The Good Stuff...

We have an estate auction coming up and something that I REALLY like to do with all of my estates is, get as much of a back story on the estate & the people that were part of it. This happens to be the estate of  the late, Mr. Woodrow Spacek from Dime Box, Texas.

As I was reading what the family had written in Mr. Spacek's obituary, I was able to see the colors of his life... Here are some of the documented highlights of his life:

Woodrow Alexander Spacek was born on January 12, 1921 in Dime Box, Texas.  He passed away on February 8, 2012 in Bryan, Texas.

Woodrow was the first born child of Adolph and Johanna Zielniewicz Spacek.  After graduating from Dime Box Rural High School in 1939, Woodrow attended Sam Houston State Teacher’s College from 1940 until early 1942.  He left college to enlist in the military.  During WW II, he served in the US Army Air Corps from September 1942 until September 1945.  As a member of a B-24 bomber crew based in England, Woodrow flew 35 combat missions in the European Theatre and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters.

Upon being honorably discharged from the service, Woodrow practiced his family’s profession of farming and ranching.  He continued to do so all of his life.  In addition to this, he worked at other jobs through the years.  From 1945 until 1950, Woodrow was employed in the heavy construction business.  He served as County Commissioner for Lee County Pct. 4 from January 1, 1950 to January 1, 1963.  Woodrow then worked as a bull dozer operator on the construction of the Lake Somerville Dam.  During 1964, Woodrow was the manager of the Dime Box Chair Factory.  Woodrow was employed with the Houston branch of 3M Business Products in 1965.  The company transferred him to Austin in 1966 and in 1971 to the Grand Prairie, Texas branch where he worked until his retirement in 1987.

Woodrow married Georgia Marie Tydlacka at the old St. Joseph Catholic Church in Dime Box, Texas on April 29, 1947 with Father Thomas Matl officiating.  The young couple engaged in farming and ranching on family land they purchased.  Woodrow called this place home until his death.  To this union were born three children, James, Charlotte, and Kathryn.  Georgia passed away on May 16, 1973.

On October 20, 1979, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Dime Box, Woodrow married C. Elizabeth Jones with Father Isidore Rozycki officiating.  Joining them in their home was Elizabeth’s youngest daughter, Lisa.

Hobbies that Woodrow enjoyed included deer hunting, fishing, and barbecuing.  Woodrow spent many hours with his friends preparing BBQ for weddings, fire department picnics, church bazaars and various other fund raisers.  Woodrow was the King of the Red Sausage Crew!  He was a charter member of the Dime Box Volunteer Fire Department.  He was a member of the Dime Box Lions Club, SPJST Lodge #13, and the Dime Box Heritage Society.  Woodrow was an active member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Dime Box all of his 91 years of life.  The many facets of his devotion included membership in the Catholic Union of the KJT, altar boy service in his youth, service on the parish council, hard-working volunteer for parish fund raisers, chair for facilities maintenance, and church cemetery custodian for over 25 years.  In June, 2007, Woodrow received the Catholic Diocese of Austin, Lumen Gentium Award to recognize individuals who exemplified the Spirit of Christ through their good works in parish stewardship and leadership.

His grandchildren were the pride and joy of his life and the great grandchildren brought a special sparkle to his eyes!

I was truly moved to tears. What you just read is REALLY what it's all about. I know that PART of my business, as an auction company, is to liquidate the assets of estates & do my VERY best to help them bring top dollar. I want as many people to know about them as possible in hopes that there is someone out there that can appreciate the items as much as the past owners did or MORE!

The bottom line is though...that's it's not about the stuff. We all have sentimental ties & memories we associate with certain things, but NOTHING has a value greater than the life of the estate holder. Sometimes....as time marches on....the stories of people's lives fade the longer they are gone from us. The truth is...Mr. Spacek left SO many impressions on SO many people through his years of serving others. I'm honored to be able to perform this auction. I'm honored to have had the opportunity of being touched my a man's life that I've never known. I'm honored to have the opportunity in this blog, to SHARE HIS LIGHT to a few more people.

Estate matters can be hard sometimes...& sometimes you've got to clear out the STUFF to start seeing what REALLY matters. My crew & I will give it all we've got up until the completion of the auction on March 21st! I know a lot of people knew him & have fond memories of him. I also understand how this can be a difficult time for some.

Through Mr. Spacek's LIFE OF SERVICE to others & to God I am led to believe that he thought along these lines: "'Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.'" - Matthew 6:19-21 Revised Standard Version Catholic Bible

I'm thankful & appreciative of the VALUE Mr. Spacek saw in his life & his use in it, to shine God's light on others. I PRAY I can do the same.

I hope EVERYONE that knew him, is able to come out on March 21st & purchase something that will help them remember & rejoice in his time with them. PLEASE check out my website: www.buckupauctions.com as we update it, as we near the auction. There is a wide variety of items including: antiques, firearms, furniture, implements, old out buildings, old barn wood, tools, storage bins & SO much more!!! If you'd like to be added to my email list to get the most updated information possible, please do so through my website. You can also follow us on Facebook. Here's the link: Buck Up Auctions Facebook Page.

God Bless!
Heather Schoenst Kaspar TXL 17037

Auction School Day 6: The State has More Codes Than Morse! - Mr. Moon

Well let´s just say we talked about codes, codes, laws, rules, codes and more laws today. Did you know that "you can be an auctioneer and a coyote trapper-all at the same time?" Yes the state has someone that is in charge of catching coyotes. You also have to have a special permit to sell chickens (amongst other things), CAN NOT POSSESS AN EAGLE FEATHER UNLESS YOU ARE A CARD CARRYING NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN - and then you still can´t sell it, you can´t sell a stuffed turkey mount, selling mobile and manufactured homes have SO many guidelines (when it comes to an auction) that it makes my head hurt thinkin´ about it, and that there are a TON of rules regarding the selling of firearms, livestock, wild and exotic animals, birds, boats, military memorabilia, real estate, alcohol, food, and pretty much anything you can think of.... We learned about all of that AND MORE today.



Bubba gets a little short of breath sometimes and Mr. Moon thought if he held his diaphragm it would help. The sight is pretty humorous. I´m not sure why he thinks it helps...maybe he just felt like huggin´ somebody.

We also did MORE bid calling. Today the people that don´t have a chant started using filler words. For some it helped them get into more of a rhythm and for some it was hard because it was like re-training your brain to think a certain way. They also started actually catching bids. It truly is AMAZING to see the progress of everyone. It just takes lots and lots of practice.

The first video is of a pretty sharp fella named Kevin. He´s going to be in the Canton area. He´s a really nice guy and has a lot of knowledge. I look forward to maybe gettin´ a chance to work with him in the future.

The next video is Krueger. He has a really unique style. It´s almost like he´s rapping. From Day 1 he really put his personality into it and made it fun. Super nice, down to Earth guy (with a pretty AWESOME Momma)! I think his bidders are really going to enjoy listening to him...once he gets his chant down pat.

I remember when Uncle Mele told me I was going to help him at that auction in Plum. I practiced when I drove, when I was at the computer by myself, when I was around family (so I could get their input), recorded my chant into my phone, so I could play it back and hear myself...EVERY CHANCE I GOT. I still want to BE ABLE to chant a little faster than what I do now. That doesn´t mean that I´m going to always go that fast. I just want to be able to sell EVERYTHING and you have to be a little faster for some auctions than others. The only way I´ll get there is practice.

I do have more videos of bid calling today. We also had picture day today and Mr. Moon´s granddaughter Misty came in and got some shots of us.

The sun was in our eyes pretty bad, but here we are.



Here we´re just goofin´ off a little bit.

Well folks...I´m missin´ my baby and my husband. Samantha´s hubby and sweet little baby June came here yesterday for the rest of the week. That little girl is a DOLL! She´s 8 months. It´s kinda got me thinking about baby #2...

When I wrote my blogs last night, I had left my notebook in the car that has all of Mr. Moon´s quotes in it that I jot down during class. Here´s a few. If you hear me say them...you know where they came from.

"I´d rather be lucky than good. "
"We scattered that stuff out like a wild woman´s wash."
Someone asked him if his dog bit and he said: "I don´t know, but he´s got teeth."
"The only guarantee I´ll give you is if you drop it and break it - you´ll have 2 pieces."
"Bull Feathers!"
"The height of stupidity!"
"Well...you´ll wear out a Mercedes-Benz lookin´ for one of these." - Quote from his good auctioneer friend from Abilene that passed.
and maybe my favorite....
"I have no peers. I´m an auctioneer!"

Well..I¨ve learned a lot and have met a bunch of really AWESOME people. I may be tired and missin´ by family, but "I have no FEARS. I´m an auctioneer!" BUCK UP BABY and say a prayer for that sweet little baby of mine that is FINALLY missing me a little bit tonight.

GOD BLESS!!

Just Gettin´ Started...

Hey EVERYONE!!! Welcome to my blog! FYI - I am a brand spankin´new blogger AND a brand spankin´ new AUCTIONEER!

The whole auctioneering thing is what started this whole blogging thing :). I have a full-time job in TV ad sales, but since I started learning how to auctioneer I just can´t stop thinking about IT. "IT" includes a lot of stuff like: all the sweet compliments I´ve been getting, where and how I made a mistake, how to NOT make it again and/or how to cover it, the differences between one auction to another, getting rid of all the jitters I have for DAYS before an auction, what Auction School will be like.... All that kind of stuff. Needless to say...my mind is OVERLOADED with all kinds of thoughts and this blogging thing seemed like a good idea!

So people ask..... "Have you always wanted to auctioneer?"

The answer to that is I don´t think so. I have always been interested in auctions. My Uncle Melvin :) has been an auctioneer all my life and I´ve been around sale barns as far back as I can remember. My first job was punching cattle at Lee County Stockyards in Giddings, TX. I went from punching cattle and checkin´ them in, to working in the office - settling out the buyers, entering info, stuff like that. I also worked in the café end of things too. To get to the point...I think its just in my blood. I have always been interested in auctions and it WAS on my bucket list to auctioneer.

I couldn´t sleep one night and it was really early in the morning and a thought just popped in my head. "Why don´t I learn how to auctioneer?" So I mentioned this idea to my Pops (who BTW has a mouth the size of Dallas) and he went and told my Uncle Melvin RIGHT AWAY....

So Uncle Mele calls me up and wants me to do an auction with him in MAY (literally a week after I told him I was thinking about doing this). Luckily....I had a shower for my best friends wedding and couldn´t make that one. At least it gave me a little time to practice (and by "practice" I mean talking to myself real fast, watching some You Tube videos, and asking my Uncle a bajillion questions). The next auction was in June at THE ST. PETER AND PAUL CATHOLIC CHURCH in Plum, TX. There was no getting out of this. If I was gonna do it...it was time to BUCK UP and take ´hold of the situation.

Well let´s just say...I WAS NERVOUS OUT OF MY MIND!!! I didn´t know very many people there (at least when we first got there) and I was following my Uncle around like a lost puppy. Later someone told me that they were trying to figure out who I was. They didn´t know if I was "Melvin´s young mistress" or what. That deserves an LOL! That´s any small town for ya!

So I start out bid-calling or spotting the bidders. Thank GOODNESS Uncle Melvin had me do this first. It helped me figure out where the "consistent" bidders were.

AND THEN......Uncle Melvin calls me up to do my first item. I do not remember WHAT I sold, but I do remember that I sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Leer and it went for $85! WHEW! I made it! Everyone was clapping for me and said I did a good job. Anyways...after that it was all fun. I started getting comfortable, people would talk to me when I took my break, the nerves were gone. I´m not saying I didn´t mess up, b/c I did. I lost the winning bidder at one point and started and stopped selling on one item b/c I had what I call "a moment." Ultimately, I jumped a bid higher than I needed to and instead of bringing it back down I just froze.

I do want to take a little time to thank EVERYONE THAT DONATED the items to the auction, THE BIDDERS, EVERYONE THAT HELPED WITH THE AUCTION and the MEMBERS OF THE ST. PETER AND PAUL CATHOLIC CHURCH. It takes all of those elements to pull an auction off. With all SERIOUSNESS...you all gave me the confidence that is keeping me going with all of this. That first auction was MY test to see if it was even worth me pursuing this whole auctioneering idea. I do have one more shout out to HATFIELD DENTAL CLINIC in LaGrange, TX for buying the highest item I had sold at that point. It was an AWESOME metal peacock!!! All the bidders did a FANTASTIC job and I hope everyone there enjoyed theirselves as much as I did!

The best part is MY FIRST AUCTION was a SUCCESS!! I was welcomed back with Uncle Melvin anytime. I believe we helped bring in $36,000 for the church (Sorry if I´m wrong. That´s what Uncle Mele told me). I met a lot of really GREAT people and really....the response from everyone OVERWHELMED me and I am still a little overwhelmed by it all. It kinda feels like the GOOD LORD dropped an opportunity in my lap and it was time to BUCK UP and do something about it. I really don´t know what the "right" next thing to do is, but I am a STRONG believer in "If you don´t know what to do...just do something." That´s probably the sales skills coming out in me.

I plan on doing as many fundraising auctions as I can and Uncle Mele will take me on. Then later this year, going to an auction school to get licensed. It just opens up more opportunities.

Well...sorry this one is so long, but STAY TUNED for my next blog. I´ll be talking about my 2nd auction - which was in MY HOMETOWN! TALK ABOUT NERVES!!