A Puppy's Stare

It was a cool, breezy day. The window of the locked pickup was down enough for a puppy to pop his head out and greet auction goers. His owner checked on him every 15 minutes but he really wanted to be outside and be part of the auction.

Auction Time is Community Time in Tipton

Auctions are often more than an occasion for the sales of goods. Gatherings of people especially at auctions conducted from a house or farm property are a chance for community gathering. It is quite common to observe a large crowd at the start of the auction engaged in talk while inspecting the goods.

Sometime shortly after the lunch hour it is also common to see these social attendees leave for the day without buying anything. Most often they are present to talk to friends and see what some things sell for during the sale, then walk away leaving the true core buyers. Its an interesting anthropological study.

1938 Chevrolet Coupe Sells For $5,100 at Independence, Iowa Auction

Last Saturday interest was high for the sale of a 1938 Chevrolet coupe at an estate auction in Independence, Iowa. Prior to the sale various groups looked over the car for reasons of curiosity or genuine interest in ownership.

One story that an old timer told me about his 1937 version of this Chevy included somehow being able to pile 11 high school buddies into the roomy car. The secret to accomplishing that feat apparently was to get people sitting on the floor both upfront and in the back, and then double stack more chums on the bench seats.

Another guy told me about his desire to buy this car and restore it to its original specs. Minutes later another prospective buyer told me that he would restore the car, add some fat tires on the back, and paint the faded metal a deep sparkle black, plus chrome it out. He also pointed that this model does not have a radio installed. It would have been an option back in 1938. He said he would install some huge sub-woofers in the spacious trunk to play a state of the art sound system.

Until this point the vast majority of onlookers and potential bidders were male. When auction time arrived for this car the action boiled down to the traditional restorer guy and a women who arrived late. In the end she won the auction and expressed her delight with a big smile. She quickly went back inside to the estate auction so I didn't hear what her plans are for the 74 year old car. The person who lost the bidding told me afterwards that he should have stayed in the game but felt his opponent was determined to win, and he didn't want to run the price up...too high, he chuckled.

A Good Old Iowa Country Auction

Today the weather rained pretty much all day. But the misty, rainy conditions did not stop hundreds of bargain seekers (like above) from attending the Gene Anderson estate auction north of Stone City in rural Iowa. Today was also very different. In the past 15 years or so the number of farm house auctions have all but disappeared. Around the 42N area you now experience auctions at sale houses that are often made up of multiple family estate belongings. Rarely do you have the opportunity to walk on private land held by the estate, that may have been in the family for generations. Today we were treated to be present on a farm long held by the same family.

Auctioneer Ed Shover (seen in the window of the covered trailer) called the sale of farmhouse and machine shed items to the mostly farm community audience. It is hard to believe that only two days ago we were in the 90Fs. Today the temperature struggled to get to 50F and people dressed for the conditions.

The Anderson property is located at the elbow of two roads. The northern portion served as a parking lot for nearly a quarter of a mile. The same was true on the road going east. I parked on the east road and made ten trips to the vehicle in the rain to store away treasures being selected by the 42N purchasing agent. Many items will appear on eBay soon.

Gene, although a farmer by trade, loved aviation. During his life he built many a model plane with small gas powered engines. He flew them over the meadows on his property. 

Gene also owned two Allis Chalmer tractors which were auctioned off for roughly $3700 each today. This one did not have power steering but started and moved like it did when the tractor was built in the early 1950s. Two farmers purchased the tractors for their individual farms.

An auction at a farm is an opportunity for the surrounding community to gather. Today's auction at Gene Anderson's was attended by family, friends, the farming community of Stone City and Anamosa, Iowa and other auction lovers. What you see above is a typical scene repeated at these auctions by active and retired farm members.

If you get a chance to attend an estate auction, be it on a farm, plantation, warehouse or large house, talk to the local people about who owned the items, get their impressions about the person, the land and way they lived. I certainly got an earful today. Know that.

Buy a Past at a Norway Iowa Auction

Recent items at last weekend's auction in Norway, Iowa. The home owner in her 80s lived there all her life. It was her parent's home too and she inherited all their things. Veneer off a tube radio peels away.

The auction set up boys took all the furniture outside for people to bid on. This cabinet went for $200.

A cap gun with its original box.

A Butternut (?) coffee can with US space program illustrations from Mercury to Apollo on it. Sold for over $25.

What time is it? Radio tube buying time of course.

Camera in its original box.

Buy a set of Iowa oak chairs - cheap! These went for under $25. There was much more at the auction. We bought several things for resale and the Dan Patch print - see the post here. Know that.

Summertime in Urbana, Iowa...Going Once, Twice, Sold

Mid- to late summer in 42N country means billowing clouds in late afternoon. These tend to lead to thunderstorms and perhaps more severe weather. This particular afternoon a crowd gathered at a weekly auction north of Urbana, Iowa on a farm. The auctioneer (in the red hat and stripped shirt) conducts the outside portion of the sale first then moves indoors. His sale includes about eight hay racks full of miscellaneous household/farm items that generally sell cheaply -- like that white chair seen in the foreground. It now resides in my backyard. Besides the sale of material that you would expect from any auction this is also a time to talk to people and see the countryside. There are stories out there. Know that.