I am beginning but not stopping with me. So many of us in the auction industry today actually began our careers in the collector car industry at Kruse International, based out of Auburn, Indiana. Fingers crossed, this will be a fun look back but also a peek forward into what and where the industry is headed.
My first memory of an auction is my father, Daniel J. Kruse, sneaking me into a tent at the Labor Day auction in Auburn. I could not have been more than 3 or 4. He plopped me down into the seat of a red first-generation Corvette. It was “special” and under cover because it had once belonged to Elvis Presley. He told me to put my hands on the steering wheel and pretend like I was driving. I did. He snapped a few photos and then he snatched me up and, in a blink, we were out. The Labor Day auction was held at DeKalb High School back in those days.
Not long after, at the age of 5, in 1976, I began running clerk tickets to and from the auction block and office. The block was located on the football field and the office was… well, I am not exactly sure, but it was not in the gym because in the gym, they ran old movies. I remember this vividly because I would sneak over to watch old black and white Flash Gordon flicks. Dawn Rathagaber (Barkey) would gently admonish me for taking too long to get the tickets back to her, knowing darn well I had ducked back into the gym for a rest and an episode. It is important to note that it was Dawn who gave me my first pay raise. I turned in my expense report one year and she simply turned to me and said she had had enough of me being the least paid person up at the block, and bumped me up to the level of the rest of the ringmen. Thanks again, Dawn!
I remember it being crowded, kind of like a local fair or festival. Today, I cannot imagine letting my kindergartner run amuck around all those moving vehicles and strangers, but I grew up in a small Midwestern town where pretty much everybody knew me. In fact, in 1990 while working the ski lifts in Steamboat Springs, I was boarding a couple onto the lift and a woman turned to me and said, “You must be Danny and Candy Kruse’s daughter, right?” I was taken aback and paused the lift. She laughed and told me she had grown up in Auburn. After reading my name tag that said, “Tiffany from Indiana,” she took one look at me and saw the strong family resemblance. I mean, really…
In the summertime, I would travel with my father to all of the auctions to which he drove. It was more fun than a kid should be allowed. The vendors would give me treats because I was a Kruse. Hence, I had an amazing Matchbox and Hot Wheels collection which my mother trashed without my permission. I have never quite forgiven her (love you still, Mom). PLUS! I got paid! No unfair child labor going on in the Kruse Family. If you worked, you got paid, but I did not just get paid by the company. My dad paid me. My Uncle Dean paid me. My grandfather, Russell, paid me. I would head home each auction weekend with a load of loot and between $30-60 dollars in my pocket. Kruses are super motivated by the ability to turn a buck. I remember my father hiding quarters and sending the cousins loose. If you found the most, there was an additional cash prize. This was more like warfare than a game. I still won’t play Monopoly. The Kruse Brothers’ rules are ruthless.
My teenage years brought me into the auction ring where I learned to be a ringman and a clerk. My Uncle Don Johnson taught me to clerk. He was very patient and stayed by my side car after car for many auctions until I was confident I would not make a mistake. We had these 2-part carbonless and perforated sheets of 9 or maybe 12 tickets. We handwrote each vehicle as the color guy described the car. As the bidding concluded and the hammer fell, we’d fill in the price and the bidder number. Clerking is more important than one might realize. There is a big difference in the commission and buyer’s premium between $10,000 and $100,000 but only one zero. I don’t remember when we started getting signatures on the clerk tickets, but I always enjoyed meeting the customers that way. No-stress introductions to happy new car owners.
Ms. Marsha Hartman was the very special lady who mentored me as a ringman. I am not shy, but I was afraid of making a mistake. By this time, the Kruse name and the collector car industry were established, and I understood what it meant to be identified as a Kruse. Being a first-born child comes with a cacophony of exciting things as each of us is an experiment for our poor, unassuming parents, but this results in most of us becoming natural leaders, assertive, task-oriented, and perfectionists. Hence, I did not need any help putting pressure on myself to perform, but I loved every minute. This industry has brought me a lot of joy and love and friendship. I am blessed to have grown up both in this business and this family.
By the time I was fourteen, I was traveling full-time every summer with my father all over the country, working auctions. It was an adventure and one of the only ways I’d found to get some real quality time with my Dad. Daniel had sold out when Dean sold Kruse International the first time, to ITT in 1979 (I think), and we moved first to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and then onto Tyler, Texas. He was now full-time in the energy auction business but continued part-time as a fee auctioneer in collector cars. I would spend the weekdays at the oilfield auctions and the weekends at the car auctions. Baptism by fire.
We moved to San Antonio in 1984, and here, my father took over a little collector car auction just north in New Braunfels. It was one of the longest-running consignment auctions in the US that wasn’t started by Kruse. I went to work full-time in my mid-twenties for Kruse Classics Car Productions. Dad hired Bruce Knox away from his brother, Dean, and I began to learn what it was like to run an auction. Sales calls. Paperwork. Legalities. Managing crew. The list is endless and nauseating (trust me). Bruce taught me more than he will ever really know. He is a brilliant businessman.
Speaking of… this seems like a good time to list (in addition to those above) and thank a few people who invested in my training. ALL participated in making me who I am today: Pam & Bob Justus, Julie Zimmerman, Janet DeLaO Belz, Richard & Nancy Sevenoaks, Ken & Kathy Dougherty, Ron Brown, Nancy Hyden, Mary Wallace, Francis Snow, Jim Ritchie, Pete Vicari, Tina Bassett, Karen Barnett, Rich Atwell, Dean Kruse, Mitchell Kruse, Buddy Watson, Ray Silkwood, Darren Julian, and last but definitely NOT least, my sisters, Tedra Kruse and Tara Puckett.
It wasn’t until somewhere in my late 20s or early 30s that I got suckered into working in the auction office as a cashier. I had been avoiding working in the office like someone would avoid the plague. I had methodically worked my way through literally every other position from vehicle check-in to auctioneer, sidestepping that dastardly auction office. Why? Because the office showed up first, left last, and got paid least… none of which sounded fun. For example, during the Labor Day auction, the auction office hours of operation began at 7 am and did not end until sometimes WAY past midnight. The line of customers was constant, and so were the cashiers. They NEVER took breaks. They woofed down their meals at their desks in between customers. They ALWAYS kept a smile on their face and a good attitude on their lips.
The auction office is THE hub of information at an auction and the first line of customer service. Often customers get so attached to their cashiers they decide to wait sometimes an extra hour for their favorite. The office is THE place I truly learned how to properly run an auction house, and it became the breeding ground for my growth into an owner and director in the business.
Pam Justus gave me the best advice I have ever received when I first was put in the position to take the helm of an auction: “Always serve. Never ask anyone to do anything that you would not do yourself. Take care of your staff, and over time, your staff will begin to take care of you. Serve to lead.” 20 years later, I find myself in a position of trust between my staff, industry leaders, and most importantly, my Father. Thank you, Pammy!
My takeaway is this: I was blessed enough to be born into the just right family at the just right time to grow up in and alongside the collector car industry. This is a synopsis of my story, of course. I could go on for hours and pages. Fifty years in the collector car auction world is creeping up on me now. Many customers are lifelong friends, and coworkers became family. What grabbed my attention initially was the desire to spend time with a father who worked hard and traveled 300 days a year, but as I grew, it was the people that kept me hooked. I fell in love with the cars, yes, but most importantly, with the unique community of people that ARE this industry: car people.
Tiffany Kruse is the eldest daughter of Daniel Kruse, co-founder of Kruse International. She had attended both the Missouri School of Auctioneering and Reppert’s School of Auctioneering. She is currently the director of Dan Kruse Classics LP and Cord & Kruse LLC, as well as a managing consultant for Maple Brothers Auction.
As a third-generation Kruse in the auction business, Tiffany has experience that gives her a unique industry perspective. During her 25+ years in the industry, she is fortunate to have worked alongside many prestigious collectors and other successful auction houses. Tiffany lives in San Antonio with her family, including her grandbabies, Kameron and Josephine. She can often be found speeding down curvy Texas Hill Country roads in search of collector cars, vintage motorcycles, and Texas Country music.
Motorageous. 