Holm museum collection sold

Fire truck to remain in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE - Many of the people who attended Monte Holm's estate auction over the weekend simply didn't believe his vast museum collection came from one place.

But they did, all 1,000 item lots of them, said auctioneer Chuck Yarbro, Jr. on Saturday after the two-day auction.

"People thought there were more locations," Yarbro said of Holm's one museum in Moses Lake.

Holm, a Moses Lake scrap metal dealer and local icon, died in 2006. His family decided to empty the House of Poverty Museum of its contents because of the cost of running the museum.

"We did look at all options and the numbers. It just came down to numbers," said Holm's grandson Larry Rimple of Seattle.

And despite the difficulty of watching Holm's collection being sold, Rimple said he enjoyed watching one man marvel after buying a new dump truck.

The expression on the buyer's face looked like it was Christmas for him all over again, Rimple said.

On Friday and Saturday, bidders from as far away as the East Coast and Canada attended Holm's estate auction at the Grant County Fairgrounds. During the auction, bidders watched each sale item appear on a large screen in front of them. About 100 people bid online Friday, showing a strong Internet presence, said Yarbro comptroller Lisa Barth.

The larger pieces of the museum - a 1943 Baldwin steam locomotive and private Pullman train car used by Presidents Wilson and Truman - weren't part of the auction because the family is talking with several potential buyers, said Larry Rimple. No decisions have been made about the locomotive and train car.

The Moses Lake-area Mae Valley Fire Department bought the 1919 Stulz fire engine for $9,000. Grandson Steve Rimple of Moses Lake said he believes the truck will stay in the area and be used for parades.

Steve Rimple said on Saturday he most enjoyed talking to friends he hadn't seen in years.

Many of his friends bought items at the auction and one offered to let him drive a purchased truck if he ever wants to, he added.

He said he even bid on some items himself and one bathtub caught his eye. He added that the Yarboros did a phenomenal job at the auction.

But there was plenty left to browse over. Glass lanterns, sleigh bells, hand bells, an old clock, a wind-up record player, a bale of cotton, tea kettles, cooking pans and decorated saws were some of the smaller items at the auction.

The larger items sold were a steam engine used at Milwaukee Railroad's yard in Othello, a 1917 Model-T Ford truck, a 1927 Model-T car and a 1932 Ford car. A smaller-scale Burlington-Northern aluminum parade train went for $21,000 and a railroad caboose for $8,750, according to Yarbro's auction Web site.

Just when you thought you had seen it all, a look at the wall inside the Ardell Pavilion revealed rows of cattle brands. Tables of glass bottles and small toy trains filled one section of the outdoor auction area.

Sharon Byrd said she moved to Moses Lake three years ago and planned to see the museum. She said she wanted to see its contents before they were sold.

"It's a great part of history," she said.

Steve Brown of Ephrata said he attended the auction on Saturday to see if there wasn't something he could live without.

"There's just a lot of interesting museum-type things," said Karla Shugart of Ellensburg.

She said she was looking for a ship's bell.

On Friday, a man walked by the main auction area holding a copy of Holm's autobiography "Once a Hobo," which detailed Holm's life as a teen during the Great Depression.

Holm lived as a hobo when he was 13, hopped train cars and settled in Moses Lake in the 1950s where he opened Moses Lake Iron & Metal, according to his book

He built up his business during the construction of the Priest Rapids Dam and Wanapum Dam on the Columbia River and the opening of the Larson Air Force Base near Moses Lake.

He later opened his museum with his own personal railroad. He was well known in the area and people who met him years ago still remember him.

This weekend, five pilots visiting Moses Lake for an air exhibition at the Grant County International Airport even asked Grant Fairgrounds Manager Bill West about Holm, apparently not aware of the auction, Yarbro said.

He said estate auctions often become a celebration of life, Holm's included.

"Especially with an icon like Monte," he said.