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The Review June 2, 2015 GALT
Rock Falls man thinks auction house can fly BY PAM EGGEMEIER
GALT – Another auction is planned at the former Sauk Valley Christian Academy building, but the circumstances are different this time. After the school at 5505 Anne St. in Galt closed in December 2012, it was put up for sale, and its contents were auctioned off. Starting Saturday, May 30th, auctions will be held at the building on a regular basis. Harvey Temple of Rock Falls is leasing space there for his new enterprise, Harvey’s Auction Service. The auctions will be held every other Saturday in the parking lot area. They will begin at 11 a.m., but Temple said customers can come in to browse as early as 8 a.m. He also keeps regular hours – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The frequency of the auctions could change, depending on how many items he has on hand. He brings some things in from other sales, but most of his items are dropped off by local residents. No money changes hands until an item is sold, and Temple gets 25 percent of the sale price. “I’m just saying every 2 weeks until I get a feel for how it’s going to go,� Temple said. “There’s no auction house in Sterling or Rock Falls anymore, and with the closest one in Dixon, I’m hoping for the best.� Temple, a Morrison native, was a cross-country trucker for 20 years. He lived in Fresno, California, for 15 years, before return-
ing to this area. He thought he had retired, but started working with other auctioneers at their sales, and started his own business in Clinton, Iowa. “I was trying to do it out of an old train depot there, and it just turned out to be a bad location,� Temple said. He closed up shop in Clinton after a couple of years, but Temple couldn’t shake the bug. “People would say, ‘Why are you doing this? You’re 76,’� Temple said. “I just love seeing what comes in, and it doesn’t feel like work.� Temple takes in a variety of items, but has to weed out the junk. He’ll take bigticket items like cars and trucks, as well as electronics – that work. The smaller items run the gamut from jewelry and household items to sports and music memorabilia. He recently made a couple of substantial hauls from estate sales. “I take a lot of general merchandise, but no clothes or junk,� Temple said. “If it doesn’t sell after the second auction, I’ll call and give them a chance to come pick up what they brought in.� One benefit of repurposing a school is ample shelf space for books. A large collection of Abraham Lincoln items is featured, as well as an 1881 Bible printed in Rockford. Assorted newspapers and magazines call out to history buffs. The headline “President Kennedy Is Laid To Rest� draws attention to the front page of the Nov. 25, 1963, edition of the Clinton Herald. Another gem is a special section put together by the Minneapolis Star and Tribune as a tribute to Sen. Hubert H.
Old-school optimism Photos by Alex T. Paschal
Harvey Temple (below) of Rock Falls is converting a portion of the old Sterling Christian Academy, 5505 Ann. St., Galt, into an auction house. The first auction was Saturday. Humphrey at the time of his death Jan. 13, 1978. The building is owned by Keith and Melissa Ellefsen, and The IFH Group leases more than half of the 15,000-square-foot structure. Keith Ellefsen is president of the Rock Falls manufacturer. The Whiteside County Board approved the rezoning of the site from residential to light industrial in May 2013. Ellefsen said the space couldn’t handle heavy equipment, but it was a perfect fit for the company’s purposes. “We have five people who work there for our fluid systems and dispensing business,� Ellefsen said. “It’s all light assembly work, and the gym is perfect for assembly, and the side classrooms work well for subassembly.� Ellefsen said some space in the building is still available for lease. “It’s up for rent for storage and business incubators, but we’re not really marketing the rental areas,� he said. “The auction house just kind of happened.�
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Temple thinks an auction house can be successful in Sterling, with the closest one being in Dixon. But he’s going in with guarded optimism, hosting an auction every other Saturday. “I’m just saying every 2 weeks until I get a feel for how it’s going to go,� he said.
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