Competition Goes Beyond Show Ring

Lou Ann Good
Reporter

HARRISBURG, Pa. — For many years, Tom Colpetzer, Patty McMurray and Judy Whalen competed against each other in show circles with their prize-winning Guernsey herds. But emotions ran highest when they contended for items at the first All-Dairy Antiques Auction, Sept. 22, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex.

The most sought-after item between McMurray and Whalen was a 14-karat, gold Guernsey jug ring consigned by Colpetzer.

“I saw Tom wear it for years and always admired it,” McMurray said of the reason she decided to bid on the ring at the auction.

Whalen also admired the ring, and she, too, was determined to give the final bid. But in the end, McMurray claimed the ring for which she paid $1,400.

“She would not have gotten it if I had my way,” Whalen lamented. She claimed her husband was the one who dramatically stopped her from bidding.
The intrigue, laughter and good-natured ribbing interwoven throughout the auction were exactly what planners of the first dairy auction desired. The auction was part of the All-American Dairy Show, where the best dairy cows in the U.S. and Canada compete. Most of the bidders at the antiques auction had competed in the show ring and are collectors of dairy memorabilia. They desired to add to their collections or to sell some items from their own collections in order to attain other pieces.

“I sold two items, so it about balances out,” McMurray said of two porcelain figurines she consigned. One was a Bing and Grondahl figurine number 1826 designed by Knud Kyhn of Denmark. The item sold for $200. Another was a porcelain milk maid by Locker, which sold for $320.

According to auctioneer Harry Bachman, who kept the bidding brisk, the buy of the night was a rare Dazey glass ice cream freezer in mint condition. “You could drive a long way and never see one of these again,” Bachman said. It sold for $550.

Made by the same company, a Dazey glass butter churn sold for $285 to Lolly Lesher, who helped organize the antiques auction. Lesher said consigned auction items were limited to unique and rare items with anticipated resale value of at least $100. Some items were donated and some items were consigned with 15 percent of the sale retained to help with expenses of the All-American Dairy Show.

This year’s event highlighted the Guernsey breed, and for this reason most of the items at the auction were connected to Guernseys. Included were framed advertisements, posters, models, milk bottles and ceramic and porcelain items. Colpetzer said the ring he had consigned originally was a promotion item for Adohr Farms in California.

Colpetzer said passion for dairy-related items is tied to the emotions one experiences in the show ring. He said the first time he showed in the 1960s, he placed number 31 out of 31. He kept improving his herd and in 2007, showed the grand champion cow at the All-American Dairy Show.

“No one knows how that feels unless they experience it,” he said of the achievement.

He summed up the first-ever dairy antiques auction held in conjunction with the All-American Dairy Show by saying, “It’s vicious, but it’s a lot of fun.”