Maria Canton
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 28/99) - Hey now, say now. Start 'em along. Put 'em on the money. How many dollars will you make it?

When auctioneer Dan Lee opened the bidding at 5 a.m. for the Sir John Dry Grad auction last Sunday, the tired students were more than a little awe struck.

Loaded down with millions of dollars worth of phoney casino money, the students were slightly sheepish as they raised their hands to start the bidding.

But Lee, without a moment's hesitation, kept everything rolling along with a patter that was fast and furious.

"I'm bid thirty, will you go forty? Forty? Forty? Put 'em on forty. I'm at forty will you go forty-five? Forty-five? Forty-five?"

Lee, who is acting principal at William MacDonald, became a ticketed auctioneer after attending a ten- day course at the South Western Ontario School of Auctioneering, while on sabbatical in 1990.

"I saw the ad in the paper and it guaranteed that after ten days you would be an auctioneer," he says.

"It was like boot camp, ten solid days of numbers. Backwards, forwards. To the point that you weren't even aware of the numbers anymore."

Lee says auction fever is one reason he got interested in auctioneering.

That and the thrill of listening to the auctioneer's patter or chant.

"You have to mix it up with soft and hard voice inflections," he says. "Otherwise you might start to lose people."

But Lee didn't miss a beat the entire night, scanning the room from end-to-end for the highest bidder.

"Going once, going twice. Sold, to the lady in the green for $500,000."