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History In The Making .....
Cowboy Heritage IX Auction A Living History
Rapid City, SD -- Win Bauer of Vale, SD, spends a lot of his time in the
past.
It’s there that he finds the stories of the great American West, preserved
in bits of steel, leather, paper and canvas.
He thinks it’s why people from all over the country line up for a buyer’s
card and a seat at the Black Hills Stock Show Foundation Cowboy Heritage IX: Old
West Collectible’s Auction. “People want a connection to history - whether
their own or the country’s,” he observes. “They want to seek it out in a
place where a deal is still settled with a handshake; where between a cup of
coffee and item displays, they meet old acquaintances and make new ones; where
they know the authenticity of lots has been researched - by a number of people.”
It’s that low-key, friendly atmosphere as much as the quality offering
built over the past nine years, that draws the novice and the professional
collector to the auction, that begins with a preview on Friday, Feb. 7 from 5:00
- 8:00 p.m. in the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Theater.
Now known across the Midwest as a premiere collectible’s auction, there’s
another key to the successful staging of the event - it’s range in what’s
presented. “I can’t say we go about it every year thinking, ‘well, we have
this grouping in this price range and that grouping of items in another.’ It
just works out that way,” notes Bauer, “and I figure it’s supposed to.
There should be no place in time that is kept out of the reach of anyone who
appreciates and treasures .... history.”
The center stage of that history will play out Saturday, Feb. 8, opening
first with another preview from 8:30 - 10:00 a.m., when approximately 280 lots
will go under the auction gavel.
Whether watching history unfold or capturing a piece of it, the Foundation’s
collector’s auction will feature a spur collection that Bauer calls, “the
best selection we’ve offered yet. Names like Crockett, Kelley Bros., Buermann,
McChensey, Rex Schnitger and from places like Canon City, Colo., and the era of
Wyoming and Montana territorial prisons, come some of the most highly sought
spurs - are all represented in the auction.”
Bauer says organizers are also excited about the set of Casey Tibbs spurs
offered at this year’s auction. Made by well known spur maker Bill Adamson,
Kersey, Colo., there were only two sets made, says Bauer. “And the other one
is not for sale.”
Also part of the offering is a 12 guage shotgun with a plate on the stock
that reads “Stockmans Association, Denver Yards, 16.”
“The person who packed this was just like our present day brand inspectors
... except he was totin’ a shotgun on his daily rounds in the cattle yards.”
And did a little carving as well it would seem. “While the person who owned
this gun at the time was waiting for cattle to come in, he’d carve brands into
the stock,” explains Bauer. “There’s a lot of history right there.”
Another item that Bauer calls, “something of two worlds” is a 1900’s
Sioux beaded cape that’s signed by rodeo legend Casey Tibbs and Hollywood
actor Audey Murphy. “We’ll tell that story on auction day,” Bauer says
with a smile.
But as with all things offered at this auction that is approaching its 10th
year and now enjoys national attention, it’s the real thing.
Bauer is excited about the offering this year, calling it, “truly outstanding
as far as uniqueness and quality. For example, we have one of the finest
examples of a Duhamel kid’s saddle that you’re going to find. The last time
we were able to offer something like this was at our first auction where the
piece led the sale,” recalls Bauer.
Works from the great saddlemakers of their time are all represented at this
year’s event; names like Furstnow, Streeter, and Miles City.
In creating the auction, Foundation directors Bruce Blair, Piedmont, SD, and
Jay George, Rapid City, felt that the event could serve to expose a wide
audience to the goals of the Foundation, among them to create and grow and a
strong scholarship program.
“We don’t expect collector’s to donate items to this auction,” says
Blair. “Winn and Jay spend all year searching for pieces to add to this sale.
What is donated in full, and what makes this auction unique to any other in the
country that I know of, is that the commissions are donated in full.”
“You know,” observes Bauer with a wry smile, “you don’t have to be
too smart yourself but if you surround yourself with smart people, well, you can
get a lot done that way.”
KOTA & Duhamel Broadcasting have been the long-time sponsor of the event.
This year, Rapid City Regional Hospital became a new supporter.
For more information, contact Bauer at 605-456-2971 or auction co-chairman
and Foundation director Jay George at 605-343-5140. A complete listing of
auction items can be found on the web at www.BHSSF.com
The Foundation can be reached at 605-718-0810 or email: foundation@BHSSF.com
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