Auction step one in club revamp
By John Joyce
Published in News on June 7, 2015 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/JOHN JOYCE
Ronnie Ezzell, right, gives a serving tray a once-over at the Goldsboro Country Club Saturday. The city auctioned off as much of the furniture, kitchen and glassware as it could in an effort to clear the way for refurnishing the historic building. The country club is expected to reopen by fall.
Ronnie Ezzell sifted through dust-covered glassware and serving trays set out for auction at the old Goldsboro Country Club early Saturday morning.
He flipped through tag after tag recording the lot numbers of items on which he might like to bid.
Ezzell, a caterer, made the drive in from Warsaw to Goldsboro hoping to find the right items for just the right price.
He might not find what he is looking for, but no one ever goes home empty-handed, he said.
"You always get good contacts at these things. There are people looking for this or that and the things they have might be just what you're looking for," he said. "Auctions are great for networking."
Doors opened at the Goldsboro Country Club, 1501 S. Slocumb St., at 8:15 a.m. for an auction meant to clear the way of excess furnishings so the city can renovate and refurnish the newly acquired building.
Goldsboro City Council allocated $400,000 earlier this year for renovation of the country club, tentatively scheduled to reopen later this summer.
"We would like to have it open by late summer, early fall," Goldsboro Parks and Recreation Department director Scott Barnard said.
Saturday's auction is one of the last steps before renovations can begin. Barnard said hundreds of man-hours have already been invested in clearing the building -- originally built in 1949-50 -- and preparing it to be made new again.
Lot numbers were scrinbbled on stickers and stickers stuck on everything from tables and chairs to mirrors and accessories. A gold-leaf tissue box holder held a lot number sticker. The tissue box inside, however, did not appear to be for sale.
In addition to the staff time that has been invested, some unexpected volunteers also pitched in, Barnard said.
A group of 60 kids from a college in Rhode Island stopped through Goldsboro in late March on their way to a community service event in another city. The group traded community service hours for the right to sleep on the floor of the Herman Park Center on their way through town.
"They gave us three or four hours and we put them right to work. We just moved, moved, moved," Barnard said.
Auctioneer Greg Clark, of the Clark Auction Co., which is based in Goldsboro, facilitated Saturday's sell-off. Clark began learning the family trade as a teenager and took over the business from his father, Graham Clark, when things got to be too much for him.
"Somebody reported me for selling without a license at 16," Clark said. It was his first -- and certainly not his last -- effort from behind the auctioneer's microphone.
The bidding started after 9 a.m. and items, as well as the crowd, started moving instantly. Walking through room after room, auction house employees would grab an item, read off the lot number and Clark would start the bidding. Most items started at around $10 and the price increased as high or as low as the bidding would take it. A plant fixture went for $45. A large hardwood mirror sold for $60.
Whatever does not sell will either get reincorporated into the country club's new design or will be moved to other offices within the city. Items that simply do not fit the design and that cannot find a home in city offices will be sold via on-line auction sites such as Govdeals.com, Barnard said.
"If you haven't checked out Govdeals.com, you need to. There is some good stuff on there," he said.