The Country Auction

When Hubby bought into the insurance agency in 1977 he also became partners in the real-estate and auction company that was part of the business.  Those first few years were full of learning as we all became acquainted with the world of insurance and real estate.  From the first the whole family was enamored with the country auctions.  They were a family affair with the wives and children pitching in to help with the many jobs required to pull off a successful auction.

There aren't as many country auctions today as there were then.  In the early years, the entertainment on about any Saturday was attending a good auction.  Whether it was a farm and machinery auction, estate, or home and contents, people would pile in to see what bargains were to be found, listen to the auctioneer's patter, and visit with neighbors.  Anything and everything would fall under the auctioneers gavel.  You might buy a bucket of nails and bolts, a car, a hay baler, and a set of china all at the same event. 

We all loved helping.  Mostly Hubby and his partners would do the heavy stuff, like lining up the machinery, hauling the furniture out of the house to display in the yard, marking off parking places, placing the household goods and smaller farm items on big farm wagons, as well as, showing the property, advertising, and the thousand of other details.  Occasionally the wives would be called upon to help empty a house and prepare the household goods for display and sale. Mostly though, the kids and I usually only would help on the day of the auction. 

My job was to sit where I could see the crowd, close to the auctioneer,  and write down who bought what and for how much.  This is called "clerking" the sale, a job that became much easier when they started using numbers instead of everyone just calling out their name. I kept them all in stitches with my jumbled up names when I would try to catch what was said when they shouted out the buyers.  It made for more than a few embarrassing moments when they would settle up their bill and try to identify who had bought what.

 Hubby and some of the men would hold up items, if they were small, and take the bids as people nodded, raised a hand, or used other signals to indicate their bids.  The men would then give a shout, or wail, or squeal to indicate they "had" the bid.  Each one used a different sound so the auctioneer would know exactly who had seen the bid. In spite of stories of people bidding against themselves, this crazy system actually helped to prevent this very thing.

The kids would "run" the sheets.  That meant that they would take the list of items that had been sold and who had bought them to the "cashiers".  They in turn would separate the sheets and organize them so customers could quickly pay for their items.  The kids were then free to enjoy the auction until they were needed again.  Often this meant joining in the bidding.  Our son once got carried away and bid $2 on a big stack of water hoses.  He proudly brought them home and stretched them out.  Out of nearly 300 feet of hoses he managed to sort out enough, that didn't leak, to keep us in hoses for several years!

The whole day had a carnival atmosphere with excitement heavy in the air.  People would arrive early to view the items for sale and plan their strategies for acquiring their purchases.  Those interested in the farm or machinery would do some last minute checking and discuss their plans with one of the men. Neighbors and friends would visit and stake out a shady spot to wait for their items of interest to come up for bid.  Kids would roam in packs looking for friends.  Usually a local group would prepare lunch and soon the air would smell of hot dogs and hamburgers, while the crowd was tempted by an array of homemade cakes and cookies. 

The central character in all this hustle would be the auctioneer.  Like the ring-master in a circus his voice would boom out over the loudspeakers, extoling the crowd to "gather around" and "prepare to be amazed"! A good auctioneer had a line of patter much like a stand-up comedian.  He was constantly joking with the crowd, calling out to individuals, and encouraging them to "turn loose of some of that money...after all if you don't spend it your kids will when you're gone!" 

No one was safe from the auctioneer's eagle eye or joshing tongue.  If he spotted two women that were after the same quilt or piece of antique glassware, he would immediately try to start a good-natured bidding war.  "Mable, you can't let her get this prize for such a paltry sum.  You know you would spend twice as much if you bought it new.  Just raise her $5"  Mable would and he would immediately turn to the other lady. "Now, Susie, you aren't going to let her steal this unique piece for that amount.  If you raise her one more time, I'll bet ol' Albert will tell her she can't bid again and you'll have it."  The women would soon be laughing and getting into the spirit of the bidding, calling out "Albert can't tell me what to do!" or "I'm at least going to make her pay for it if she gets it!"  The crowd would laugh and cheer them on until finally, flushed with victory, one would reach out to claim her prize.

A good auction might last all day (or even longer on a few occasions) with the crowd settling in for a day of fun.  The auctioneer would continue to keep the items moving with the workers hustling around seeing that everything was seen and bid on.  Excitement would build as the bigger items sold with everyone straining to see who had purchased the farm, house or tractor.  Interest would peak as smaller items would reveal an especially nice pair of antique crystal candlesticks, a lovely old wedding ring quilt, or a rare treasure like a beautiful, portable wind-up record player in a lovely cherry cabinet.  Treasures would be acquired and some lost to a higher bid, but everyone would leave with a feeling of satisfaction after a day of high entertainment.

There is nothing like a farm auction for country fun.

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Rest in peace, Jim.  I'll bet you are auctioning off halos and harps in heaven and organizing an angel band.