‘Scrappers’ gather to honor old friend

HUMBOLDT — Crafters galore gathered Saturday in memory of Kathy Young at the annual “Scrapping for Kathy” craft fest held at Humboldt High School.
Proceeds from the event will fund scholarships for HHS seniors seeking to further their education. There are no other requirements for students to be eligible for the assistance. 
“Every senior should apply for this scholarship,” said Young’s daughter, Sheila Fitzmaurice.
The size of the scholarships vary depending upon the amount of money raised. However, eight years after Young died from bone marrow cancer, the event continues to grow.
This year’s event was the biggest one yet, with 97 advance registrations, according to Glenda Aikins-Hill, founder of the event and a friend to Young.
“Thus far we have awarded over $16,000 worth of scholarships in my mom’s memory,”  said Young’s daughter, Karen Cornish.
The event honored Young’s three greatest passions: family, scrapbooking and students. A former HHS business teacher, Young was passionate about student learning.
“She saw positive in every student,” Fitzmaurice said. “It didn’t matter if you were an athlete, if you were a major troublemaker — my mom just never had a negative thought or word about anybody.”
The event, catered by Stacy Cakes, included raffles, crafts classes, a massage booth and a silent auction and involved the participation of several of Young’s family members, including children and grandchildren. The first two years of the event were attended by Young’s husband, Charles Young, who passed away in 2015.
Young was a scrapbook virtuoso and often created unique pages. A favorite of both her daughters is the page depicting monumental moments in their brother’s life, modeled after the board game “Life.”
“It was really cute and unique,” Cornish said.
Another of Cornish’s favorites is a cornucopia exhibiting photos of family members in place of produce.  
“These are things she liked to do,” Aikins-Hill said. “We used to go to events like this.They were so much fun and the social things you gain from it are precious.”
 Young was a very modest person who was known to get really tickled at times. One fond memory Fitzmaurice has is of the day she and Young were getting out of the car when suddenly Young came up missing.
“She got out and slipped completely under the car,” Fitzmaurice said laughing.
But Young will best be remembered as the modest, compassionate, creative and composed person that she was, Aikins-Hill said. 
“I think she would really be overwhelmed” (by this event), Cornish said. “She would be humbled by it. It would be something that, if it was for a friend of her’s, she would totally support.”