Robert and Goldie Lambright Chair in Nursing

Robert and Goldie Lambright both grew up in the Shipshewana, Indiana area. After they were married in 1948, they began farming the Lambright family farm and raising a family – three girls and two boys. On the farm Bob applied the management skills he had learned from his father.

In 1963 Bob developed severe back problems which limited his farming. As a result he began selling insurance. He continued to do light farm work, hiring out most of the chores and selling insurance on a part-time basis in the evening. The Lambrights moved into Shipshewana in 1976. The next year they bought Shipshewana Auction with their two sons, Keith and Kevin as equal partners. In its first three years, it tripled in size. On any Tuesday or Wednesday during the summer, attendance at the flea market can number from 20,000 to 30,000 persons. As many as 25 to 3O tour buses crowd the parking lot. The largest attendance ever recorded was 40,000 on July 4 several years ago.

As a child Goldie dreamed of being a nurse and although she never had the opportunity to obtain a degree, she never gave up her interest in nursing. For a period of time she volunteered as a grey lady at the hospital. “This was a way for me to keep alive my interest in the field,” she said.