Hall-of-fame auctioneer raises the bid

EASTBROOK, Pa. – Wayne Patterson didn’t have high hopes of becoming an auctioneer. He just wanted something to supplement his farming income.

Although he couldn’t have known he was destined to become an auction hall-of-famer, he immediately had a knack for the business.

And in those early days, with the milking parlor packed full with a captive audience, he got plenty of practice.

“I sold cows every morning and night while milking,” he laughed. “Every time a cow would swish her tail, I’d raise a bid.”

And back in those good old days, Wayne and his wife, Karen, would head out to conduct a summertime auction and sit under the maple trees with only a writing tablet and adding machine.

Retrospect. When he and his wife auctioned their first sales, Patterson would take dime bids and if they came home with a couple bucks, he said they’d be “tickled pink.”

Of course in those days, their oldest son was still a tyke in a stroller. He’d fuss and Karen would rock the stroller back and forth with one hand and keep on clerking with the other.

In those days they would head out of their Lawrence County, Pa., driveway with a $25 investment –