4647 West Columbia Avenue
Battle Creek, MI 49015-8643
(269) 964-8908
Starving Auctioneers Rating: 2 1/2 Gavels out of 5
Auctioneers often work together which is widely understood. What is not so often mentioned is that as auctioneers we often consign items in each other’s auctions. There are number of reasons for this but often the reason is as simple as we want something to go away and will gladly pay our fellow auctioneer to solve the problem. Such was the case when Peter consigned two tractors to an upcoming auction held by Scott Vander Kolk’s Golden Gavel Auction Service.We each have our own specialty in the auction business. Among Scott’s specialties is breathing life (and money) in old and often abandon tractors and farm implements. He does this through a combination of black magic, a farmer nicknamed Navajo and a mysterious and shady figure they call ‘the Tractor Whisper.’ All this means that what was once heap of junk is turned into cash…a skill many auctioneers have and Scott has in spades.
Thanks to Scott's considerable skill the only question Peter had when Scott picked up the tractors was where they were going to have lunch. Towing a large trailer the drive-thru was out of the question. Arlene’s Truck Stop in Battle Creek, Michigan was the answer.
As far as truck stops go the food at Arlene’s was pretty good. One would image the creepy velvet picture of the long pasted Arlene hanging in the joint helped keep the staff motivated for fear the spirit of the late proprietor might come alive. Our waitress was friendly and everything far exceeded the relatively low expectations. Being truck stop fair it was priced as low as possible. Despite a lively late lunch conversation we never got to the bottom of why a strapping farm boy from western Michigan has the nickname Navajo or if Scott was going to get his picture done in velvet as a surprise anniversary present to his long suffering auction widow wife.
