Weather doesn't keep serious bidders from auction

The Heartland Social Club's open utility building served as shelter Saturday at the second annual farm machinery consignment auction in Uniontown. Attendees were split between the toys inside the utility building and the farm machinery and real estate items outdoors. The group under the shelter examined the new and knocked-around replicas of the cars, trucks and farm machinery, the various toddler-sized pedal cars, antique strollers or baseball cards. There was even a replica of a New York City trademark-yellow taxicab.

At the center of the indoor ring, auctioneer Cameron Haney didn't need a megaphone to deliver the banter he spoke when bidding slowed down. "Come on, boys. Do you want to freeze out here all day?" he bellowed.

Aaron Kieninger and his father, Orville, both of Jackson, currently rent ground to farm. Smiling, Aaron Kieninger held a 20-inch articulating four-wheel-drive John Deere tractor in one hand. It's a miniature version of the machinery he runs on the farm to keep dirt from compacting. The toy, in excellent condition, cost him $34.

"Brand new, it costs about $115 to $120," he said. The tractor was a gift for his 19-month-old son.

At the rear of the Heartland Social Club, 20 people were standing outside tightly huddled around a flatbed trailer full of open cardboard boxes. The boxes held smaller parts and items that were bundled as lots. As auctioneer Barry Jones held items up, another auctioneer led the quick bidding through the auction trailer's window. The items, from a barn, were part of an estate and ranged from an electric camper jack to grease rags, window lifts and glass soda bottles.

James Kester of Jackson stood beside the front ends he purchased for his International H tractor. "It's being overhauled right now," he said. Kester paid $7 for both, and though one was useless, Kester was pleased with his find. A farmer with an older model tractor, Kester was collecting items as a backup for what he might need in the future. Kester had eyeballed a pair of fenders, valued at about $50 each, for his tractor but they weren't on the block just yet.

"Mine doesn't have fenders. I'm trying to fix it up," he said.

Auctioneer Quinten Haney said there were two types of people at the auction: those looking for something unique and those wishing to resell and make a profit.

Two such entrepreneurs were Scott Jahn and Brandon Lane, Jackson High School students who come from families that own farms. They had almost $2,000 cash available between the two of them to buy items they could sell on eBay.

"We started doing this when were about 8 years old," Lane said. "We buy, sell and restore."

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133