BEAVER CREEK, Colo.—They swung Gerald Ford’s golf clubs, flipped through his record collection with personal greetings from the musicians, and paged through some of his books.
Bidders from around the country bought more than 520 items Saturday belonging to former President Ford and his wife, Betty, that were auctioned off for charity.
Guernsey’s of New York did not immediately have a sales total, but President Arlan Ettinger said everything sold. Ford’s skis went for $16,800, Ettinger said.
Gerald Ford died in December at age 93.
When preparing to sell their Beaver Creek house last fall, Betty Ford gathered several items in the house that her family didn’t have room to keep and donated them.
On Saturday, garden books, magazines, crystal Christmas platters, Asian ceramic figurines and gifts given to President Ford from leaders abroad were spread out across tables as bidders examined them.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Steve Brenner, of Texas, said. “How often do you get to look at a president’s things right up close?”
Though Randy Hoge, of Colorado Springs, never met Ford personally, Hoge served in Vietnam and appreciated the role Ford played in the U.S. withdrawal.
“We know of Ford’s legacy, and we would like to have something of Ford’s legacy,” said Hoge, who swung Ford’s golf clubs and eyed a Los Angeles Dodgers jacket of Ford’s.
Auction proceeds will go to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, OK Corral Camp and the Eagle River Scholarship Fund.
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Information from: Vail Daily,
