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By MARY ANNE McKiNtEY HUGUENOT—On the sidelines he looks like just another kid on the block. On top of a chair,he can talk a blue streak as he fields bids for his merchandise. And he’s got credentials that made him possibly the youngest licensed auctioneer in the coun try. Thirteen year-old ‘Michael Marshall has been in the auction business since he was 10, and he doesn’t kid around on or off the block. He’s in business! Mike, as he’s called, and as the decal reads on the truck he uses with his father, who is also an auctioneer,’ was one of seven barkers who sold their wares Sun day afternoon during an auction rally at the Huguenot Hotel. While the rally went on under a tent, other dealers sold jewelry, trinkets, food, and other articles under shade, trees, dot ting. the front lawn of the’ old-fashioned four story hotel. Most of the customers were from New York,and many came as part of a tour arranged by the Backroads Touring Co., a New York-based enterprise that caters to the antiquing instincts of the city dweller sans auto. David Meinke, the group tour booker for Backroads, said he believes it is the first company of its kind. Plans are already un derway to arrange similar tours in New England. For a fee, the city dweller gets to tour auction barns in the western Orange Coun ty area and is able to truck his purchases back to the city splitting the cost with other collectors .As investments continue to tumble and people begin to look for ways to spend money on things that maintain their value, auctions are gaining in popularity, Meinke said. As a result, furniture, glassware, and china are being sought after in greater measure by antique lovers who are rarely experts. “It doesn’t have to be precious, only old,” he said. _ Most bidders were as unaware of some of the real values behind the wares. they picked up as they were of the controversy that surrounded the hotel two years ago, when a group of people wanted to turn the carding into a drug rehabilitation center. The hotel has been dormant until Backroads arranged to book its tourist there in May. Similar weekends are planned throughout the summer and into the fall, Meineke said. As young Marshall took turns with his father and the other auctioneers, his high pitched voice brought rape attention from the audience as he boomed a cadence of prices. He ad libbed occasionally for anyone who didn’t take him seriously. This years year-old Michael Marshall of Hyde Pool raises his hand as he auctions off a piece of furniture during an auction rally at the Huguenes Hotel. Michael, who is a licensed auctioneer and who is in business with his father, stole the show. — Record photo by Mike Caray
Newspaper Details
The Times Herald Record
Middletown, New York, US
Mon, Jul 23, 1973
Page 41
Full Page
Clipped by
Orange C.
NY, USA 20 Jul 2026
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