Manhasset residents, alumni and sports fans placed dozens of online bids this month as the Manhasset Athletic Booster Club concluded its latest auction of retired Manhasset Indians and M-feather–logo athletic items on Sunday, Dec. 7.
The sale, hosted through Manhasset-based Culper’s Online Auctions & Estate Sales, offered retired sports uniforms, folding chairs, coolers, signs and other memorabilia no longer in use as the district continues transitioning from the longtime Indians mascot to the newly adopted “Set” team name.
The change came after the state Education Department banned Indigenous team names, mascots and logos in public schools on May 3, 2023. Districts must comply by the end of the 2024–2025 school year or risk losing state funding.
Following the state mandate, the Manhasset Board of Education approved a resolution to adopt the new rule and created a 30-member committee of parents, students, alumni, staff and community members to guide the selection of a new team name. After community involvement, the school’s “Indian” mascot was replaced by just the school’s name, “Manhasset,” or abbreviated to “Set.”
“We were thrilled to offer the Manhasset community the opportunity to purchase a piece of Manhasset history once again, while raising money to support Manhasset athletics,” booster club co-presidents Missy Leder and Amy Keogh said in a statement ahead of the auction’s close.
With roughly 50 items sold in this sale, the total number of memorabilia pieces auctioned over the past year has now topped 200. Folding chairs, varsity football jerseys and signs featuring the retired feather logo were among the most sought-after pieces. All proceeds benefited the booster club and its support of student-athletes.
Culper’s founder Lisa Grygiel, who grew up in Manhasset and previously worked in art galleries and auction houses, said the auction format was a natural fit for the community and for the memorabilia.
“When I opened this company, I focused on helping families in the area sell collections, so when the Booster Club approached us, it made sense,” Grygiel said. “The auction format is lively, it generates competition, and it’s a lot more fun than sorting through bins in a gymnasium.”
Grygiel said the online platform broadened participation well beyond what an in-person sale could have achieved.
“We were able to reach alumni, older generations, younger generations — even kids in the high school were scrolling on their phones looking at what was available,” she said. “The reach was so much broader than a one-day on-site sale. Everything was beautifully presented, and people around the country could be nostalgic and take part.”
Christine Schwartz, marketing director for Culper’s, said each auction features a new mix of items as the athletic department retires uniforms sport by sport.
“Every time a team receives new uniforms, the old Indians sets are handed off for auction,” Schwartz said. “It’s been a nostalgic and fun way for the community to reconnect with items they remember wearing or seeing around the school.”
She said many families purchased items as gifts for current or former athletes, while others bid on signs and chairs to decorate home gyms or basements.
Schwartz credited the continued enthusiasm to a strong partnership among the Booster Club, Manhasset athletics and Culper’s, which promoted the sale through targeted mailers, Instagram posts and community outreach.
“It’s really become a great community event,” she said. “Instead of discarding uniforms and signs that can’t be used anymore, we’re giving them back to the people who value them most.”
