The Auction

Written 2009- Posted 2010 a year later,heart is still raw

There is no feeling like the excitement of an auction. When I get there I look around and think, this is someones life. Your whole life put out on tables, wagons, or just thrown in the yard- for people to paw thru and buy cheap. It is sad, ....BUT...... then, as soon as sadness sweeps over me, excitement floods me... there is the thrill of the hunt, finding that one odd item for a good price and tryjng to figure out what to do with it.

This summer I went to an auction that was near and dear to my heart. It was great Auntie Lil and Uncle Oscar's. I always loved going to their house... it was set down a long, steep lane- a treasure tucked into the woods. We always went in the house from the garage, and just walking in the house there was a smell- a mix of baking, kitty's, farming, and woodstove. It was bliss... no one was kinder than these two. The day of the auction was hot and muggy. This time pulling into the lane was different, it was sad. It felt like a piece of my childhood was being stripped from me.

I was sad, really sad. Heart ache sad... my dad was too, he could feel it radiating out of me.

We started walking around the yard and wagons. I spotted a few things that I had to get my hands on. There were 3 things I had to have- like I was prepared to kick some major ass if I did not get them.

They were :

* Aprons

* School Bag

* Cookbooks

Two of the 3 things were the last 2 to go. I waited all day in the heat to get my hands on the aprons and cookbooks, to which thanks to my mom and grandma, have an impressive collection of each. The bidding was down right dragging, then closer, closer, closer my items came up.

Aprons First... there was not a lot of people interested in the aprons, but enough. I did not care the price, I wanted them all... every last one. I am sure when you were a housewife you did not care what apron you wore- you just grabbed one to wear it. I can only imagine where they went- the barn, garden, making lunch.... They are hand made, and wearing one, makes me feel like I was transported back in time. I won the bidding $11.00 a "lot" aka basket... and could choose how ever many I wanted. I took all 4 baskets... and I even shared a few with other relatives that were there and their kids. It was heaven, all the way home I held my aprons and looked thru them, smiling- knowing that they were not just from my auntie, but generations before. Gingham, ric rac, flowers... pure bliss I am PROUD- very proud that I am the recipient of this piece of the past, a piece of my past.

Cookbooks, I thought my dad was gonna get in a fist fight over these... they were arranged in stacks.... some of the old biddies at the auction came just for the old cookbooks. This equaled- being mean and deviant. Some women were "hiding" the old cookbooks then not letting you look at the stacks they were hidden in. My dad is easy going but when I told him what was happening he had to say something. The bidding finally started, I got enough of the cookbooks, I wanted her Betty Crocker that was literally in shreds, and a few others. I said to one woman that was getting pushy and nasty... "You know, it is a BOOK, not a bar of gold.... a BOOK- and I am a relative!" She backed off, but not really. I got what I wanted, I was happy with the cook books, and again, on the way home I kept holding them and smiling.

Lastly, the School Bag... this is the first item that made me get teary, really teary and sad... it was Aunties School bag, beaten, leather, broken zipper.... BUT... it had her name embossed on it... her maiden name- LILLIAN KRUPKE. I imagined her getting this as a graduation gift from college- to start her first teaching job. I was proud. I knew what I was going to do with it too... hang it on my wall with flowers in it. I love it.

I am so glad I have these pieces of her... but it still makes me sad, I think of her often and wish I would have spent a few more minutes with her, learning from her, learning about her... a few more sunny days... sledding on the hills... gardening.... baking... or just being together.

No regrets, just wishes I used my time with her better. I could not wait to go home and show my mom everything I got... for me it was like re-living her childhood memories too... there was no one like Auntie... no one.

Vintage Cupboard with cookbooks and aprons.

Krupke Milk Can

(This was not from the auction, I actually got this from my mom-

it was my grandmas and it sat in her entryway...

it has a proud spot in my home too)

The briefcase! Lillian Krupke



Lillian Krupke up close


Aprons, aprons, and more aprons

I look at these aprons and feel like I am back on a farm...gathering eggs- walking to the stream, or baking the biggest, fluffiest, round cake with white frosting imagineable.