Auction Frenzy

I contacted the auction company and asked when I could get a look inside, I made time to drive down and walk through the structure. I was impressed that for the most part the depot was intact and mostly in its original form, other than coats of paint and a cheap wainscoting of paneling, the walls inside were likely as they were from a long forgotten time in our history. The ceilings were very high and if you took time to notice the walls truly did speak, the character of the interior made me feel like I was back in time.I could see evidence of repairs and changes done with care, I could read names of those who put the place together back in 1882&3. Louis Lent was one of those men who helped nail this big train station together. Old louis had signed his name in a couple of places in the freight house along with a few conspicuous others over the years. Electricity was not part of the original structure, some simple circuits had been added over the years but to date I have never had the service connected.

I had been to numerous auctions over the years but this would prove to be an interesting one. The ad indicated there was a viewing opportunity prior to the day of the auction, The auction company had made its terms very clear on auction day the buyer had better be prepared with a deposit! I had in my pocket a wad of cash large enough to cover a percentage of the bid price. When I was signing up for my auction bidders number I made it clear to the clerk I had intentions of bidding on the Depot and I showed her and the cashier the cash funds I had to be sure there would be no questions later. (Nothing like being the square peg in the round hole)

The auction was likely the biggest thing to hit the sleepy little hamlet in years. There were well over 100 people in attendance, one happened to be my 11th grade history teacher and his wife. "Small World Alert"

I had worked for her father (Mrs.History teacher's father) for several years until 1998 when I left his employ to start my own business. I am sure they had no idea what I was interested in at the auction.

The auction began like any other, box lots of household items, antiques, knick knacks and the like. I bid on a few small items but was patiently waiting for 1 pm when the real estate was to be auctioned. At one pm the auctioneer stopped the small lot selling and announced he would be auctioning off the depot.

I was anxious but I waited for the first few interested people to start the bidding, there was a person there who represented the hamlet/town and he bid a time or two but the bids never got higher than the advertised reserve price. I jumped in around bid four or five and one other fellow and I bid back and forth for some time until I was the highest bidder. That is when the auctioneer did something I had never experienced before, he said " folks were going to take a break for a minute" with that he sent one of his representatives up to me who asked if I was prepared with enough funds to obligate my bid today? I was pretty pissed off! As I said, I had taken the time to show the associates and the cashier that I was prepared to back up my bid when I signed up for my bidder number. So I pulled a "broccoli wad" from my pocket and I responded to the auction associate that maybe they should ask the other fellow if he had his money.

The crowd was also outraged! There were jeers and boos from the crowd, one lady yelled out "come on let the poor man finish" I did my best to remain stoic and calm. But I did have a smirk on my face after hearing some of the comments. When I looked at my former history teacher he was so surprised his jaw was about on the ground.