The air was mixed with rapid-fire auctioneer chatter, the smell of Swisher Sweets, vanilla pipe tobacco — and excitement.
Kenosha Auctions’ first auction Feb. 27 drew several hundred bidders, gawkers and the curious.
Rick Arnold and Rob Witherington have resurrected the old Reggie’s Will o’ Wisp restaurant at 66803 U.S. 285 and transformed it into an auction house.
“It was lot of excitement, with a lot of panic,” Witherington said of the first run at the auction house. “It turned out real well, with more people than we were expecting.”
The auction ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a little longer than either Witherington or Arnold expected. The 310 lots up for auction included tack, dinnerware, guns, exercise equipment, wood, tools, furniture, brick-a-brack, a stuffed bobcat and coyote, antlers, ATVs, tractors and an ancient wooden-wheeled buggy.
Almost every lot sold.
“Auctions are a lot of fun,” Arnold said. “The auction has the same feeling as going to Vegas, except you get to come home with something.”
Cousins and professional auctioneers Miles Downare and Cody Downare called the auction while wearing the requisite cowboy hats, taking bids and watching for the subtle but unmistakable signs of a bid.
With eyes trained on each bidder, the auctioneers’ hawking was as fast as their linguistic cadence.
Certain donated items were auctioned, and the proceeds benefited the Mountain Peace Shelter. No commission was charged on those items; 100 percent of the money raised went to the shelter.
In the future, other charities will benefit from the same type of sale.
Rick Wilmoth of Bailey bought guns, a mounted deer’s head and random sets of antlers.
“I’m just biddin’ on stuff,” Wilmoth said.
He won several sets of antlers and a deer head complete with a full set of antlers, but Wilmoth planned to take the deer’s present antlers off and replace them with a larger set, then sell the dull-eyed deer for a greater price.
Gena and Ryan Alexander of Bailey came to check out the lots but didn’t buy anything.
“(We came) just to look at it and look around,” Gina Alexander said.
The only real glitch of the day was the parking. Confusion reigned, and both Arnold and Witherington are committed to making it work.
“We’ll expand the parking,” Witherington said, “We’ll have that ironed out by next time.”
March 27 is the next consignment auction, and April 10 is an antique auction. The plan is to have an auction each month. The deadline to submit items for the March 27 auction is March 19.
Each item sold is charged a commission between 10 and 15 percent. “The more you sell, the less it costs, and the less you sell, the more it costs,” Witherington said.
Arnold, who owns a construction company, hopes the auction house will make a profit.
“This works well. I was looking for something a little more recession-proof,” Arnold said.
There will be some absentee and Internet bidding in the future, as well as some auctions that are strictly online. Arnold wants to have 1,000 to 2,000 bidders before online auctions begin.
Arnold has big plans for the large dirt lot and former restaurant. The largest building is unfinished, and Witherington plans to convert it to an event center someday.
Arnold said his dreams include hosting flea markets and bluegrass festivals, reopening the ice cream shop and holding 1960s-style sock hops, but he says, “It all depends on money.”
For information on how to put items on consignment and how to bid on items, check out “Auction 101” for a step-by-step guide on the Kenosha Auction website. Visit www.kenoshaauctioninc.com.
From the High Timber Times, March 10, 2010
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