By Eric C. Rodenberg As Hurricane Florence begins to disrupt activity along the coastal regions of the Mid-Atlantic states, auctioneers, antique show promoters and antique shops owners are closing up and heading for higher ground. Among several auctions postponed in the region, the Sept. 16 sale, scheduled at the Remington Lions Club building in Bealeton, Va., was re-scheduled to Sept. 23. That sale featured several quality pieces of furniture, coins, cast-iron banks, crocks and jugs, and fine art. “Right now, we don’t know what to expect,” said Steve Burke, owner of B & H Auctions and Burke’s Antiques in Danville, Va. Burke also postponed a Wilmington, N.C., auction on Sept. 23, putting it back to Sept. 30. At the time of his decision, Wilmington was predicted to be landfall for Hurricane Florence. Latter models of the storm showed in taking a more southward path, with the South Carolina cities of Charleston and Savannah being hardest hit. “We’re getting kind of a double whammy,” Burke said on Sept. 11. “We’re just finishing packing up and getting out of here.” Inventory for sales are stored in a 25,000-square-foot warehouse at the Danville, Va., company headquarters, about 40 miles from the coast. “It’s a well-protected building, Burke said. “But, it sounds like we’re going to get hit pretty good … predictions are for 15 to 20 inches of rain. That, and the winds, will be a lot to handle.” Although he’s located more than 300 miles from the coast, Auctioneer Travis Wilson is postponing a Broken Arch Auction on-site sale of antique and vintage advertising auction in Boone, N.C., until Sept. 29. “There were just a series of events that culminated in our postponing,” said Wilson, the third-generation owner of Broken Arch Auction Gallery in Weaverville, N.C. “We were having problems getting a tent from our tent company. Then, there’s going to be all the rain to deal with. “This is just not a good time for an auction. It’s time to prepare, and if you’re prepared help your neighbor. Right now, nobody knows what it’s going to do. It’s time to help each other.” The consignor was amicable to postponing the event, Wilson said, being a patient man. “He’s an older gentleman of about 85 years old. He’s been collecting advertising pieces for over 50 years.” The 318-lot auction of lifetime collector Al Blakeman includes several new-old stock signs, soft drink and petroliana advertising, a rare 72-inch porcelain Mail Pouch tobacco thermometer, bubble and neon clocks and more. Within the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the 28th annual Antique and Classic Boat Show and Festival, originally scheduled for Sept. 15, was postponed until Oct. 13. “Nothing’s changed (in the show), we’ve just changed the dates,” George Blosser, publicity chairman of the Smith Mountain Lake chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society, said. The antique boat show draws boaters from across the country. The possibility of roads being flooded, bridges being washed out and cars being stranded was a foremost concern. “We have people coming from Texas and Michigan, and they bring their boats in these covered trailers, and we don’t want them being damaged,” Blosser said. Hurricane Florence has been called “the storm of a lifetime” by some weather forecasters. |