Auction

proceeds

meet

expectations

Fleischmann buys Eruzione puck for second auction

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- While he admits being "a little disappointed" in the turnout for the city's first sesquicentennial celebrity autograph auction, 150th Anniversary Chair Ron Fleischmann is pleased by the amount of money raised during Saturday's event.

"The money raised was just short of $800, and at the beginning, I felt we needed to raise about $1,500 (as a total) for all three auctions -- so I'm not disappointed at all with what we raised in this first auction," Fleischmann said.

While numerous "big name" celebrity items were on the auction block, it was a local "name" that went for the most money. The nearly 100-year-old Joe Schmucker City Brewery bottle fetched $70 in the live auction.

However, the Tippi Hedren gift pack, consisting of two autographed photos, two Shambala Preserve sweatshirts, "The Roar" video, poster and collector album, a Shambala stuffed elephant and a bottle of Shambala cologne, went for $50, the second highest amount in the live auction, Fleischmann said.

Hedren, who was born in New Ulm and lived in Lafayette as a child, is best remembered for her starring role in the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds."

When the 1980 Olympics hockey puck autographed by Mike Eruzione was in danger of going for a small amount of money, Fleischmann himself bought the puck on a bid of $20.

"Here's my big announcement. I'm donating the puck so it can go back on the auction block for the second celebrity auction July 10th," Fleischmann said.

The Ray Charles autographed photograph went for $25, and the 8x10 photograph autographed by The Righteous Brothers, one of whom has died, fetched a lot less than that, Fleischmann said.

"The Kent Hrbek signed baseball went for $5, can you believe that?" Fleischmann asked.

Despite the rather low turnout, Fleischmann didn't have much left over from the auction -- which featured 24 items for the live auction and 77 items for the silent auction.

"All I had was some silent auction things," Fleischmann said.

Although Fleischmann isn't considering any major changes for the July 10 auction, he might have the silent auction start several days before the live-auction event and run through July 10.

The second live auction will feature items like the Wheel of Fortune gift basket, an autographed final draft script of "Star Trek Generations," a 50-year-old Schell's Beer Centennial coin and Doug Mientkiewicz and Jim Kaat bobblehead0 dolls. There are 26 items scheduled for the live auction and at least 61 items for the silent auction.