FARM AUCTION EXTRAORDINAIRE

This past weekend we attended a farm auction at my great-grandparent's homestead. The farm has been in my mother's family for 115 years, and has been designated as a Colorado Centennial Farm. It has been farmed all of these years; first, by my great grandfather, then by my grandmother's brothers and their descendants. The last cousin to farm it passed away a year ago, so it was time to sell the equipment and the household belongings. Ownership of the farm will be retained by the family, but the farm will be rented out.

Below is a picture of my Great Grandparents taken in 1941. Yes, she was really that much taller than Granddad and she ruled the roost!! The other picture is of a bunch of us cousins at the state fair when the farm received it's centennial designation.

So, the auction was a big deal and very sentimental to all of us. The day was cold and windy, but it didn't deter the crowds. There were pickups parked down the country road for as far as you could see.

The first day of the auction was mostly the sale of the farm equipment, tractors, pickups, stuff out of the sheds, etc. - you know - guy stuff!
The local chapter of the Future Farmers of America had the food concession. Bob and I each had one of the best hamburgers cooked on this huge homemade grill on both days.

The second day of the auction featured the household goods. All of the furniture was carried out to the lawn to be auctioned off; and trailers with boxes and boxes of stuff were pulled into the yard. My great-aunt was the last woman to live in the house moving to the nursing home 11 years ago. I don't think she had ever thrown anything away in the 72 years she lived on the farm. I was very patient as they sold things, because I had something in mind that I really wanted. I did buy Aunt Selma's rolling pin for $1 from a trailer to add to my collection of family rolling pins.

And what did I have my eye on? Well, in the shed they had placed all of the dishes and more stuff, stuff, stuff. Inside the show cases, they had placed what the auctioneers thought were the old dishes (1930s depression glass and 1940s Roseville pottery). Oh, the cousins were bidding fast and furious against each other for the show case dishes. But I was patient and waited until the very end of the second day when they finally got to this 1880s brown transferware wash bowl and pitcher that was just sitting among the old comic books and junk.

If you regularly read my blog, you know I love my brown transferware. I was so excited I could hardly stand it when I won the bid for $35. Earlier they were selling 1960s salt and pepper shakers for twice that amount.

Here is the pitcher and bowl all cleaned up and in my house. I was fortunate to inherit so many of my great grandmother's beautiful things when my grandmother died in 1988. This is just icing on the cake, as it dates from the time of the homestead.

The pitcher is 13 inches tall and the bowl is 14 1/2 inches in diameter.

I'm thrilled!!

I'm joining in on Susan's (A Southern Daydreamer) Outdoor Wednesday party. Be sure to check out her blog for a list of the participants.