| Greenville collector's treasures go on the auction block By Heather Ratcliffe Of The Post-Dispatch Ralph J. Loyd collected nearly everything. Baby buggies, leather-working tools, egg scales, cash registers, coffee grinders, stirrups, tobacco cutters, thermometers, fire extinguishers, bottle openers and meat cleavers, to name a few. But he didn't just have one or two of each. If he had one wrench, he had 50. By the time Loyd died in February, his collection had grown to fill a 7,200-square-foot warehouse from floor to ceiling. Although it may look like junk, experts said it's actually a trove of antique treasures. And this weekend the collection will go on sale. Thousands of antique dealers and collectors from across the country will descend on Greenville to buy Loyd's stuff. Four auctioneers will spend two days, from morning until night, selling the collection, so big that no one can estimate its size or price. Greenville residents called Loyd himself a treasure. A volunteer firefighter for more than 70 years, he died of an apparent heart attack at age 90 on the way to a fire call. He was a third-generation Greenville resident. When he was 5 years old, he worked for his father at Loyd's Grocery Store. When he was a teen-ager, he drove a truck to St. Louis to collect merchandise for Greenville businesses. His work with general stores probably sparked his interest in collecting, said Sandy Loyd, his daughter-in-law. Loyd never missed an auction or estate sale. He didn't visit antique stores much. He bought items from their original owners. Most of his collection comes from residents and businesses of Bond County. "It was his hobby. He didn't collect stuff for its value. He didn't care about selling it," said his son, Van Loyd. Before Loyd died he gave his family three choices for his collection. "He told us to burn it, bury it or sell it," Van Loyd said. Loyd pulled most of the historical Greenville artifacts from his collection before he died. His family put the items on display in a museum at the Rainbow House, a gift store owned by Van and Sandy Loyd. Locals will recognize many of the items in the museum. They bear markings from businesses long since closed such as the Carp Cash Store, HH Wirz Cigar Co., Seaman's Hardware, the FP Joy Co. and Greider's Bakery. "Dad was always around when this stuff was sold or businesses closed," Sandy Loyd said. "It was his dream to see this stuff in a museum. He has left it all for us." The family saved many personal mementos from the collection such as a Wooten desk and an ax that the fire department gave Loyd after 65 years of service. Loyd collected for himself. He would buy a new item, catalog it, admire it, and then neatly display it on a wood shelf or glass case. Not many people have seen Loyd's collection. He kept it hidden in his basement, garage and pig shed at his farmhouse. Only a group of firefighters and family ever toured the collection. "It would be nice if we had a 100-foot-by-100-foot building to keep all his stuff in," Van Loyd said. "But we don't have room." His collection dates from the early 1800s to the 1960s. "There will never be another collector in Bond County like Ralph Loyd," said Robert Merry, a St. Louis auctioneer who is handling the sale. "He was a neat man who knew his tools." Auctioneers will sell about 100 items an hour. Even small pieces will be sold one at a time because most of them are collectibles, Merry said. "As long as the crowd stays, we will keep selling," he said. A newsboy wagon from the Globe-Democrat, an antique German spice cabinet and rare tools will probably be the high-dollar sales, Merry said. "Whether people like antiques or not, they should come to the auction because they are never going to see stuff like this again," he said. The auction will be any collector's dream, Sandy Loyd said. "Every collector will find something in his or her specialty." While the family is sad to part with the collection, they said they have memories of Loyd that will never be lost. "People say you can measure a man by what he values," Sandy Loyd said. "Dad valued everything." |