James D. O’Brien, age 88, of Eden, went to his Heavenly home on Monday, October 19, 2015 surrounded by his family. Col. Jim was born March 24, 1927 in the Garden of Eden to James H. and Estelle M. O’Brien. Jim and his bride, Helen Mae Perron, were married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Eden on June 18, 1949. Together they farmed the O’Brien homestead in the town of Eden for nearly 60 years. Working together, they raised 10 children! Jim loved farming and auctioneering, traveling, his deer hunting friends, a good party and singing Irish tunes. Jim began in the auction business at the age of 18 and spent 60 years as one-half of O’Brien Brothers Auctioneers, selling cattle, farm, and household auctions. In addition, Jim auctioned many years at Midwest Livestock Producers, Lomira, and was a lifelong member of the Wisconsin State and National Auctioneers Association. Jim also served the Ashford Mutual Insurance Company and Mt. Calvary Mutual Insurance Company as a member of the Board of Directors. Jim was a lifelong member of Shepherd of the Hills Parish, a proud member of the Eden Fire Department, announcing the Eden Firemen’s parade for 50 years. He also served as a member of the Eden Lions Club, the Knights of Columbus, and the Catholic Order of Foresters. Jim is survived by his wife, Helen, nine of his ten children: Jean Green and Patty O’Brien of North Fond du Lac; Jim Jr., Dennis and Karen O’Brien, all of Eden; Tim (Corina) O’Brien of Campbellsport; Barbara (Michael) Senn and Chris (Joe) Schiek, both of Fond du Lac; Maureen (Andy) Heimerl of Lester Prairie MN; and his daughter-in-law, Patty Maxia O’Brien of Eden. He is further survived by his sister, Sr. Michaela O’Brien, CSA, his brother Pat (Marilyn) O’Brien, and his brothers-in-law, Willie Gellings and Jerry (Bea) Perron; 24 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and many special nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Jim was preceded in death by his son, Daniel O’Brien; his parents, James and Estelle; three sisters and brothers-in-law – Florence (Frank) Flood, Helen Gellings, and Alice Michels Riegert (Arlyn Michels and Norb Riegert); his brother and sister-in-law, Tom (Coletta) O’Brien; his in-laws, Leo and Esther Perron, brother-in-law, John Perron, and sister and brother -in-law Jane (Art) Ambroso.
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History of Auctioneering
Ripon – Jay Clarke was installed as president-elect of the Wisconsin Auctioneers Association
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The world’s largest flower auction and flower market is Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer (VBA) in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. Every weekday approximately 19 million flowers and 2 million plants of over 12,000 varieties are sold with a daily turnover of €6 million ($7.2 million, £4 million). The total area of the building covers 999,000 m² (10 million ft²) which is equal to 165 soccer fields.
The VBA has a network of 7,000 growers who provide the plants/flowers and almost 1,400 buyers who export them. Approximately 85% of the goods are exported that day to European countries and 10% go to USA. Imports generally come from Africa, Europe and Scandinavia. The auctioning takes place using 13 clocks in five auction rooms handling 55,000 transactions per day.
A system known as ‘Dutch clock auction’ is used, whereby the auctioneer sets the starting price high and prices then go down until a buyer pushes a button to freeze the price. The risk being wait too long and another buyer will get the goods, but press too soon and the buyer might pay too much. The VBA was established in 1968, following a merger of two Aalsmeer auctions: Veiling Bloemenlust and Centrale Aalsmeerse. These auctions themselves began in Aalsmeer in 1911/1912 where growers would gather in a cafe and sell their produce.
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The most expensive cow sold at auction is R$21,000,000 (£3.33m / $4.38m), named Mara (Brazil), in an auction in Arandú, São Paulo, Brazil, as of 1 July 2023.
Mara (Viatina-19 FIV Mara Imóveis) is a 53-month-old cow of the Nelore breed, a breed known for its ability to adapt to tropical climates as well as its resistance to diseases.
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The most expensive watermelon sold at auction is CNY 51,000 ($7,489; £5,827; €6,442) and was achieved by Inner Mongolia Green State Fertilizer Co., Ltd. (China) in Kerchin, Inner Mongolia, China, on 26 August 2018.
The watermelon weighed 81.75 kg (180.22 lb).
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A bejeweled cover of Kohl, a women’s magazine published by ITP Lifestyle Publishing (UAE) featuring Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, was auctioned in October 2008 for $10,000 (then £6,900)
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The most items auctioned in 24 hours is 1,023, and was achieved by Ian Kasper (USA) in Niles, Illinois, USA, on 21 April 2018.
Ian attempted the record at his business, Lot 14 Auctions, and raised $1,160 for charity during the auction.
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The most expensive cognac sold at auction is a bottle of 1762 Gautier, which was purchased by Nguyen Dinh Tuan Viet (Vietnam) for £122,696 (€137,206, $150,723) at a Sotheby’s auction in London, UK, on 28 May 2022.
The bottle is known as the ‘Grand Frere’ and is the largest of the three bottles of 1762 Gautier.
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The most expensive dress sold at auction is Marilyn Monroe’s ‘Happy birthday, Mr President’ dress, purchased by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (USA) for $4,800,000 USD (€4,489,000, £3,857,200) at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 17 November 2016
The custom-made Jean Louis gown was worn by Marilyn during her famous performance for President Kennedy, at a fundraiser gala for the Democratic Party on 19 May 1962.
The figure is $200,000 greater than the previous record holder, the ivory rayon-acetate dress worn also by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch.
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The most expensive coin sold at auction is The 1933 Double Eagle which sold for $18,872,250 (£13,334,400 / €15,495,400) at Sotheby’s in New York, USA, on 9 June 2021.
The coin, which depicts an American eagle in flight on one side and Liberty striding forward on the other, has a face value of $20. It is the only coin of its kind ever allowed to be privately owned. The expected selling price was $10-15 million.
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The most expensive cheese sold at auction is €20,500 ($22,787; £18,615) and was achieved by Regulatory Council DOP Cabrales (Spain) in Cabrales, Asturias, Spain, on 25 August 2019.
The cheese sold was a block of Cabrales; a semi-hard, very strong-tasting blue cheese produced by artisan farmers in Asturias, Spain. The block of Cabrales weighed 2 kg, giving it a price per kg of €10,250 ($11,393, £9,307). The Regulatory Council DOP Cabrales also achieved this record in 2018.
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