Every year the town of Lyle does something extraordinary in the fight against cancer.

Watch out, cancer. The Lyle Area Cancer Auction is back for round 33.

“We’re investing in a cure,” said Larry Ricke, co-chairman of the Lyle Area Cancer Auction Committee.

Every year, communities come together in Lyle to raise money and fight cancer at places like the Mayo Clinic, the Hormel Institute and the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Center.

“It’s like no other auction,” Ricke said. “It’s not a boring auction.”

The auction starts around 6 p.m. Jan. 13. It breaks around midnight before bidding picks back up around 11:30 a.m. Saturday Jan. 14. Bidding continues until the last item is sold — typically around 2 a.m. Sunday. The money earned is pledged to the Eagles Cancer Telethon in Rochester on Sunday.

After raising well more than a million dollars in its 30-plus years, auction volunteers rarely have a goal in mind. Every little bit helps.

“If we’ve made $1, that’s 1 closer to a cure,” said Teresa Slowinski, who serves as co-chair for the auction with her husband, Russ.

Still, Ricke said the auction is well on its way to another strong year. Lyle Area Cancer isn’t just an auction. It’s a conglomeration of mutiple events throughout the year, like Red White and Pink, the Halfway to January Cancer Bash, the Farmboy Barbecue, Cruise for the Cure, Crop for a Cure, an iPad raffle, Cans for Cancer and the Lucille Johnson Pool Tournament.

So far, the earnings from the events have been strong.

“Every event was very successful,” he added.

In fact, only about $46,000 of last year’s roughly $138,000 earnings came from the January auction, according to Ricke.

Slowinski described auction week as the “homerun stretch,” a she said it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the auction.

“I’ve watched a jar of pickles sell for $600,” she said.

Last year, an auctioneer literally sold the shirt off her 14-year-old son’s back. Matthew Slowinski’s blue Lyle Area Cancer sweatshirt was auctioned off for $70.

Still going strong

For years, organizers and volunteers have worried the difficult economy would detract from auction totals.

But to everyone’s pleasant surprise, the auction’s continued growing. Ricke attributed the success to the fact that everyone has been touched by cancer in some way.

“I have not met one person who has not been touched by cancer,” he said.

Along with a dedicated core that makes up the auction’s committee, Ricke said he estimated at least 600 people from the area have helped or volunteered in some way.

“We’re very thankful for everybody that helps,” he said.

Ricke also said help from area businesses that donate their time and work to the auction is extremely important.

“We can’t stress how thankful we are for it,” he said.

Each year, the hope is to help someone suffering from cancer. Slowinski said she knows people who wouldn’t have survived cancer and lived the life they do now without the medical advancements of the last 20 years.

“We’ve seen so much advancement in the technology,” she said.

The Hormel Institute has been a great asset for auction officials. The Institute, which is one of many organizations that benefits from the earnings, has been willing to help the auction however possible.

“It’s telling me that we’re doing something right,” Ricke said of the partnership with the Institute.

Ricke said people should take advantage of the facility whenever it’s open for a tour or similar event.

“If you don’t know anything about cancer, it will wake you up,” he said.

Ricke urged people to come out to an auction like none other. Ricke said people tell him they’ll never miss an auction again after coming for the first time.

“They’ve been there once they’re hooked and they will not miss another one,” he said. “I feel sorry for the people who can’t come.”