At the Auction

As I have mentioned previously, Ms. Duck and I have a room in an antique store in the small town of West. This community is about 15 miles north of Waco and gained some notoriety a few months ago when they had a huge explosion in their town, killing most of the local volunteer fire department.

The name of the store is Olde Czech Corner Antique Shoppe, "Czech" because it is mainly a Czech community. In our room we sell clocks, china cabinets, slot machines, artwork, home accessories, etc. Click here for more info. We decided to get involved in this business to help fray the cost of sending two kids through college. And I'm glad we did! Our daughter began graduate school earlier this summer, and our son is due to receive his bachelors degree sometime next year. Believe me when I tell you it ain't cheap.

In order to keep our room stocked with interesting items, Ms. Duck and I will occasionally visit a local auction house. We did so this past Saturday and came home with some unique finds. Included were:

A new office chair for me- $25

A brass fire extinguisher lamp-$30

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A set of carved wood ducks (of course)-$25/set.

A box of nine old iron tree/flag stands-$50/box

 A matted and framed print, "Sunday at Augusta" by Ted Hamlin-$55

 

 We also bought a Hoover "Wind Tunnel" vacuum for $7, a couple of globe style lamps ($75), and another golf print by Simon Stallwood , titled "12th Hole at Augusta" for $25.

The best and most interesting purchase of the day was the large lighted china cabinet pictured below.

Ms. Duck and felt we could fetch between $500-700 for this jewel, so we set our max bid at $225. We had noticed in the preview that it had a small hole in the top above the glass.

 We felt we could repair it, but wondered how it had gotten there. The auctioneer mentioned when it came up on the block, that the hole was actually a bullet hole. It seems the owners had died last month in a murder/suicide here in Waco. The husband was only 60 years old and had just been diagnosed with alzheimers. Apparently the news was more than he could handle, so he shot and killed his 58 year old wife and them turned the gun on himself.

Because of the story behind it, we were able to buy this piece for only $125. An excellent price, but I have to admit an uneasiness about having it in my possession. I'll be happy when we get it repaired and sold.

And loading it in my truck was no picnic. Thank goodness for Advil.