Those who set aside time to attend the Jim Winger astronomical estate sale were well-rewarded on June 9th. The brilliant morning sunshine cast a cheery light upon the rows and rows of books, magazines, and other paraphernalia collected over a lifetime by a man whose interest encompassed cosmology, physics, and electronics.
Ann, Bill, and Alex Tekatch had done a brilliant job of organizing everything into small groups and attaching a form for placing bids in the silent auction. When I arrived, about 10am, several HAA members were already perusing the items that had been neatly arrayed on the driveway and front lawn but, luckily, Ann had decided that the cut-off for bids would be 11am so I had time to check everything out and get busy with my pen.
There was so much quality stuff it was almost overwhelming. A few items though, were particularly ?hot? and prompted good-natured bidding wars with the participants cajoling their rivals to counter-bid.
When time was called, everyone gathered the items they had ?won? and began cashing out. Personally, I ended up with about two dozen books, some of them real gems, and three complete years of S&T ? one of which included the issue from the month that Gail was born which she got a real kick out of.
The usual HAA camaraderie was in abundance, and it was nice to see Charles Baetsen had the time to come down from Peterborough and pick up several nice items.
Even after everyone had gathered up their new treasures it seemed like there was still enough left for another auction. Hopefully, TES (Tekatch Estate Sales) will find new owners for some of those items at Starfest but, if not, they still managed to raise $540 for the HAA. Many thanks to them for all their time and effort; to Lucille Winger for the donation of Jim?s collection; and to the members who helped make the day such a success.
As a bonus, there was a tour of the gorgeous Tekatch observatory. Even at mid-day the Moon was conveniently placed and everyone got to look through a beautiful refractor. What a great way to finish off an extremely enjoyable morning.