A Legacy of Serving, Teaching & Learning - Joyfully!

I have the honor of liquidating the estate of Mr. Joe A. Spacek in Dime Box. As many of you know, I like to share the life & times, if you will, of the individual tied to the estates we are hired to liquidate. I do this, because we all tell a story & I believe we continue to tell a story after we are gone. You know....there is something interesting & mysterious about the quiet ones.

Every family member I have talked to so far has told me that Joe A. kept to himself. That being said he has a lot of neat and interesting things to share will all of you coming to the auction on Saturday.

There will be lots of useful items at the auction on Saturday like: Several Storage Buildings, Tools, Furnishings, Cooking Kettle, Gold & Silver pieces, a couple of Firearms, S10 Pick Up, Handmade Quilts & then some.

There will also be lots of FUN, interesting & UniQue pieces like: sports memorabilia, collectible & commemorative items from Sport Greats to Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, & Princess Diana. There are also antique toys, advertising pieces, primitives, pottery crocks. I mean....the list could go on. We keep finding things!

Because of the size of Joe A.'s collection we are also planning SEVERAL online auctions. He has a TREMENDOUS coin & currency collection. We will have details and a preliminary inventory available for those interested on Saturday. He also has quite a collection of comic books & authenticated & autographed sports items, which will be held in a specialty online auction. Be sure to join our mailing list to get updated about ALL of those.

When we start working on estates, we very quickly get to see an insight into the lives of the individuals that have left us. You notice how they organized things. You notice what was important to them and what wasn't. You learn about that person in a way, well...you never would just having a conversation with them.

There is no question that this man was a collector & took GREAT PRIDE in the treasures that he found and the things that brought him JOY. It was like he had this foresight into the value of these items. 

I think it's important to share the back story on Mr. Joe A, because I think it is wonderful. 

Joe A. was an only child & has been described as: "a devoted son that took great care of his mother in her final years" and "a generous man, always willing to give to church fund raisers and community functions, as well as showing his gratitude to those caregivers in his last couple years of life." 

One of the small buildings we are selling was built for his mother. He built it so she could sit outside on the "porch." Her failing eyesight made it hard for her to see, so he built it so...no matter what the weather was, she could sit outside & the natural light helped her vision. 

His mother was a teacher, teaching a total of 33 years at the Birdsong Community in Burleson County, The Friendship Community in Lee County, New Dime Box,  Dime Box & Lexington Schools. She predominantly focused in mathematics. This makes it no surprise that Joe A. received a degree in Mathematics from the University of Texas & taught at 3 different universities. 

We will also have several other unique items at the sale on Saturday. They belonged to Joe A.'s father, Mr. Joe Spacek. He was a WW1 Veteran, so there will be several pieces there from his time served. Mr. Joe also had a train car accident in his early 20's (per family members) where he lost his leg. They said it never stopped him & after being a battery operator for some years, started his 44 year-long career at the First State Bank in Dime Box. I've been told that Mr. Joe took quite an interest in coin collecting & I believe he passed that interest on to Joe A.  You will see unique items on Saturday that reflect these interests & events. Oh! And his dad was a Square Dance Caller! 

Similar to his parents, after retiring from teaching, Joe A. worked in Austin for the Data Processing Division of the Texas Highway Department, until he reached time for his SECOND retirement! BEFORE teaching he also worked at aerospace companies. We have items reflecting those times of his life, as well. 

Maybe some of the most heartwarming bits of information I've received as we've been setting up for this auction is regarding how close they were as a family. They were avid UT & Dallas Cowboy Fans. They enjoyed watching sports programs together & took an annual family vacation out of state every year that they all looked forward to. They were a unit, yet each one having their own individual strengths, interests, & stories that contributed to that unit. A unit that created a legacy of serving, teaching, enjoying life & getting things done!

What a blessing they must have been to the community of Dime Box!

As I sit here and think about how Joe A. "kept to himself," I think that more of us should probably BUCK UP & keep to ourselves. :) Work hard. Educate ourselves & others. Spend time with the people and things that bring us joy....& keep to ourselves, those we love, and those we can help. 

There is something quite special in this story. 

I ENCOURAGE all of you to come out on Saturday! We will have concessions available from the Dime Box Lions Club. We will also have additional information about the online auctions coming up & the real estate that will be for sale, which is also part of this estate!

Please go to our website at www.buckupauctions.com & subscribe to be added to our email list!

Heather Kaspar
Buck Up Auctions
TXL 17037

Cookin' Up Some Experience ;)

Well..... I'm gettin' a little behind on my blog posts. A couple of weeks ago, I helped call bids @ a BANK-ORDERED Restaurant Auction.

When I decided to pursue this industry, I had little idea of how much & how often AUCTIONEERS & AUCTION Companies are used. Let me kind of walk you through how this auction worked.

The AUCTION was on-site. You walk in the door & register & get your BIDDER #. The auction started at 10AM, so (if you got there early enough) you were able to walk around and take a closer look @ items. EVERYTHING in the establishment went....no RESERVES. Just to give you an idea.... WE sold COMMERCIAL stoves, a vent hood, freezers, tables, booths, chairs, pots, pans, dishes, a meat slicer, an ice machine, mops, brooms, desks, telephones, dry-erase boards, signs....LITERALLY everything that was in the establishment.

Fountain Machine...Those cups, dispensers, & lids went too. 

Meat Slicer

Lots of smaller items that sold. The racks & FIRE EXTINGUISHER sold too!

If you've never been to an ON-SITE Estate AUCTION, then you may be a little unfamiliar with this. I, PERSONALLY, have NEVER called bids where I had to walk with the merchandise. ALL the lots are organized by LOT #s. We went in order & down the line. I started if off. I was a little NERVOUS & you could tell in  my voice. I think it was more of me being excited & getting a little winded. I hadn't called bids @ an AUCTION since BEFORE Christmas.

It was different. That was the 1st time that the AUCTIONEER that hired me had ever ACTUALLY heard me in ACTION! He was HAPPY with me & so was his PRETTY, SWEET wife (she was clerking). He gave me a few pointers.... I bet ya'll will never guess :) SLOW DOWN & BREATHE! Not the first time I've heard that. Maybe one day I'll REMEMBER!

I helped him with ANOTHER this past weekend. This one made me feel pretty GOOD! It is a GENERAL MERCHANDISE Auction. So....there is all kinds of STUFF like: cars, trailers, equipment, coins, jewelry, Rolex watches, tools, antiques, furniture, guns, knives, swords, computer equipment..... REALLY...all kinds of stuff. What I LOVE most about getting to help @ this type of AUCTION is the EXPERIENCE that I'm getting on ALL kinds of different merchandise. You know...figuring out the "value." The bidders REALLY tell us the VALUE, but...just what ball park I need to be in to start some of these items.

Here are just a few of the items, to give you an idea of the VaRiEtY.

1924 $20 St. Gaudins 1oz. GOLD Coin. 

COLT 1911 .45 Rattlesnake 1 of 1000 - NEVER Fired. 

There are 2 other AUCTIONEERS that come in to help, also. I met them @ the last AUCTION where I JUST helped SPOT bidders. Everyone was REALLY nice & welcoming & all, BUT after they heard me sell a few items @ this last AUCTION...it made me feel like they held me to a little HIGHER regard. Not sure if that makes sense. BELIEVE ME! I get QUITE A FEW diFFerENT looks when I tell people I am an AUCTIONEER. NOT mean looks or anything. More like.... PUZZLED looks...maybe even CONCERNED looks sometimes. And well....SOMETIMES I even have those looks of DISBELIEF, but not really SURPRISED disbelief....more like "yeah right" DISBELIEF. BUT...I get the SURPRISED disbelief too.

Anyways....I guess when I look at it from the point of view of an OUTSIDER looking IN....I GET IT!
There just aren't that many FEMALE AUCTIONEERS. I mean when I think of an AUCTIONEER, my thoughts & MEMORIES go to (usually) STOUT MEN, wearing their boots & COWBOY Hats talking about COWS & HORSES & TRACTORS. What?! Wait?! Did I break the NORM :)?

I'll be HONEST. I LOVE IT! EVERY bit of it! I KNOW that I will have to combat LOTS of STEREOTYPES & DISBELIEF of all sorts. It is still AMAZING to me how this "thought" that popped in my head @ 2AM in the morning, back in March - has turned into WAY, WaY, did I say WAY more than I EVER expected! I have MET & become FRIENDS with some AMAZING AUCTIONEERS...some that have been doin' this for awhile & some brand new & had OPPORTUNITIES that I NEVER, EVER thought I'd have.

ALL I know is that I just PRAY that the GOOD LORD gives me the GUTS, KNOWLEDGE, & FAITH to follow this path & stay TRUE to all that I BELIEVE & BUCK UP BABY! Like Mr. Moon says: "I have no FEAR, I'm an AUCTIONEER." Thanks for READING!! God Bless!!