About 1,500 toys collected by Norvin "Cork" and Rosie Griffing of Culbertson for 35-some years will sell at auction Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22 and 23, starting at 10 a.m. each morning, in the 4-H Building on the fairgrounds, in the 1500 block of West Fifth, in McCook. The metal wind-up Dick Tracy police car has its wind-up key. The gold Berwin typewriter is in its original box. There will be lots of John Deere tractors, including this 1955 JD crawler. The cement truck sold originally for $2.98, at DeGroff's Store in McCook. A child's wooden horse toy and a metal coal truck will be sold among toys displayed on 29 tables. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette) [Click to enlarge]

CULBERTSON -- The sale bill reads like a toy catalog. A toy catalog offering everything from A to Z -- from acrobat toy to "Zoomer Boomer" car.

Rosie Griffing of Culbertson plans an auction later this month that will fascinate every child, and thrill the child within every adult. Rosie is selling the 15-hundred-or-so toys that she and her husband, Cork, collected for the past 35-or-so years.

Cork died in May, and, thinking she may want to downsize to a smaller home, Rosie is selling all but the favorite dolls that Cork and her children gave her.

"This was our hobby," Rosie said recently of the collection of antique, collectible, new and new-in-the-box toys. "We went to auctions, to toy auctions, to toy shows. We didn't go on vacations. We just went to auctions."

Cork displayed his collections in a room in their basement and on shelves in the little barn and the garage. He collected farm trucks, fire trucks, implements, trains, tractors -- Massy Harris, Case, International -- "John Deere, lots of John Deere," Rosie said.

"Cork liked construction equipment," Rosie said. "He ran heavy equipment, and was a crane operator."

Some of Rosie's favorites are wind-up or battery-operated, like "Charlie Weaver, the Bartender" and the vintage "Dick Tracy" car. She likes the tops, the toy pianos, a shiny child's typewriter, a favorite xylophone. Rosie particularly likes dolls and doll furniture.

Rosie can remember when and where they bought many of the toys. The Dick Tracy car they bought at a sale in Max. "We bought the SnapBall game south of Cambridge," Rosie remembers. "The auctioneer said it was 'the only one in civilization'." She laughed, "He was right. We've never seen another one since."

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At a consignment sale, they paid $4 for a 1955 John Deere 40 1/16 crawler tractor in really, really rough condition. "The tracks were gone, and it had been spray painted," Rosie said. Cork had it rebuilt and repainted, and it has since been valued at $225 to $310.

While the crawler received this special attention, most of Cork's and Rosie's toys are in "as is" condition -- there are even a few rough trucks and tractors that can be used for parts.

Rosie said she won't be sad to see the collection whittled down and gone. "The sale will be fun," she said. "They're just sitting here gathering dust."

She's keeping her favorite dolls. "I didn't have dolls when I was little. ... but there were eight girls in my family," she said.

Rosie said that Cork had no toys as a young child. "My daughter thinks that's why he started collecting toys," she said.

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It will take two days for auctioneer Dennis Youngs and his auction crew to sell all of Rosie and Cork's toys -- Saturday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 23, starting at 10 a.m. each day, in the 4-H Building on the Red Willow County fairgrounds, at 1500 W. Fifth, in McCook.

Storm dates are Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24-25.

The first day's sale will last about eight hours, Dennis said. "That's spending 30 to 45 seconds on each item. Come prepared to bid -- get your hand in the air so we know you're interested."

"We'll really be moving," Dennis said. They'll sell Sunday until all the toys are gone.

Dennis is impressed with the quality and variety of the Griffings' collection. "It's representative of lots and lots of brand names," he said.

"Most are new, or new-in-the-box," Dennis said. "There are some older toys ... metal toys and games ... some really hard-to-find."

The sale bill has been widely distributed. The sale is advertised in the "Toy Farmer" magazine and with Farm and Ranch Realty of Kearney, on radio stations, in newspapers, online.

Dennis said the sale bill is available on his Web site, www.youngsauction.com

Dennis encourages buyers to come early and stay late, and bid and buy.

He will accept absentee bids before the sale, he said, and conduct sales on individual toys by cell phone during the live sale. Call Dennis, (308) 340-5834, for more information.