Crist brothers attend Barrett Jackson auto auction

By JOY KINGSBURY/for The Herald  —  Don and Dave Crist, well known Oakridge residents, went off to Scottsdale, AZ to take advantage of a winning strike made by Don’s son, James, at the Pleasant Hill Booster Club fundraiser and auction earlier this year.

Don’s son, James Crist, is Superintendent for Pleasant Hill school system, so Don and Dave make a habit of taking part in the activities at Pleasant Hill schools. This year they got super lucky when Jim and Jennifer Jordan, owners of Artistic Custom Cars, auctioned off a trip to the prestigious Barrett Jackson auto auction in February in Scottsdale, AZ.

James Crist was the high bidder at the auction, and, unable to take advantage of the trip himself, handed it off to his dad Don and his uncle Dave, who were more than delighted to take advantage of the opportunity to see the big show.

Don and Dave were booked for the flight to Phoenix on a Boeing 739 that was causing a nervous reaction to many flyers because of the door that came off one 739 in flight, and other flaws discovered on other 739 planes.

The brothers left Eugene on a puddle jumper to Seattle where they were to catch their flight to Phoenix, only to discover that the Boeing’s 739 connecting flight to Arizona was cancelled. They spent an uncomfortable night on the airport floor until four a.m., when the 739 they were scheduled to fly on finally launched.

Consequently, they lost a day at the show. More importantly, they arrived in Phoenix safely.

Some 4,000 cars were auctioned at the Scottsdale Barrett Jackson giant auction during the three-day event. Bands playing, food carts with every ethnic food imaginable, entertainment, art shows, boats on display, trendy, surreal clothing on exhibition. Three days of nonstop activities in a fairy tale world.

Don and Dave stayed in a lovely condo and rented a car to go back and forth and to cruise around with. The skies rained on them four out of the seven days. Both Don and Dave were looking forward to getting in some swim time, but unfortunately it was a bit too chilly and rainy to enjoy that activity.

The brothers had ringside seats at the auction. They watched while some perfectly engineered, outstandingly beautiful Artistic Customs Cars were auctioned for astronomical prices.

One of the other highlights of the auction for them was watching Buck Owens’ 1949 Mercury convertible auction for a mere $50,000.

While in the area, the brothers connected with a former Oakridge buddy who now lives in Chandler, AZ. So, off they went to spend two nights with the old Oakridge friend, Bill Nunnally. That was a treat and there was a lot of reminiscing about the “good old bad old days” back home.

On of the high points of their visit was the discovery of an “In-and-Out” Burger place. They say they worked that one over pretty well.

Altogether, it was an adventure they enjoyed with friends and family that will be well remembered by both Don and Dave.