On February 10th, 1954, South Seattle Auto Auction conducted its first sale. That auction netted eight cars. The following week’s sale netted three, two of which were rejected by the same buyer, forcing management to bar its biggest customer.
It was the Fall of that same year, seven decades past, when a determined but broke 29-year-old Co-Owner named Bob McConkey decided to head for the interior of British Columbia where he was raised.
In spite of tough times and very little cash, he made the trip and did what he loved to do: hunt for moose. With a new, fledging business (and some sage professional advice), Bob made his hunt a business expense.
With that successful hunt in September of 1954, an auction tradition was born.
Bob traveled back to the auction lanes with a bull in tow and a plan in the works. With a bit of ingenuity and elbow grease, he used a backhoe to dig a pit in part of the original dirt consignment area. A bed of coals and Alder wood were laid along the sides and the bottom of the pit. The moose was quartered and set suspended with steel racks, and the entire pit was covered in heavy burlap.
The roasting process took around 24 hours and plenty of Crown Royal contributed to the night-long cookout. After the moose quarters and ribs were raised from the pit, they were deboned and prepared for serving.
The 1954 Moose Sale was a tremendous success, producing a 112-car consignment (the auction was averaging less than 40 consigned units per week at the time). Bob McConkey continued hunting moose and serving it to his customers every year. In all, he hunted moose for 49 consecutive years.
My brother Fred and I began joining my dad in the late 1970s and hunted moose with him every fall for well over 20 years – always with auction customers in mind. Our times together in the woods are amongst my fondest memories of my dad. Greg Mahugh began hunting with us in the 1980s and supplied many a moose for the sale. Later, employees Jeff Lease, Kevin Budworth, Len Roll, Bruce Wanker, and David Pendergraft all hunted, bringing home our Moose Sale “guest of honor.”
I am sad to say that there will not be moose meat at DAA Seattle or DAA Northwest’s Moose Sales this October. With MAG Alaska now in the mix, I imagine we will be serving moose again in the future. But for me, this sale has never been about the moose — it has been and always will be about my dad.
Bob McConkey’s persistence in chasing a moose every year is indicative of his life. Losing both his parents by age 12 and enlisting in World War II on December 8th, 1941, he survived two solid years of aerial combat in the South Pacific. My father began with nothing except an eighth-grade education. He rose from despair and showed what hard work and relentless determination could produce.
Those who knew Bob McConkey knew him to be a truly unique individual. His determination forged much of what the auction business in the Pacific Northwest is today. He loved the business and the dealers it served.
The moose will always be our trademark, and now you understand why. With this and each Fall Classic Moose Sale to come, let’s continue to honor the people, places, and partnerships that make our industry exceptional.
Bob McConkey
President & CEO
McConkey Auction Group