Fulton (WSYR-TV) - Going once, going twice, sold -- those are the words people heard inside the First Congregational Church in Fulton Tuesday as the church auctioned off every item it had before the building is torn down this summer.
While it was a bargain hunter's paradise for some, it was also a slow, painful goodbye for church trustee Jan Mileskey.
The church, more than 100 years old, has been a staple in Mileskey's family for five generations -- but when membership started to wane and money got short, the church made the tough decision to close.
Many of the items inside the church, located at the corner of West First Street and Broadway, are quite valuable. For instance, all of the stained glass windows sold for about $25,000 Tuesday, but they're actually worth more than $100,000.
Still, Mileskey has a tough time putting a price tag on anything there; to him, the true value is in what the church meant to him, his family and the community.
“If we had this many people in church, we would still be open,” he said, referring to the amount of people there for the auction.
The First Congregational Church has decided to donate the funds raised from the auction to Operation Southern Comfort, an organization that builds homes in New Orleans.
The church is scheduled to be torn down in mid-June.
