Creston auction opens to bidders

Annual Creston Auction-goers know the unpredictability the weather holds for the event. With rain and snow usually making an appearance, people came prepared, dressed in layers and tall boots Saturday.

Rain ponchos were for sale, but this year the sun was shining down on the 46th Annual Creston Auction and County Fair.

It’s possible that the wide brim of the vintage Mexican sombrero Ron Young bid on and won would come in handy, providing shade from the bright morning sun while he waited for the auction item he came for, a truckload of topsoil, for the raised gardens he is building. This is the second year the Bigfork resident has attended. Young said he likes attending this event because it benefits Creston Volunteer Fire Department.

The grounds opened at 8 a.m. and by 10 p.m. a large crowd had filed in. People clustered in front of three auctioneer wagons that were slowly pulled down lines of donated and consignment items. Everything and the kitchen sink was for sale from washing machines to elk horns.

More than 200 people volunteered to run this year’s auction. Twelve of them were auctioneers invited by head auctioneer Dale Stere of Columbia Falls. He has helped with the auction for the past 18 years.

“These people make it enjoyable to come down and sell for them. So many of ’em work together so hard to put on this on. I’ve never seen an organization like it,” Stere said.

Wearing a red corduroy baseball hat embroidered with “Auctioneer,” Stere recalled the first Creston Auction 46 years ago featured about seven items and a goat.

“They sold it [the goat], somebody donated it back and they’d sell it again. The same goat they sold seven times,” Stere said.

At auction wagon number two, Stere held up a wooden steering wheel and column, starting the bidding with a cadenced chant. From the crowd, Stan Howe of Helena came in with the winning bid.

“I think it came off a R.E.O, pre-1950,” Howe said. “R.E.O stands for Ransom E. Olds, the guy that started the Oldsmobile Company.

This is the second item Howe won 30 minutes upon arrival.

“I like buying stuff and looking at everything,” Howe said, but in the same breath he admits to driving his car instead of his truck, so that he limits the number of purchases he makes.

An auctioneer himself, Howe knows a thing or two about many antiques and collectibles. It is the first time Howe has come out to the Creston Auction. At 70, Howe owns his own auction business and enjoys attending the auctions of his colleagues.

“I know just about every auctioneer in Montana,” Howe said.

Dan and Kelly Potter of Columbia Falls are regulars at the auction. The Potters have attended the Creston Auction for more than a decade.

“It’s a tradition. We come every year. It’s very family friendly, the epitome of a hometown event,” Kelly Potter said whether it is raining, snowing or unusually hot. “One year we got fried in the sun.”

The Potter’s had no specific items in mind to bid on, but came out with bargains on an old oak table, a router table and a decorative antique lantern.

“We are just sort of casual shoppers,” Kelly Potter said.

After paying for the items, Kelly Potter decided to call it a day while Dan Potter decided to stay for the day.

“It’s an all-day thing for me,” Dan Potter said.

His piece of advice for the people who want to bid on everything — “Tie your hand in your pocket,” he said laughing.

Creston Auction chairs Louise Tidwell and Bill Wild hope to bring in more than the $25,000 raised last year for the department, which has 35 volunteers. This year, Creston Fire Department plans to use proceeds to complete a training facility in Lake Blaine.

By the time the auction is over, Tidwell and Wild estimate between 5,000 and 7,000 people will pass through. Both are emergency technicians with Creston Fire Department.

With one more day to go, Tidwell is already thinking about next year’s auction. Today, grounds open at 9 a.m.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.