of the biggest conglomeration of Tickle Me Elmos that Roanoke has seen in recent months. Six of the elusive dolls - count them, six! - stood tantalizingly in their gleaming white boxes, waiting to utter "That Tickles!" for a friendly poke in the tummy - and a high bid.
Five of the fuzzy red giggling Muppets were sold and one was given away at the Tickle Me Elmo Auction sponsored by 99.1 WSLQ (Q99) and Lowe's on the day before Christmas Eve. All proceeds went to the local Salvation Army.
"It was a 'Mission Impossible' getting these things," Q99 disc jockey Dick Daniels quipped to the crowd. "In fact, I can't divulge how we got these because I would probably be getting several department store employees in trouble if I did."
Not too many parents have been as tickled as Elmo this holiday season. Parents across the nation have been looking high and low for Elmo, who retails for $25 to $30, but he has been in such short supply that scalpers are reportedly selling the Sesame Street doll for as much as $500 to $1,000. In fact, Q99 sold an Elmo doll donated by a listener for $400 during a call-in charity auction last week.
Despite expectations of national debt-size bids, the auction may have ended up the best bargain for parents who were willing to pay significantly more than retail for Elmo. The dolls offered Monday sold for as low as $120.
For some parents, such as Roanoke housewife Elizabeth Gray, Monday's auction was a last-ditch try. She and her 1-year-old son, Jessie, were first in line to register for the free Elmo.
"I started looking for Tickle Me Elmo in August. I couldn't find it anywhere," she said. "He cried for one in Wal-Mart. I even called to the manufacturer to find out where they were going to be shipping them to this year, but they said they weren't shipping any more until after Christmas."
Others at Monday's auction came out of curiosity, wanting nothing more than a glimpse of the fabled vibrating toy.
"I'm really just trying to figure out what the hype is about. No toy is that valuable," said Patricia Hammond, a grandmother and retired schoolteacher from Roanoke County. "That money should be put in a college fund. It makes me wonder if people have more dollars than sense."
Holly Peterson, a student at Virginia Western Community College, echoed Hammond's thoughts as she waited for a chance to bid on the dolls for her nieces and nephews. "I can't believe one toy is this out-of-hand," she said. "But I guess the Cabbage Patch dolls were like this too, years ago."
Dale Moore from Natural Bridge snagged the first Elmo at the auction for his 7-year-old daughter, Darnell, with a bid of $130. "I've been looking for it for a right good while," Moore said. "I couldn't find it anywhere, so when I heard about this, I figured I'd come here."
Herman Schaal, a retired Sam's Wholesale Club employee from Roanoke, prompted some grumbling from other bidders when he got two Elmos for his grandchildren, Taylor, 1, and Bethany, 3. He paid $120 and $135. "I'm happy to get the second one, and I'm going to see about the third one for my wife," Schaal said, but he was outbid.
Elmo definitely is on the Christmas list of kids of all ages. Mike Semones of Roanoke bought one for $120 for his wife. Annette Waldron of Roanoke, who works for Hollins College and collects dolls, paid the most for her Elmo, $155.
But when it came time to raffle the free doll, fate smiled on one of the little Elmo fans. Eight-year-old Andrew Secrist, a second-grader at Penn Forest Elementary, won the toy. As he dodged television cameras to accept his prize, he looked like Charlie after finding the golden ticket in the Wonka bar. "I never thought about getting one," he said timidly. "I didn't think I was going to win."
But many parents and kids, like Gray and her son, walked away from the auction Elmo-less. "I'm not going that high," Gray said of the bidding. "I'll just wait till they get back on the shelves."
Elmo or not, many families should have a merrier Christmas because of the auction. From the sale of the Elmos and other donations, Q99 and Lowe's raised $1,170 for the Salvation Army.
"I had hoped we would raise more," Daniels, the disc jockey, said, "But it's great to be able to hand over almost $1,200 to the Salvation Army, because that's $1,200 more that can go toward helping needy people around here to have a good Christmas."
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON Staff 1. Eight-year-old Andrew Secrist, aby CNBsecond-grader at Penn Forest Elementary, won one of the Muppets.
color
2. Auctioneer Trae Willis calls off a Tickle Me Elmo doll shown by
Q99's Q-bear. color.
3. Herman Schaal bought two Elmo dolls (for $120 and $135) for his
granddaughters Taylor, 1, and Bethany, 3.