Country Auctions: a great way to pick up souvenirs in rural areas on a long trip
Nothing compares to the flavor of an old-fashioned, small town, country auction. They haven’t changed much over the decades, and they still depend on the natural-born charisma and well-honed linguistic skills of the auctioneers themselves. Professional “criers of the bid” know how to orchestrate their sales with the tempo of a sports announcer at a horse race - fast, intense, and unpredictable - creating a sense of exhilaration and urgency. Their showmanship and salesmanship combine in a way that harkens back to the vaudevillian era, when traveling merchants or performing artists would create an entire tent show to help captivate an audience.
And the bidders themselves are equally responsible for elevating an ordinary sales event into some of the best free entertainment a people-watcher could ask for. A fast-paced, spontaneous game of wits and wallets is often sparked between bidders, and it can be thrilling to observe.
Public auctions take place in rural communities around the USA all year round, weather permitting. Many are held on Saturdays, in a large building or under a big tent, with refreshments sold in the back, and attendance is free. And you don’t have to be a high roller to bring home a bargain. The last time I attended an auction, I bought a cardboard box containing seven clay flower pots, a screwdriver, a plastic coffee cup, assorted bolts, screws, and washers, two broken crayons, an empty shotgun shell, and a partial roll of duct tape, all for two bucks. (OK, so maybe it wasn’t the deal of a lifetime.) It’s a lot of fun, you can pick up items that you normally wouldn’t find at a yard sale or store, and it can add lots of flavor and excitement to a trip along the back roads and through small towns, that might otherwise seem uneventful or boring to you on a long trip.