AUCTION: I'VE GOT ONE, WHO'LL GIVE ME TWO?

Signs of yesteryear can pass to another generation at an auction.

Cows, pigs, farm machinery, household goods, collectibles, photos, recipes and maybe even a jar of grandma's homemade preserves; where do you find all this? Why, at an auction, of course!

The fun of an auction is not only in what you might find, but also in the atmosphere of the event.

Clarence Schlimpert, one of the longest running auctioneers in the area says auctions have changed since he first began to sell other people's goods, some 55 years ago.

Schlimpert got his start when his church group put on a three-act play. He played a judge who was forced to sell the property of someone who had fallen on hard times. It wasn't long before people were saying, "here comes the auctioneer -- sell this, sell my stuff." What started in jest turned into a career for Schlimpert.

The auctioning of property isn't a new concept. Early in Greek history, auctions were held to sell women to the highest bidder for the purpose of marriage. Romans developed the first auctions for the purpose of selling goods.

By the late 1600s books and art were being sold at organized sales in England. Auctions were another custom that migrated to America.

In a relatively new and poor country there didn't seem to be a need for auctions unless banks foreclosed on a landowner and a "forced sale" was necessary. A less than desirable image attached itself to auctions because of these "forced sales." The sale of slaves at auctions didn't help the public image.

It wasn't until after World War II that the auction business began to flourish.

When Schlimpert began auctioneering it was usually at a farm auction. "We sold everything; chickens, hogs, cattle, dogs -- there wasn't very much household material then," he said.

Auctions today have reached a new level. Some are held because a family must dispose of an estate, others are held because an owner has decided to move to a smaller location and some involve only antiques and collectibles from dealers and collectors.

The people attending an auction, however, are sometimes much more interesting that what is being sold.

"The kids were cranky, I was hungry and we just wanted to get home," said Mary Evans of Western Kentucky. Their travel through the area was slowed when husband Jim spotted an auction sign.

"He said we'd only be here for a little while," said Mary Evans. "I've heard that one before."

Jim Evans joins an ever-growing group of bargain hunters who just can't pass up an auction.

"You'll never know what you might find," he said. It's this group that sometimes runs a price "through-the-ceiling" or will remain until the last item is sold, no matter the conditions.

Jim Dowdy, auctioneer at Rainbow Auction at Jackson, remembers a household auction he held in Chaffee.

"There was a creek nearby and it started to rain," he said. It rained so hard that some of the goods started to float in the over-flowing creek. "People stayed and kept on buying."

Schlimpert too says that weather isn't necessarily a factor. A 4-inch rain forced him to roll a wagon of merchandise into a barn, sell it and roll another one in.

"People stayed. I couldn't have had better prices if it had been a sun shiny day," he said.

Another draw of an auction seems to be the socialization that takes place. This is particularly true if it's a neighbor whose goods are being auctioned. Everyone comes out to visit and maybe take home a memento.

Sometimes the talking even drowns out the auctioneer.

There are several schools dedicated to the training of auctioneers. Using a "lingo" that can be understood and becoming familiar with the value of merchandise being sold are desirable traits of a good auctioneer. Some auctioneers develop a following of buyers who have become comfortable with the way sales are handled.

One word to the wise, though. Be careful of swatting at that fly zooming around your head, you might have trouble explaining to your spouse just why you paid $10 for that rusty pitchfork with the broken tine.