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/ Showtime
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- By Sandy Neilly
- One rite of spring that is very important (next to yard sales)
and brings closure to a long and nasty winter is attending an
outdoor auction, especially a good farm auction.
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- Although it hadn't been planned, this is precisely where
we ended up early one Saturday morning not too long ago. It was
sheer bliss to stand outside in the fresh morning air and look
over all the goods, even though most of it was destined to be
auctioned for use by local farmers.
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- The number of antiques was limited, but there were one or
two items worth waiting for. I enjoyed not only watching the
people with all of their unique ways of bidding, but also how
the auctioneer was able to translate a mere flicker of movement
as an actual bid. It's quite a skill, to be sure. The experience
was fun and reminded me of many of the other auctions we've been
to.
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- The first auction that I placed a bid at was many years ago
at a farm just north of us. Our son (age 11 at the time) and
I walked to it from our home which we had just recently moved
into. There were a number of items which our mechanically inclined
child wanted very badly, one of which was a small tractor. I
knew absolutely nothing about tractors, but this one looked very
old and very small and I thought it might be extremely useful.
So, to our son's delight, I started bidding.
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- And - much to the auctioneer's delight (it was Les Brittan)
I kept bidding, oblivious to the fact that there were a number
of knowledgeable farmers there who obviously knew all about that
tractor and were determined to get it.
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- There were more than a few bushy eyebrows raised as the number
climbed higher
and I kept muttering to son, Aaron, that I had no idea what I
was doing or why I was bidding on a tractor. In retrospect, it
must have been quite a spectacle and I might as well have been
wearing a hat marked "Newbie".
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- Finally, common sense took hold - it takes a while to kick
in with me sometimes - and at about the $300 mark it was decided
we didn't need that tractor so badly after all. That, however,
was not how Aaron felt. Furious with his mother, who, just moments
before was his hero, he stomped off with a smoldering look, head
turned away with his nose in the air - and promptly fell into
a hole about three feet deep. After almost completely disappearing
for a moment, he appeared again, gathered the tiny bit of dignity
he had left and continued to march to the outskirts of the property
to show me in no uncertain terms that I was in his bad books.
Of course my laughing at him didn't help at all.
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- The tractor went for big bucks and I got the impression the
serious bidders had just stood back quietly until I came to my
senses with nothing but a little wasted time to hold against
me. It took an hour or two, but our son eventually forgot he
was angry and likely found something else of interest (with a
motor) to keep himself occupied. I ended up buying some broken
chairs if I recall correctly. (We might still have them.) It
was not exactly an auspicious beginning to a career in antiques,
but I know now that we provided some great entertainment for
the locals.
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- There are many other auction stories that I could share,
as I'm sure most people, especially anyone who deals in antiques,
could do. I very rarely attend auctions these days, due to time
restraints, but going to the last one reminded me of how important
they are to keep your finger on the pulse of the current market
values and just to learn about things in general. It's a social
affair as well, of course - and that's as important as refreshing
your inventory.
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- In closing, there are a couple of ladies I would like to
thank for all their help. One is Vera Clark-Kavanagh of
Bancroft who owns and operates the Bancroft
Century Shoppe. I've never actually met her, but I think I know
what kind of person she is . .. helpful, generous and kind.
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- She was good enough to take photos for us at the Bobcaygeon
show when we couldn't make it ourselves (we were delivering the
last issue at the time) and she has been distributing copies
of the Wayback Times just about everywhere she goes. She's also
a great organizer, judging from the line-up of events she has
going up in Bancroft - so thank you, Vera!
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- The next lady is Janet Dalton and everything I just
said about Vera can also be said about Janet. Janet gets things
done like no one I know; she's a gifted lady in many ways. Janet
organizes several excellent postcard shows in Thornhill and she
is also about to single-handedly put Fenelon Falls and the Kawartha
Lakes area 'on the map' so to speak. If you head out to the Fenelon
Falls area and stop in at any of the many great locations on
their upcoming Treasure Hunt map, just mention Janet's name and
I guarantee you'll get a smile in return. You can also pick up
a copy of the Wayback Times at the antique shops on the map,
and chances are that Janet will have put them there for us. Thank
you, Janet!
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- Last, but not least, you might notice the ad for the Waumer
Walk for ALS. This is a result of meeting a lovely lady at the
Warkworth Antique Show in mid-March who organizes this event
each year. Julie Waumer's husband is dealing with ALS,
which means that Julie and her two daughters are dealing with
it as well - courageously and with a smile. We found Julie to
be a remarkable and determined person, as I'm certain her husband
is as well.
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- I encourage anyone who can help in any way to show their
support by participating in the May 3 event, or perhaps by making
a donation. One of my dear friends includes a quote at the end
of her emails which I have seen before but appreciate more than
ever as I get older. It says, "Be kinder than necessary,
for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Whether it's grief, or illness, financial troubles or sadness,
we all have battles in our lives. Some are mere skirmishes, but
others are outright wars, so before you think of someone in a
less than kindly way, consider where they might be coming from.
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- Enjoy spring. Thanks for reading.
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