TAZEWELL, Va. -While many people are celebrating Labor Day on Monday, a Tazewell auctioneer had another reason to celebrate: the first live auction of his new auction business.
Tazewell native, Brad Beaver, says he wanted a change from his Tennessee barbershop career when he noticed that many of the auctioneers in his hometown were getting older and retiring from the business. This gave him the idea to pursue it himself, going to an auction school to learn how.
“Years ago, we used to go Steve Miller and Eddie Pauley’s auctions and, it was always in the back of my mind…” says Beaver, “…There was a class for auction school starting within a couple weeks of when I started thinking about it, so I figured, ‘Why not? Give it a shot and see what happens.’”
Beaver decided to host his first live auction at the Tazewell County Fairgrounds, selling everything from uranium glass to John Wayne memorabilia.
We spoke to Alvin Christian, a bidder who was there to buy things for his office and foodbank, God’s Store House, in Brushfork, West Virginia. He says he was excited to hear about a new auction opening and was pleased to see friendly people selling a lot of good items.
“…It’s nice to be able to come out do something live instead of always having something on the internet, which is nothing wrong with having auctions on the internet, but I’d rather come live and look at it personally, and I get excited when I see a lot of things like this going on in the community…” says Christian.
Beaver says Christian isn’t the only one supporting for his new venture. He says there’s been a good response from the community, not just for the chance to bid, but for the chance to relive memories.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of people showing interest, you know, saying, ‘Oh, I used to do this when I was younger, go to auctions and used to spend all the time with my dad or grandpa…’ They’re bringing back memories and wanting to come in and wanting to come in and take part,” says Beaver.
Beaver hopes he will fill a need in the community and carry on the torch from the auctioneers who inspired him.
He says he is planning to make this auction a regular event, with auctions held “at least quarterly.” You can find out more information on the Beavers Auction Service, LLC Facebook page.
Copyright 2024 WVVA. All rights reserved.