Kuhlman Auction Service

To borrow a favorite saying from my friend Doug Pelleymounter, “I’ve been busier than a one-armed paperhanger” lately. Jerry and Larry and I just had a pretty good antique auction last Sunday in the Northfield Armory. There were many nice antiques. A large Roseville vase brought $190. A box of lead soldiers brought $50. A mohair couch and chair brought nearly $500 while a braided rug brought $190.

We are getting ready to do the Beal/Weaver auction tomorrow in rural Nerstrand. I hope some of you will be able to come to the auction. It starts at 3:00 PM. If you are not familiar with the country roads, you should start in Northfield on Hwy 246 and go south out of town. There will be a sign at Rice Cty 30 (Valley Grove road) follow the signs. The auction will be held in a beautiful country setting. There is a large quonset building on the farm so if it is raining, the auction will be inside.

Jerry and I have been working on Ida Wiese’s auction. We will be selling Ida’s 6.2 acre hobby farm on November 9. You probably already know there will be a preview on Saturday Nov 1 from 10 AM to 1:00 PM. This will be a really nice country auction. It will be held inside the 50′ x 60′ building on Ida’s property. If you know anyone who is interested in buying a country property, please let them know. While we have been working on getting ready, we have been going through more and more boxes of antique radios and antique radio and electronic parts. There are more than you can believe. Literally more than a ton of parts. A huge hay wagon full. If you know anyone who likes to work on antique radios, this is the auction for them. I have temporarily lost my cell phone (again) so if you need to call me, try me at home (507) 645-7758.

After the open house on Saturday, I will be going to downtown Northfield to conduct the live auction for the Northfield Historical Society. This will be a fundraiser for the Historical Society. It should be a lot of fun. It sure was last year. It will be held in Jacobson’s building. Bob is still finding ways to help downtown Northfield.

On Sunday I will be helping Jerry Kokoschke with the annual Camp Omega fundraiser in Faribault. This is another fun event. Thanks for watching our website. See you at an auction. Come up and tell me you saw this on the web site and I will give you a hug or buy you coffee (you pick).

We’ve created a photo gallery of some of the items in tomorrow’s auction at the Armory in Northfield… lots of furniture and interesting primitives, including this baseball game.

Auction starts at, well, what does this Coke clock say?

Yep, 11 am. See you there.

We have been so busy with auctions that I haven’t had a chance to write for a while. As soon as one is completed, another one takes its place. Don’t forget about the auction this weekend at the Northfield National Guard Armory. This is a real good furniture and primitive auction. Then next Thursday, October 30, we have a nice afternoon auction in the country near Nerstrand — Beal/Weaver. On Saturday November 1, it’s the Northfield Historical Society auction in Jacobson’s building on Division Street in Northfield, as well as the viewing of Ida Wiese’s hobby farm on Hwy 19 W. On November 2, it’s the Camp Omega fundraising auction in Faribault. See the complete rundown of auctions on our Upcoming Auctions page.

Then on November 9, we will be selling all sorts of wonderful things at Ida Wiese’s auction. In addition to her 6.2 acre hobby farm complete with her house and with a 50′ x 60′ building, we will be selling a 1926 Model “T” touring car, a car hauling trailer, a working antique slot machine, and more antiques than I can list here. See the special Wiese Auction section of our site for a gallery of pictures.

Well, the Machacek auction is completed. And what an auction it was. Dave Machacek and I worked (along with others) for over a week to get the auction ready. It looked wonderful. Marilyn’s collections were displayed in a way fitting their quality. Time and time again, I overheard people telling their stories: about how Marilyn had introduced them to a certain type of collectible, about how Marilyn had found a certain mug for them, about how Marilyn watched out for unusualy Northfield items. Marilyn always had time to talk to people and to share her knowledge without expecting something in return. This kind of good will comes back to you. People came to Marilyn’s auction ready to bid.

We had a good turn out both days and the bidding was spirited. (See the photo gallery from Saturday.) It was a large auction and I was really fortunate to have so much good help. My wife Barb has been helping me since we started 20+ years ago. My sons Nathan and Aaron and Aaron’s friend Sarah provided floor work.

Our good friends Jerry and Diana Kokoschke (above) from Blooming Prairie both helped, Jerry with selling coins and “ringing” and Diana with clerking. Jerry and Diana are multi-talented, being teachers, auctioneers, and travel planners. We were fortunate to also have help and assistance from Don Parker, Dr Halvorson, Bruce Dennison, and Mary Cay Longley.

I want to make special thanks to Larry Valek (below), my friend and co-auctioneer from Northfield.

I developed laryngitis the morning of the auction for the first time in my life, and Larry stepped in and called bids for the majority of the auction. Although Larry has been auctioneering for a number of years, his background has included a lot more farm machinery than fine glassware. He stepped right in and sold glassware, china, dolls, and everything else.