PORT HURON, Mich. — Each year, auctioneers Ken and Tim Snyder host a fall storage unit auction. The sale this year was so large that it was held over two days, Oct. 24-25. Items offered included entire households that had gone unclaimed for 120 days or more from storage faclities.

One thing is certain, a person could have easily outfitted several homes with the nice furnishings that were offered, complete with a change of clothes and shoes. Many fine antiques and collectibles were also found among the endless rows of boxes.

Tables and chairs in all styles were available. A colorful reproduction stick and ball style wicker rocking chair tipped in $110. In leather, a nice wingback chair made $45 and two nicely finished petit point chairs took $60 each. The solid wood butcher block was a sturdy piece for $50 and $20 picked up an Ethan Allan end table.

Appliances, both large and small, were also found in storage. Most of the large items were tested and guaranteed to work. A nice Kenmore side-by-side stainless front refrigerator sold for $300. Also by Kenmore was a washer and dryer set, selling together for $80. Amana and Whirlpool washers and dryers fetched from $15 to $25 each. A Popeil Rotisserie cooker turned in $15.

In the primitive department, a rustic lift-top desk ran to $220. Fetching $100 each were two solid wood trunks, which had great hardware and detailing. An old oak church pew was about 5 feet long, making it a practical, usable size for home or office. It drew competition to hammer at $130. A Pratt Road piano came with a caned piano bench for $35. Selling separately was a ball and claw foot piano stool for $20. Antique quilts filled an old cedar chest, which closed at $160 and $50 took home a Victorian étagère. A pair of tall walnut pineapple post beds brought $45 each and included both head and footboards. The stenciled lettering was still visible on the drawers of a six-drawer spool cabinet offered. The piece sat on four little wooden casters and ended at $50.

Bidders were quite attentive as the fine jewelry and smalls displayed in the large, lighted cases were brought to the auction block. A bid of $500 took home a large grouping of 14K gold chains and rings. A large sterling jewelry assortment beat out a lot of 10K gold jewelry ending at $100 and $40, respectively.

Toy collectibles were not plentiful, but there were still some nice things to spark interest. A fire truck pedal car revved to $50 and a whole box of colorful wooden toy trucks rolled to $40. A large tri-fold puppet theatre, $30, had a curtain in the center panel and chalkboards on the end panels. Miniature Star Wars figures filled a case and appeared to be a nearly complete collection for $80.

A huge set of Bavarian china by Paul Muller featured gold-trimmed edging with an Art Deco sort of pattern and included duplicates of many hard-to-find and unusual serving pieces, in addition to the regular service for 12. The beautiful china also came with matching stemware and some similarly gold-trimmed Haviland china. The entire grouping blazed to $210.

Boxes held everything from shoes to books to small appliances and the original owners had written the contents on many of the boxes, but there were no guarantees that the notes outside matched the contents inside. Due to the sheer number of items to get through, some boxes were sold unopened, which provided a bit of a surprise to the bidders. A lifetime of reading material was offered at this sale. Many, many, many boxes of books sold in crates, boxes, bags and filing cabinets for $3 to $25 per lot. Three boxes marked “Décor Frames and Games” went all together for $25. A box marked “Tools” hammered to $25. Some unopened boxes sold for as little as $3 per box, making the hunt an affordable opportunity for all attendees.

Ken Snyder and son, Tim, held a very fast-paced sale with no reserves and no buyer’s premium.