Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 13

Colorful Art of Auctioneering Growing in Popularity By DAVE LEHERR Post-Gazette Staff Writer Watta watta watta watta, waaaaaaaa ha la ree nee nee nee, 00000old American. Hype it up to 700 words a minute, put it to a tune like "Yankee Doodle" and you just may find yourself with all the makings for one of the world's oldest and most intriguing professions -auctioneering. Because whether he's selling $4 million worth of furniture and decorations from one of the estates of Baron and Baroness Guy de Rothschild or pushing home baked pies at a county fair, the auctioneer is a man of mystique, rhythm, entertainment, humor and compassion. He's a performer, but a performer with a mission- and a responsibility. And at least relatively speaking, the lure of the profession apparently is beginning to spread more and more to young people.