Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NEW PARIS - Every year, the Annual Labor Day Auction gets bigger and bigger.
"It continues to expand. The interest in collecting continues to grow, and we grow with it," said Dennis Polk.
Conducted by Dennis Polk & Associates, at the intersection of Ind. 6 and Ind. 15, New Paris, the auction will be held for three days this year.
On Friday, parts and equipment will be auctioned off beginning at 9 a.m. At noon, the auction of toys and memorabilia will commence.
Saturday at 9 a.m., tractors and engines will be on the auction block. The three-day event concludes Monday at 9 a.m. with more tractors auctioned.
Last year, the auction was only 2-1/2 days.
It began in 1984 as a one-day event at the Polk family farm. In the early '80s, agriculture was "very suppressed," Polk said, and the Polks needed to raise money by other means. Dennis had collected tractors since he was a child, and he decided to sell some of his collection to help raise money. More than 100 tractors were sold the first year.
At one point, the sales declined, but when Polk thought about stopping the annual auction, others told him to continue it. "They told me how much they liked it," he said. "... When it began growing again, we couldn't keep up with it."
Polk added: "... It's evolved into the largest of its kind. It attracts buyers from around the world."
Consignments for the auction come from South Africa, California, Sweden and, "many, many, many states," Polk said.
This year marks the 17th Annual Labor Day Auction. And like years past, "there's rare items each day," said Polk. One such rare item is an 1800s ox wagon. Monday, "ultra rare" tractors and restored tractors will be on the auction block.
"I think we'll see the rare and valuable things continue to escalate (in demand)," said Polk. Rare (tractor) pieces are hard to find, he said, and that is Dennis Polk & Associates' strong suit. Polk said they have more than anyone else.
Not everything on the auction block will go for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Some items, such as some of the toys, may go for as little as $5.
"There's something here for everybody," said Polk. "You walk up and down the rows, you don't just see tractors."
More than 3,000 items were auctioned off last year and more is expected to be auctioned off this year. And "a lot of it is not even advertised" ahead of the auction, Polk said. "This (auction) runs three to five times more than advertised."
Last year, for example, he said they advertised 170 tractors to be auctioned off. They sold more than 470.
"We're expecting in excess of 3,000 lots to be sold," he said.
