Last weekend I was spending the weekend out at Lisa’s parents in Paynesville, MN. It is really just the same as every small town in Minnesota. As everyone from a small town knows, in order to be considered a town (in the midwest)…you really only need two things… 1. A bar and 2. a church. After that, you’re officially a town!
One thing that I didn’t realize was something that made every small town in common, was the auction! On Saturday us guys headed down to a local auction while the ladies had a baby shower. It had been quite a few years since my last auction; however, it was really the same scene that it had been 10 years ago.
All of the local town people get together to chat and throw in their bid on whatever they may need or happen to have catch their eye at the auction. Half of the people there are really not there to buy anything in specific, but really just there for the social aspect. Now if they are serving chips and sloppy joes….it’s a party!
Now if you’re actually there to bid on something…you’ve really got to set your price before you get there. The auctioneers really have an uncanny ability to get people to start throwing out the next highest number to get that bid rolling and really 75% of the time a piece of machinery that is 20 years old will go for 80% of the price that you could buy a new piece of machinery.
But all in all it’s a great way to either get in some conversation with the guy down the road or…in my case a great way to step back into time.
