By Jean Schurman
In 1960, Morris Gardner, a well-known local businessman and auctioneer, began what is now one of the first signs of spring, Gardner’s Spring Equipment Consignment Auction. The first auctions featured only farm equipment – plows, tractors, hay balers and other equipment that was needed to run a small, or large, farm. With the majority of the land in the valley devoted to farming, raising hay, and running livestock, there was always a need for farming equipment and the Spring Equipment Auction filled that need.
The Spring Equipment Auction has evolved as the valley has changed from primarily agriculture to smaller farms and acreages. These days, the tractors are smaller, but fancier. There are lots of RVs, ATVs, construction equipment, and even boats and cars, according to Randy Kearns who runs Gardner’s Auction now. Kearns is Gardner’s son-in-law. His wife, Vickie, grew up working every Saturday for her dad at his Saturday afternoon auctions. “She didn’t really have a love affair with the auction,” said Kearns. “But it’s provided a good living for us.”
Gardner was a self-taught auctioneer who learned the craft in the stockyards of Blackfoot, Idaho. He moved to the Bitterroot with his family where he worked for the Soil Conservation Service. But auctioneering was in his blood. He started the Saturday auctions and spent most evenings working at the sale barn. He and partners Quentin Brown and Earl Reynolds purchased the Hamilton Livestock Auction in 1968 and owned it for about five years. During this time, his sons, Kevin and Davar, each learned the family tradition and carried it on. Davar has owned Gardner’s Auction in Kalispell since 1972. His sons, Todd and Tracy, are continuing in the business. Kevin retired a few years ago and Kearns took over the business that is headquartered just south of Missoula on Highway 93. Gardner was awarded an honorary degree from Western College of Auctioneering in 1995.
Kearns said his father-in-law approached him about becoming an auctioneer soon after he and Vickie were married. Gardner told him he would fund his schooling in return for working in the business. He did work at the Missoula Livestock Auction and at the Great Falls Livestock Auction for a time but ultimately settled in at Gardner’s Auction. “I haven’t regretted it at all,” said Kearns.
Gardner’s Auction Service was founded in 1960 at the location on Old Corvallis Road in Hamilton where Habitat for Humanity is now located. In 1972, the Kalispell branch opened and in 1974, the Missoula branch at 4810 Hwy 93 South, Missoula, opened. Kearns said one of the most unusual auctions they have done was the liquidation of the Daly Mansion in 1986. The event drew spectators and bidders from across the United States. The auction offered a glimpse into the Daly Mansion that up until then had never been available.
But the bread and butter of the auction business are the smaller sales and the Spring Equipment Sale. Kearns said there will be between 300 to 400 items offered on Saturday, April 9th. Some of the items include tractors, tools, a dog kennel and even a grizzly bear trap.
The sale will begin at 10 a.m. at 153 Old Corvallis Road, Hamilton. Kearns said they will give out about 250 bidder numbers for the day, and expect in the neighborhood of 350 to 400 people to show up. There will be concessions available. Kearns invites folks to come on down, grab a doughnut, greet your neighbor, and get a bidder number. Spring is here and so is Gardner’s Auction 56th annual Spring Equipment Auction.