[NJARC] We're All NJARC Reporters

[Ray Chase]

Many thanks to Rich for posting those pictures of the W2JJZ estate auction, I was there with a camera and note pad but did not use them as I dropped my camera and did not know if it was damaged.  As for being a well run auction, this inveterate auction goer says it was not.  The auctioneer clearly should have started earlier considering the multitude of items to be sold, a 10 AM start time would have been valid.  As it was, I left at 4 PM with half the items unsold and the crowd dwindling down to a fraction of the original.  The runners were inept, the auctioneer had to repeatably search for items to sell and the runners held the items up only briefly and then put them on the ground out of sight, there should have been a table to display the items to be sold.  The tent and chairs were fine but the auctioneer had to stop many times to resolve problems with the clerk.  The items were not lotted in an organized manner, it would have behooved them to hire a ham to give them technical advice.  Prior to the auction, several hams volunteered to put proper things together during the viewing.  The pace was much too slow for the goods to be handled.
Otherwise an extremely fascinating event. I'm glad that I got to see a small piece of this man's life.
Ray