Schlichting attends historical car auction in Pierce

Lyons resident, Steve Schlichting, was among the estimated 15,000 people who attended the Lambrecht Auto Auction in Pierce, NE this past weekend.

“It was insanity in Pierce,” Schlichting stated. “It was wall to wall people in a field. It was so crowded by the auctioneer’s table, I couldn’t even move.”

Parking at the auction was also quite a challenge, and could be costly. “There was parking all over a nearby golf course. Somebody said it was $50 to park there. I don’t know if that was for campers or what,” Schlichting said. “We paid $20 and parked in a field that a church group had. At least the money went to a good cause.”

The car collection began some 50 years ago. Ray and Mildred Lambrecht, owners of the vehicles, had a car dealership. The cars that didn’t sell, they kept and parked them in this field. They accumulated 500 cars that were sold this past weekend. Some had very few miles on the odometer. Others weren’t in that great of shape.

“A 1958 Chevy pickup went for $140,000. It had 1.3 miles on it. It looked like something had been dropped on it,” Schlichting stated. “The passenger side was dented down about two inches and the glass was cracked.”

Steve’s sister Jean also attended the event. “I told here I wanted to see the cars being sold. It took me half an hour to get through the crowd. I saw the Corvette sell,” Schlichting said. “It was a 1978 Corvette with 4.4 miles on the odometer. It sold for $80,000. Some of the prices people paid were insane.” It was estimated, at the close of the auction on Sunday, that over four million dollars was paid for the vehicles.

Steve didn’t go to bid on anything. “I left my wallet at home,” Schlichting stated.

Many people watched the historical event from their computers or viewed it on the history channel. “I watched it later. I saw myself on TV. That is my 15 minutes of fame,” Schlichting said.

Loren Swanson, left, and Steve Schlichting in front of one of the many vehicles that sold in Pierce this past weekend. Photo Credit/Jean Schlichting.