Auction fever came to a dreary-looking cold October day in an old pasture, just off Highway 37 in Sturgeon County.
The combined smells of diesel and coffee greeted both the rubberneckers and the real buyers as they hunkered down into their heavy coveralls and hooded snowmobile suits. Despite the cold, the determined action on both the part of the auctioneer and the buyers soon added a little heat to the wintery day.
Perhaps 150 people – mostly men – shuffled around between the augers, the seeders, the antique tractors and the newer tandem trucks.
Above the roar of the belching trucks, the auctioneer called, “Give me $1,000 to start. Come on! We’re going to get there anyway. … $800. Gimme $1,250, dee dee dee,” he rhymed as he alternately cajoled and chastised the audience.
The auction was one of four heavy-equipment sales held locally by Hodgins Auctioneers, a family-owned firm out of Melfort, Sask.
It’s a profession that Grant Hodgins grew up learning but he’s given up the actual singsong practice of auctioneering, because the deep-throated constant rhythm damaged his vocal cords.
Still, he was there working and though his voice was too gravelly to sing out prices, he made sure, by using every ounce of body language he could muster, that each item went for the highest dollar.
“People come to auctions because it’s an opportunity to get a bargain. They can also bid online but what draws them here is the excitement and the aura and the fact that it’s a combined social and economic event that you don’t get at any other kind of sale,” Hodgins said.
As he talked, the cars that were up for sale putt-putted and big combines and heavy trucks roared in the background. To get warm, some purchasers hopped into the cars.
“I go to a lot of auctions but I like it a little warmer,” said Maryanne Constantin as she climbed into a Chevy Malibu.
“Come on and sit inside. That’s what I’ve been doing. I’m trying out the heaters in all the cars. You just have to watch so that you don’t get sold along with the car,” she joked.
There were bargains for some and disappointment for others but most were pretty savvy about the prices, despite the constant pleading of the auctioneer.
“You see that combine. It’s big, but it’s also old and it’s got a lot of rust,” said Dale Love, a farmer from the Hardisty area. “I bet it goes for $500.”
The auctioneer asked if the unit was in working order and was assured that it had been before the sale began, but the cold weather was making it hard to start.
“Sure it was running,” someone yelled. “About 50 years ago.”
Everyone laughed and sure enough, the combine sold, for precisely $500.
