Greetings!   

Lisa and I attended a couple auctions over the last few days. Both with very different aims and intents

Saturday we went to a farm auction. If wasn't a foreclosure it was the estate of my Mom's uncle. He had lived in the same house since he was 1 or two years old. About 90 years. The estate was huge! We counted 34 Farm All and International Harvester tractors plus he had collected several lawn tractors. It took two days to auction off the vast collections of antique toys, household goods, vehicles and tractors. 

On the day that we went it was a crowd of 4 to 500 people dressed in Carharts, jeans and simple handmade clothes.
The auction was in Middlebury and the Amish presence was quite large. We had never seen so many horse and buggies in one location. There was no entry fee and they didn't even ask to see my drivers license when I picked up my bidder number. The crowd was very polite and well mannered. The bidding was energetic, fierce and fast! The food offered was simple and was not free.  

Line of Tractors

The second was a fund raiser for Kalamazoo in Bloom.  It cost 25.00 to get in the door and and the food offered by chefs and restaurants was free and very creative. The auction items were gift baskets with really not much value. The crowd was dressed mostly in suits and dresses. Very polite and well mannered. The bidding was silent and lackluster.

Although we enjoyed both auctions, truth be told, we enjoyed the farm auction a lot more. There was an energy in the air that was missing in the other auction. It was the fierce but friendly, up front, bidding contest that made it exciting. The quick and sing song patter of the professional auctioneer and the quick responses from the bidders. The occasional back and forth between the auctioneers and bidder was often humorous.

 
Keith, Lisa and the Staff
Full City Cafe

Join us on  Facebook

Join us on  Twitter