GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, SOLD TO NUMBER...

Colonel Jim Dowdy is at it again, selling items at Rainbow Auction's Tuesday night sale.

If you're looking for something different to do, the auction may be just the thing for you. You might find that "treasures" you just can't live without.

One thing you're sure to have is a good time. Especially when the ringmen get wound up. Although the selling is a serious business, listen carefully and you're sure to hear a humorous comment or two.

Colonel Dowdy recently recounted his beginning in the auction business. He remembers attending an auction and the auctioneer was having a tough time. He told the crowd if anyone thought they could do better, just come up here and try it.

"I thought, boy I'd sure like to. I thought about that ever since, so I finally did it."

Dowdy said he quit smoking and started talking. His wife told him if he didn't stop talking she was going to buy him a pack of cigarettes. "Now I get paid for talking."

Rainbow Auction barn is located at the junction of Highway 61 and I-55 in Jackson. Bob and Claueda Barks have owned Rainbow for the last 10 years. Claueda usually clerks but does call the auction occasionally. Bob acts as a ringman.

Dowdy attributes much of the barn's success to the ringmen, Kevin Crader, Don Heuring, Gary Moran and Barks.

"They always have the merchandise ready to go. They love what they do and you can tell it."

You never know what you might find for sale. Dowdy said the most unusual item he's ever sold was a human skeleton. "It sold for $295. I'll never forget that."

Attending auctions can be quite addictive. Catch Col. Dowdy out of the auction ring and he might tell you a couple of stories like the one about an auction at Chaffee where it rained so long that the creek flooded and the merchandise for sale started floating away. "People stayed -- we had a good sale."

Although Rainbow will auction from site, it's becoming more common to sell from the barn. The merchandise can be displayed better and people can get in out of the weather.