Tom Petters Auction

I went to the Tom Petters seized property auction tonight, in North St. Paul. It was largely out of curiosity, and I said I would bid on something if it stayed affordable. I bid on just one item, but it wasn't a Petters item, which was just the first 86. I got a box full of buttons for $25, with taxes and commission it was just over $30. My guess is that it was worth way more than what I paid. There were so many when I went through them, and I haven't counted all of them yet. Some of them are duplicates, I can already tell. I will likely do a variety of things with them, but I expect to keep a decent amount. I've already seen some notables, like one that said 'Help! I'm being held prisoner in a button factory'. Another was a campaign button that said 'Free silver, Bryan/Sewall'. It does say it was made in 1976 on the back, I know that's truth in advertising when it's a replica. Not sure what election it was, as William Jennings Bryan ran for president 3 times and lost each time, in 1896, 1900, and 1908. There are a few about the bicentennial in 1976, and some are promoting movies like 'E.T.' and 'Crocodile Dundee II'. There's a small one that says 'From Minnesota with love' on it with a duck. Another is a press pass to Hazeltine golf club in Chaska, for the U.S. Open in 1970.
   So yes, even though I wasn't at the comedy club tonight, it was a worthwhile evening. In many ways I still heard jokes fairly often, from the auctioneers. I tried to write down as many as possible. I hadn't been to a live auction since I was a kid, and those were farm auctions in southern Iowa, which of course have a decidedly different feel to them.
   I would expect that these buttons will give me plenty to write about for a while, especially on days when I'm low on ideas. I can learn plenty from researching some of them. Not sure if any of them are worthy of the show on public TV called 'History Detectives', a show I have watched before.