|
The road heading to Frontier Auctions will remain a part
of the history of Wadena following the erection of a new street sign last
week.
On Wednesday, town crews installed a sign naming
Wadena's most southerly east-west street. The street has been named
Frontier Trail in honour of the lengthy history of Frontier Auctions and
the many contributions of local auctioneer Milo Mahlum.
The News contacted Mahlum to prepare an article, but
was surprised to find that Mahlum had done a story of his own.
Although Mahlum did the story with the intent of
sharing it with his grandchildren so they would know more about their
grandfather, after reading it Wadena News staff agreed that it was an
account that would be greatly enjoyed by Wadena News readers for miles
around.
He has generously agreed to allow Wadena News to
print the article. The story has been left unedited - in Milo
Mahlum's words - we are honoured to present The Life of an Auctioneer.
***
The story of my introduction to the auction
profession goes back a long time. I had worked at a number of jobs
in Alberta and British Columbia in my younger years before starting to
work in the mines with H.B.M.&S. in 1961 at Snow Lake, Manitoba.
It was there that I met Marie Germain, a
young school teacher in Flin Flon, Manitoba. We were married on July
18, 1964.
In the late fall of 1967 we moved to the
family farm at Hendon. It was the homestead of my father, which he
homesteaded in 1906. I had quit my job in the mines and Marie had
left her teaching job in Snow Lake. Farm life was tough with no
paycheques and not much knowledge of farming. The second year we
sold much of our grain to F&B Feedlot for $.78 a bushel and then paid
Allan Johnson $.10 a bushel to haul it from Hendon to the feedlot in
Kylemore. |
The winter of 1968 Marie and I went to B.C. to work and try
to survive the winter.
My mother was instrumental in me getting into the
auction business. My father Jessie Mahlum was an auctioneer from
1925 to his untimely death in August of 1952.
My mother would say to me, "Why don't you try this
as your dad would go out and do an auction and come home with $50.00 for a
short day auctioneering?"
Things only got worse on the farm so I worked in the
summer for George Prince on road construction. I would leave home at
5 a.m. - work all day, be home by 8:30 p.m. in time to get on my old
tractor and do field work. Sometimes I would work until 1 a.m. and
then have to be back at work the next day at 6 a.m. Those were the
great days when I look back now. I had worked for a lot of people
over the years but George came by his name honestly - he was a Prince.
I finally said okay - that I would go to auction school
in Mason City, Iowa, which I did in March of 1970.
Marie and I got in my old truck and drove to
Winnipeg. Marie and our new baby JoAnn spent the next two weeks with
her sister while I was in Mason City.
It seemed like a long trip by bus from Winnipeg to Mason
City, Iowa. I started thinking this was going to be a waste of time
and money - I had practiseed running numbers back and forth for about four
months before I left on this trip, but I felt I would never become an
auctioneer. Marie's dad had given her a savings bond - he would give
any extra money he had to all his family all the time. This is what
paid for my auction school and trip to Mason City. It turned out to
be the best thing we ever spent money on. After two weeks at school
I knew that if I worked at my bid calling and the numbers I really could
become an auctioneer. As I look back, it was the right thing to
do. Although there are some things that should not have happened, I
guess that is life. You move on.
Joe Reisch ran a very tight ship at his auction
school. It was tough with long hours and we were not allowed to
leave |
the school grounds except for church on Sundays.
Times have changed and auction schools are more lenient, but back then
discipline was number one.
Most of the guys that have been around for awhile all
attended Reisch American School of Auctioneering. Mac Scramstad was
there for schooling in 1958 - six years after he took over the
auctioneering business from my father in 1952.
Mac was my father's head clerk and did spell my dad off
at auctioning - which is where he got his start. Mac was one of the
most successful auctioneers in the province. As time went along, I
did team up with Mac and we had a number of good years together. He
taught me a lot but we had to work at it. In the beginning, Mac was
not in favour of me going to auction school. We only lived about a
mile apart at Hendon and I talked with him about it before I went.
When I returned from school in the spring of 1970 Mac wouldn't even
say hello to me.
Fortunately, Jack Hoffman was a big livestock dealer who
farmed and lived in the Wadena area. He attended a number of
livestock auctions and bought a lot of livestock over his lifetime.
He was a very honourable man and as honest as the day is long.
His son Clarence ran the trucking business and moved all the cattle his
dad would buy at the different auction markets.
When I returned from auction school it was Jack Hoffman
who came to me and suggested I build an auction market at Leross. It
was one of the best cattle areas in the province. For me it was a
big pipe dream - at that time I did not have two nickels to rub together.
The summer of 1970 was a trying and very exciting time
for me. I rented some more land; auctioned at the Watson Auction
Market once a week - eggs and if I was lucky, some weanling pigs.
Mike did pay me $5 for coming over there. Oscar Gryba was the head
auctioneer.
Fred Patrick owned the Kelvington Auction Market and
Fred let me auction there once a week. In the beginning I |
|
|
| only sold chicken eggs,
but later I did sell hogs and the five or six head of cattle he
would get for his auction. Fred did not offer to pay even $5,
but was happy to let me auction.
I eventually found a partner with money and an
interest in building the auction market in Leross. We both put
in $5,000 - I had to borrow my share. The T.D. Bank in
Kelliher said okay and away we went. We started building the
market in July of 1970. We worked 15 hours a day.
Our first auction was held in October of 1970 at the
now Parkland Livestock Centre. It started with a bang and has
never stopped. Jack Hoffman was right about the
location. He was a strong supporter of our market and wanted
it to work and so it did. Forty years later it is still a very
good livestock auction market and is well managed. It brings
back a lot of memories every time I drive by. That is where I
started my auction profession.
We eventually sold our share of the livestock
market in Leross and moved back to Wadena and rented more |
land. The 70s were
great on the farm - we made more money farming in those days than
has been made since. We were farming 1,000 acres. There
was even money to purchase new or good used farm equipment.
I had a good helper in Joe Zeller. He had
sold his farm to the Hutterites and I was lucky to have Joe help me
farm. It was at this time I really got busy with being an
auctioneer. As time went by, Joe stayed with me on the farm
and helped me day in and day out at Frontier Auctions Ltd.
Over the years, I have been lucky to have people like Joe Zeller and
others - dedicated employees willing to work with me.
In July 1973 Fred Patrick offered to sell me the
Kelvington Auction Market. Fred told me he wanted $10,000 for
the place, but if I wanted it I could pay him whenever I had the
money. He was insistent and kept suggesting I should buy his
place as he thought I would know how to operate it and do well as I
was a "young feller." Ryan Peterson eventually
bought Fred's place and built the Kelvington Auction Market to its
great success.
It was about that same time that Mac Scramstad |
 |
|
|
|
| was overrun with auction
sales, plus running the Wadena and Sturgis Livestock Centres.
He was having some staff problems on the auctioneering end and
wanted me to work for him. I was not sure what to do - we were
living at the farm at this time. It was exciting to have so
many options. Fred Patrick would leave the yard and Mac
Scramstad would drive in. I guess with three years under my
belt as an auctioneer, Mac must have felt I was good enough to work
with him. Perhaps it was one way for Mac to eliminate the
competition.
Mac and I worked together for nine years. He
taught me a lot about the auction business, but in the end we parted
company in 1982. Hilda, Mac's wife, was with us at Frontier
Auctions as well. They were great people - well respected in
the business. |
During the time I worked
auctions with Mac, I also sold at the livestock auctions in Wadena
and Sturgis for Mac and Humboldt and Langenburg for Harry Berlinic.
It was a busy time. Harry was one of the greatest people I
ever met in the auction business. Cliff Closson and I
travelled together to all these auctions and we became very good
friends. That friendship lasted almost 40 years, only to end
with Clifford's passing in 2009.
In 19779 I decided to build a farm equipment
auction market in Wadena - the time was right. I had worked
with John Wiegemier at the auction barn in Regina and flown to
auctions all over Western Canada, while still working with Mac.
It was a struggle to find any land suitable to do
what I wanted to do. The snow was deep in 1979 and I |
location was held on July
4 and the next one on July 9. We had equipment and lots of it
for both auctions. Billy Harris of Harris Equipment from
Estevan got us started. They hauled all his equipment to
Wadena and we had a bang-up auction. What was good enough for
the Massey man from Estevan was good enough for most dealers in
Western Canada!!
In our first year we sold over $12 million dollars
worth of farm equipment across Western Canada.
One of our largest auctions was conducted for
Cloement Equipment in Assiniboia in 1981, grossing well over $1
million. It ended up being the largest auction of farm
equipment sold in one day by one dealer. Today, that would not
be much of a sale.
My wife Marie did an awful lot to make |
auctions for Ducks
Unlimited in Saskatchewan and as far away as Bay Shore Inn in
Vancouver. Twelve years in a row I conducted the D.U. auctions
in Thunder Bay, Ontario as well as other locations in Ontario.
Since 1982 I have conducted all but two D.U. Auctions in
Wadena. I enjoyed them all - it felt good to be able to give
something back.
There have been many great moments in the auction
business over the past 40 years. I loved it all and still
do. We have made some great friends over the years - I
wouldn't have wanted it any different.
It has been hard work, but I also have been very
fortunate. Marie and I had our second daughter Holly in 1975
and now both girls are married and have families of their own.
JoAnn married Gord Ross. They have a |
|
spent days on my
snowmobile looking for something that may be a suitable location,
but there did not seem to be a place that fit what I was looking
for. The place I really wanted was south of where the museum
is today - but it wasn't for sale. Finally I convinced Mrs.
Brice to sell me the property where we are today. Neilson's
purchased the other property beside me at the same time.
Clarence Conrad was the Mayor of Wadena at the time and he did
everything possible to help us. He had to be the most
aggressive Mayor Wadena has ever had. I know he helped me a
lot as everyone else who was building in Wadena in the 80's.
Our first auction conducted by Frontier Auctions
Limited was held at the skating rink on May 2, 1980. Our
property was under construction but would be ready in late June.
The first auction at our |
Frontier Auctions what it
is. I could not have done what we accomplished without
her. We needed to promote these auctions in a big way.
There was no Internet in those days. Paper advertising was
big. As well we would send out over 20,000 flyers for each
auction in Wadena. Our radio and TV ads were a very important
part of our advertising as well.
We asked Bob Washington to do all our radio and
television ads. A former Wadena boy, Bob had become a radio
announcer in Winnipeg and was the strong selling voice for K-Tel
International. We were thrilled when he agreed to do all our
radio ads. They paid off and we have to thank Bob for
that.
Over the years I have done a host of charity
Auctions. The 4-H calf auction in Wadena every June is one I
attended since 1973, other than missing one auction.
During the 80s and 90s I conducted hundreds
of |
son and daughter and they
reside in Yorkton. Holly married Trevor Elphinstone.
They have three sons and reside at Prince Albert.
The year 2010 marks my 40th year as a licensed and
bonded auctioneer in this great province. Frontier Auctions
Ltd. has been around for 30 years and it will continue. I love
the auction business and feel fortunate to still have time to enjoy
doing what I like. It would take a book to tell it all.
Editor's Note: Mahlum says he feels fortunate
that Lori and Kelsey Mikush have started Frontier Truck and Trailer
Repair at the location. "The day will come when I decide
to retire and this will be their place," Mahulum said.
"I am happy that the Frontier name will live on and the
one-horse trail that was here when we started in 1980 will now and
forever be known as Frontier Trail."
|
|
