Kristi Palmer, Meg Muir, Joy Sheppard and Tina Graham at WKDK.
Courtesy photo
NEWBERRY — Miracles do happen, they just don’t always happen the way we think they will or in the places we imagine they will. Newberry saw a miracle in May.
Newberry has always been known as “The City of Friendly Folks,” but many could argue that Newberry should be known as The City of Good People.
In May of 2023, Meg Muir had a stroke at home. She made a couple of calls and left garbled messages for friends before she called 911. Somehow, the 911 operator and Newberry Fire Department tracked Muir, an employee of WKDK, down to her home and was able to transport her to Lexington Medical Center.
That was when the miracle started.
Several of Muir’s friends collaborated to set up a funding site, as well as asking local vendors and downtown Newberry businesses to contribute to a silent auction. In three days’ time, they had over 80 gifts for the silent auction. The gifts of antique pieces, photographs and quilts, bourbon, sports tickets, gift certificates and covered tables. The time and place of the “Newberry Loves Meg Muir Auction” was spread on Facebook, in an interview with Jimmie Coggins on WKDK the day of the auction, and by word of mouth.
At 4 p.m., the auction was set up by friends on the middle floor of Many Moons Artistry, who just had their soft opening. Tables were arranged by friends and bidding sheets were laid out. By 5:30 p.m., the place started to buzz with conversation and people mingling, talking, greeting old friends, and making new ones. Everyone asked about Muir and people began bidding.
What started as a trickle grew and grew until people who didn’t know Muir were bidding for something that caught their attention. Everyone wanted to help her. By 9:30 p.m., the bidding was closed and people started to check out. And that’s when the miracle grew more.
There was a jar on the table that was being used for those who wanted to donate, but didn’t do it online. As people brought their winning bids and items to the table and began to pay, one of the most humbling things happened. People put the change in the jar. Some of those extra donations were $20 and $30 over what they had bid for and won.
Worn out, hot and tired, Muir’s friends agreed to put all the proceeds in a safe and come together in the morning for an official count. However, online fundraising was still open, and it didn’t stop when the auction stopped.
Two days later, Muir was told that the people of Newberry had raised over $11,000 for her. While she still couldn’t speak well, tears ran down her face and she clearly said: “I can’t believe it. I’m so humbled.”
Two months later, at Muir’s home, a service man fixing an appliance looked at her and said, “Are you ‘The Meg’?” As she stopped to answer he explained, “I was at your silent auction. I didn’t know you, but I bid on some things.” She was “The Meg.”
The collaborators still talk and remember the awe they felt when the good people of Newberry created a miracle in “The City of Friendly Folks.”