BURR OAK, Mich. – Anna Stauffer of Burr Oak, Mich. was an Amish "country girl" at heart.

She purchased a family farm home in 1966 that consisted of 80 acres and moved in with her husband and two daughters, Marie and Shirley. Mr. Stauffer died in 1975 and Anna continued to live in the two- story home until her death this past fall. Her two daughters had long since moved out and started their own lives, but living alone in the big house seemed to suit Anna.

She originally came from Centreville, Mich. and walking inside the farm house was like stepping back in time. The old white milk painted kitchen cupboards appeared to be metal, but were actually wooden with metal handles. And the LP kitchen range was from the 1950s era and didn’t have an electric lighter for the burners, but still functioned with no problems and was used by Anna for her daily meals. The nicely arched doorways and the wooden primitive built-ins, gave the farmhouse an old-fashioned Amish feel.

When Jay’s Auctions began selling the remains of Anna’s life on the farm, the Amish showed up with their horses and wagons to see what they could use. They lined up the horse and buggies on the edge of the lawn at the old farm house and waited for the auction to begin.

An old metal one cup measure with the original lid, an old time kitchen scale, and a glass percolator coffee pot that set on the fire to have that strong morning cup of farm coffee gave the buyers a variety of retro items to bid on. A bright red flower Lucite napkin holder and round red Lucite napkin holder with stones imbedded in the side, kept the retro theme going as the potential buyers crowded around the tables as Hochstedler began the auction.

A wooden high chair still had its original granite tray in crème with blue trim and brought a final bid of $15. A bathinette had its original canvas and wood frame. Unlike the changing table, this interesting piece was made to give the baby a bath. You lifted up the canvas top and there was a canvas tub underneath for the water and the baby to splash in. Surprisingly, this piece was a no sale item probably because the canvas needed to be replaced and the auctioneer moved on.

A large pressure canner in decent condition brought a final bid of $60, while the second pressure canner was sold for a $40 bid. An amber carnival glass bowl was sold for $28 and miscellaneous glassware brought bids of between $1 and $5.

There were some really nice primitive pieces that were put up for sale and they did hold the attention of the bidders. A cupboard with two drawers on the top and two open doors below these still had signs of the original green milk paint and sold for $25. A tall cupboard usually found in a garage had just one door on the front which was held closed by a swiveling piece of wood and this also sold for $25. A large open jelly cupboard was sold for $30 and a jelly cupboard with its original doors still intact brought a high bid of $50.

About the only modern-day piece offered for sale, an upright freezer was sold for $50.

The highlight of this auction was the International Harvester hand cranked corn sheller. The Amish children were not strangers to this piece and they spun the handle and one even explained to another how the corn went through then fell in to a big tin tub that was placed underneath it, while the cob fell on the ground beside the tub. This old-time farm piece was sold for the final bid of $135. There was a 4% buyer’s premium added to anyone who used a credit card to pay for his purchases.

With Auctioneer Jesse conducting his first ever live real estate auction, the farm and the remaining six acres, including a pond was put up for sale to end this auction. With a 36 foot by 66 foot hip roof barn which had new metal on the sides, a 24 foot by 44 foot four-car garage and the two-story farm house, the bidding began at $50,000 for the property. With 10% down required if the bidders bid was accepted by the estate executor, the bidding rose rapidly until it hit the $80,000 mark. At this point while the bidding seemed to stall, the auctioneer announced that the house had new siding on it and the taxes would be prorated. He also said that possession would be just 30 days after closing if the sellers accepted the bid on the real estate. This four bedroom, one bath home just couldn’t draw any more money from potential owners after it reached the $80,000 mark, so the sellers decided to go inside the house and discuss it among themselves and said they would notify the top bidder later that evening.

Jesse Jay Hochstedler is the owner of Towne & Country Real Estate and Auctioneer Jason Hochstedler is the owner of Jay’s Auction’s which specializes in real estate, farm, and personal property auctions. Jesse may be reached at 269-432-3169 and Jason can be reached at 269-432-9495.