- Dec 19, 2002
- 2,358
- 0
I was helping out with my father in laws farm auction. This was the first auction I have ever been to, and it was kind of fun. There were actually two going on at once. One by the house with household goods and another out by the barns for the farm equipment and other misc.
We drove up Friday night after work, well after we watched the SJO races at the Hudsonville fair. So we didn't get in until almost 1am. When we got there my Phil's Dad and his sister were still awake getting the last of the household goods together. The Beyer auction people had already dropped off their trailers and had they food stand partially set up. When we got inside we found out we would have to clear a spot upstairs to set up our air mattress. This took some time. The room we were in hasn't been used in over 4 years (along with most of the upstairs) so it was a little dusty and spidery...I have bad allergies and this was not a good thing (I had forgot my prescription :bang: ) We were in bed by almost 2am.
The auction was Saturday morning at 10am. Guys started showing up around 7am (and earlier in the week) to look at some of the equipment. We were RUDELY woken up at 7am (on a Saturday :coocoo: ) As soon as we got downstairs we had orders from Ralph (father in law). My job was to put together the beds. I walked outside and discovered it had rained the night before. I got to work on the beds, pretty easy and didn't take long. I snuck off quickly to try to clean up a little. When we woke up we didn't even get a chance to do things like go to the bathroom or take a shower.
By 9:30 both sides of the road were lined up from the beginning of the property to the end. There were also 4 rows of cars in one of the fields and a few more in the front yard.
Right away I could spot the "hardcore" farmers. They came prepared and early. They would first walk around and check out everything then go back and really look at the stuff they might want to place a bid on. They also carried a tape measure around and took measurements on things.
The auction started right at 10am. Started with the small stuff and ended with the equipment. I can talk fast, but wow those guys can talk FAST! I don't know how they keep up, I would forget the last bid.
We walked around and taped some stuff and took pictures. I think it was kind of an emotional thing for Phil and his dad. I think it's hard for them to realize the place that the entire family grew up in (even his dad) is about to belong to another family. Along with all of the equipment they used for years.
I got a kick out of watching the farmer's wives at the household auction side. The things they bought and the prices they paid for some of that junk. I can't believe how much people will pay for stuff! There was an OLD bulldozer that sold for $600. That thing hasn't ran in 30+ years! It sat in the same spot for that long..it had taken us three and a half hours to pull it out of where it was!
It only took 4 hours to auction off everything. By that time we were all tired. Mostly because of lack of sleep, but because it had been such a busy day. We all helped load up and carry stuff to trucks and trailers. When we finally got a chance to sit down guys kept showing up to pick up their newly claimed small fortunes. It was funny Phil and Ralph kept taking turns loading up stuff. One guy showed up right when I had came back with everyone's dinner. He felt bad so he sat and waited until we were done.
We had fun though and came out with a brand new mattress out of the deal. Even though I have only been around for the past 4 years it was still kind of sad. The tractor I learned how to drive is gone :(. Now the only tractor is a John Deer with a near impossible shifting pattern.
I'm home for lunch and just realized what time it is..so if things don't make sense, I'll fix them when I get home and probably add a few things.
We drove up Friday night after work, well after we watched the SJO races at the Hudsonville fair. So we didn't get in until almost 1am. When we got there my Phil's Dad and his sister were still awake getting the last of the household goods together. The Beyer auction people had already dropped off their trailers and had they food stand partially set up. When we got inside we found out we would have to clear a spot upstairs to set up our air mattress. This took some time. The room we were in hasn't been used in over 4 years (along with most of the upstairs) so it was a little dusty and spidery...I have bad allergies and this was not a good thing (I had forgot my prescription :bang: ) We were in bed by almost 2am.
The auction was Saturday morning at 10am. Guys started showing up around 7am (and earlier in the week) to look at some of the equipment. We were RUDELY woken up at 7am (on a Saturday :coocoo: ) As soon as we got downstairs we had orders from Ralph (father in law). My job was to put together the beds. I walked outside and discovered it had rained the night before. I got to work on the beds, pretty easy and didn't take long. I snuck off quickly to try to clean up a little. When we woke up we didn't even get a chance to do things like go to the bathroom or take a shower.
By 9:30 both sides of the road were lined up from the beginning of the property to the end. There were also 4 rows of cars in one of the fields and a few more in the front yard.
Right away I could spot the "hardcore" farmers. They came prepared and early. They would first walk around and check out everything then go back and really look at the stuff they might want to place a bid on. They also carried a tape measure around and took measurements on things.
The auction started right at 10am. Started with the small stuff and ended with the equipment. I can talk fast, but wow those guys can talk FAST! I don't know how they keep up, I would forget the last bid.
We walked around and taped some stuff and took pictures. I think it was kind of an emotional thing for Phil and his dad. I think it's hard for them to realize the place that the entire family grew up in (even his dad) is about to belong to another family. Along with all of the equipment they used for years.
I got a kick out of watching the farmer's wives at the household auction side. The things they bought and the prices they paid for some of that junk. I can't believe how much people will pay for stuff! There was an OLD bulldozer that sold for $600. That thing hasn't ran in 30+ years! It sat in the same spot for that long..it had taken us three and a half hours to pull it out of where it was!
It only took 4 hours to auction off everything. By that time we were all tired. Mostly because of lack of sleep, but because it had been such a busy day. We all helped load up and carry stuff to trucks and trailers. When we finally got a chance to sit down guys kept showing up to pick up their newly claimed small fortunes. It was funny Phil and Ralph kept taking turns loading up stuff. One guy showed up right when I had came back with everyone's dinner. He felt bad so he sat and waited until we were done.
We had fun though and came out with a brand new mattress out of the deal. Even though I have only been around for the past 4 years it was still kind of sad. The tractor I learned how to drive is gone :(. Now the only tractor is a John Deer with a near impossible shifting pattern.
I'm home for lunch and just realized what time it is..so if things don't make sense, I'll fix them when I get home and probably add a few things.
