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Maine Antique Digest, March 2017 37-A
Arthur (Ol’Artie) Julia
1927-2017
Arthur Donald Julia of Skowhegan Road, Fairfield, Maine, went to
meet his maker, Wednesday, February 1st, 2017. “Ol’ Artie” (as he
referred to himself on eBay), at nearly 90 years old was the oldest
practicing country auctioneer in the state of Maine and probably one
of the oldest in North America. Just a few months earlier, he assisted
his daughter, Jeannine, and her husband, Steve Poulin, calling at a
major antiques firearms auction.
Arthur was the youngest of 15 children born to Azaria and Amanda
(Quirion) Julia, on February 7th, 1927. He lived his entire life in and
around Fairfield, Maine, and was educated in the Fairfield school
system, where he graduated from Lawrence High School. He was
an outstanding athlete and excelled in football.
“Julia is one of the
paramount reasons as to why the Bulldogs have been on the upgrade
for the past two weeks. The dazzling Julia....”
(reprinted from the
Waterville Morning Sentinel
, Fall 1943). He was also the captain of
the baseball and basketball teams.
He married his high school sweetheart, Lilla M. Wood, of Fairfield
Center. They first began life managing the Julia farm in Fairfield.
A few years later, they purchased a farm just outside Hinckley
Village. He eventually tried his hand dickering with livestock.
Each day he drove an old pickup truck through central Maine. It
was a challenging profession dealing with crusty, old, thrifty Maine
farmers, and he eventually took a more secure, full-time job as a
salesperson for Armour Beef. When the company sent him to
Chicago, the old-time sales hands at Armour told him that schooling
was a bunch of nonsense, and that they did perfectly fine without it.
Arthur said he did not know any better, so he went off to sales school,
paid attention to what they taught him, came back and applied it,
and quickly became the lead salesman out of the Waterville location!
Sales came naturally to the handsome, good-natured Arthur, who
loved dealing with people, and he eventually took a position with the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, where once again he excelled
as a salesperson, and eventually they made him a manager.
The family had now grown to seven children and in need of a larger
house, so they moved to the village of Fairfield. He and Lilla began
going to country auctions to buy furnishings for their new expanded
home and eventually over purchased. It was then that they decided to
attempt to resell purchases they did not need, as well as the contents
of the old doctor’s house they now owned on High Street. “Oak Tree
Antiques” was the name of the shop in the garage, and it did very
well. In his spare time, Arthur began to buy merchandise for his
growing and prosperous business. Eventually he teamed up with his
brother Phil, quit his job at Metropolitan Life, and then later split
off on his own.
Antiques and estates in central Maine were plentiful. What proved to
be more challenging was selling. That was when he started his own
auction business. After all, with 7 children and a hardworking wife,
he already had an auction team. On the auction block, Arthur was
masterful. He was at home with a tremendous personable attitude,
always joking and quick to entertain when a pause came in the
auction, and always conducting business in an honest and forthright
manner. Arthur quickly became the
“go-to”
auctioneer in central
Maine. Bidders loved this charismatic fellow, who said what he
meant and meant what he said.
In 2006 Arthur was recognized by the Maine Auctioneers
Association and inducted into the Maine Auctioneers Hall of
Fame. Ironically, when he first learned about the impending award,
Arthur had some reluctance, particularly in regard to the acceptance
speech. As unusual as it sounded, and despite the fact that he was
a great performer and showman as an auctioneer, formal speeches
made Arthur very uncomfortable. After giving it a bit of thought,
he decided what to say, and the result was true Arthur Julia. After
receiving the plaque, he turned to the microphone and announced,
“I always thought acceptance speeches should be like an attractive
young lady’s skirt; short enough to stimulate interest, but long
enough to cover the subject. Thank you for this award.” And with
that being said, he sat down.
During his lifetime, he was a tremendous father. He taught each and
every one of his children how to be entrepreneurs and encouraged
them to be honest and fair in everything they did. Auctions,
particularly country auctions, have always been subject to
“caveat
emptor”
(buyer beware) and all items sold “as is, where is.” However,
in every profession, there are always some who will take advantage
of circumstances, and back then there were always some auctioneers
that purposefully misrepresented items and/or neglected to reveal
damages, restorations, or other problems in order to get more money.
That was not the case with Arthur. At his auctions his runners were
instructed to look the piece over before it was being sold, so that
when it came up on the block the runner could point out to the
auctioneer whatever problem was discovered, and the auctioneer
could reveal it to the crowd. People respected Arthur for this, and
because of his honest manner, he became known in the industry for
being forthright. In one of his earliest auctions, while selling an item,
he stopped midway and pointed at the last bidder sitting in the front
row and announced, “You cannot bid on this, it belongs to you!” The
consignor/bidder immediately responded, “Well, I am not going to
let it go too cheap!” to which Arthur responded back, “Don’t worry,
none of your stuff will go too cheap because we are not selling any
of it.” Arthur then advised the runners to set the man’s items off to
the side so he could remove them. There was no funny business
at an Arthur Julia auction. His buyers knew it, and his children
were instilled with the concept of always conducting business in a
forthright and honest manner. A number of his children eventually
became antiques dealers and auctioneers themselves.
His oldest son, Jim, began assisting him at auctioning, buying, and
selling from the very beginning, and in 1974, Jim purchased his
dad’s auction business and eventually grew it to an internationally
renowned company. His youngest son, John, worked together with
his dad in the early 1970’s, and together they established Julia’s
as a “go-to” place for West Coast and Midwest buyers looking for
quality Victorian furniture. Eventually John started his own business.
Arthur’s daughter Jeannine married the handsome high school
quarterback, and together with her husband, Steve, worked with
Arthur in the mid- to late 1970’s as Arthur taught Steve how to buy
and sell. He eventually helped them start a small country auction
business, which grew to become nationally renowned.
In the 1960’s, when Arthur first began doing auctions, the entire
yearly gross sales might have been less than $30,000, with some
auctions generating less than $1,000. In 2014, the Julia Company
that Jim had purchased generated sales of approximately $54
million. That same year, Arthur’s daughter Jeannine and her
husband, Stephen Poulin, generated sales in excess of $8 million.
Thus the two auction houses together in 2014 grossed approximately
$62 million! Jim’s company, known as James D. Julia Auctioneers,
based on annual sales has become one of the top 10 auction houses
in North America and one of the leading auction houses in the world.
Arthur’s youngest son, John, specialized in Victorian furnishings,
which eventually transitioned from a brick and mortar store to an
online presence on eBay. At that time, John’s business was the
largest seller of antique furniture on eBay. To better serve his clients,
John had started a shipping company with terminals in different parts
of the United States. All of this is traced back to Arthur’s humble
beginnings.
The continued success of his children in the antiques and auction
business was something Arthur was immensely proud of but likely
would not have happened without his initial introduction, his careful
tutelage, his guidance, and his insistence on maintaining ethical and
honorable business practices.
He was immensely proud of all his children, grandchildren, great-
grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. He was an enthusiastic
supporter of their sports programs and further education. Education
was important to Arthur; he had wanted to go to Colby College after
high school, but after a week on the campus the subject of money
came up, and in 1945 he had none. He wanted all his offspring to
consider further education, and so many years ago he and Lilla
started a special scholarship fund and insisted that all future gifts be
in the form of cash to add to the fund. For years now, the fund has
helped many of his offspring in their further education.
In addition to being a wonderfully personable person, Arthur loved
to be active. He was an avid sports fan. He started skiing at 61
years old. For years he played golf and snowmobiled. He was an
avid racquetball player, and at the incredible age of 86 years old, he
was still working out daily at Champions Fitness Club and playing
racquetball with 55-year-old men (whom he sometimes beat). In his
70’s and 80’s, he took up biking, and with friends, family, or by
himself, he would travel to Canada or throughout Maine to explore on
his bike. He loved to work in his flower garden and would regularly
provide the girls in the auction office with his beautiful roses, which
he exchanged for kisses and hugs. He was also a licensed pilot and
was passionate about flying. Almost anyone he met became a friend,
but the two dearest ones for most of his life were his protégé Mickey
Marden, who predeceased him, and his other most dear friend and
frequent copilot, Charlie Giguere. For 40 years, they were the best
of friends despite the fact that Arthur was 30-plus years older. He
was always a great fan of old-time country music and bluegrass.
During the summer months, he traveled throughout central Maine to
experience many bands and festivals. He always loved to dance, and
Friday and Saturday nights were spent in Augusta or at the Melody
Ranch in Fairfield, where he danced the night away with an endless
number of dance partners.
Arthur was also very civic-minded and involved in local politics,
serving Fairfield in many capacities. His direct, straightforward, and
honest approach to everything come hell or high water sometimes
resulted in interesting coverage through the local
Waterville Morning
Sentinel
and news media.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Lilla. He is also survived
by his 7 children: Jim, together with his wife, Sandy, of Belgrade,
Maine; Jude Labbe, with her husband, David, of Rome, Maine;
June Nelson, together with her husband, John, of Waterville, Maine;
Janice Bowles, who survived her husband, Richard, of Oakland,
Maine; John, together with his beautiful life partner, Dottie Ricci, of
Fairfield Center, Maine; Jeannine Poulin, together with her husband,
Stephen, of Fairfield, Maine; and his youngest daughter, Jackie Julia,
together with her partner, Peter Walsh, of Oakland, Maine. He is also
survived by a vast number of grandchildren, great-grandchildren,
and great-great-grandchildren; his only surviving sibling Theresa
Cyr of Winslow; as well as a vast number of nieces and nephews.
It was Arthur’s wish that there be no funeral, but that a special
celebration of his life take place, which would include one of his
favorite bands, good food, and a gathering with all his relatives and
many, many friends. This will take place in July, under a tent at Jim
and Sandy Julia’s residence in Belgrade, Maine. If you would like
to attend, be sure to contact us to be included on the invite list. All
guests will be invited to send or bring photographs and their personal
stories of Arthur to share. Arthur also made it clear that he wished no
flowers, but that anyone so inclined and wishing to make a donation
in his memory could do so by making a check payable to the Julia
Scholarship Fund and forward it to:
Janice Bowles
17 Rossignol Avenue
Oakland, Maine 04963
His parting is a great loss, but it could never have been better scripted
(you must remember, this was an independent and very active man,
who loved to do as he pleased when he pleased). His greatest fear
was to be ill and spend his final days in a hospital bed or nursing
home. Wednesday morning, he was recovering from bronchitis but
as a result of some recently prescribed antibiotics, he was feeling
terrific. There was a great energy in his voice, and that evening, he
drove to Randolph, Maine, to watch his favorite country auctioneer,
Rusty Farrin, do an auction. He stayed for quite a while and bought
a number of things, which he was excited about listing online when
he got home. (He was still an antiques dealer to the end!) Just
before he left, Rusty began to sell a guitar and asked Arthur if he
would step up and try it out. He played a tune and sang a song to
the audience’s great delight and entertainment. (Arthur sold a vast
number of musical instruments over the years as a result of similar
presentations.) With their applause in the background, he left to go
home, drove only a couple of miles down the road, and fortunately
had the presence of mind and enough strength left to direct his truck
to the side of the road, where he immediately passed away. Our
father was a tremendous character and was loved and admired by all
who knew him. We are grateful for his long and active life and for the
divine intervention that provided him such an appropriate ending.
Rest in Peace “Ol’Artie.”
In 1974, Arthur sold his auction business to his son Jim, but for a
few years he continued to work with Jim to help him grow the new
division. This image is from an advertisement in March 1977.
“I always thought acceptance speeches should be like an attractive young lady’s skirt; short enough to stimulate
interest, but long enough to cover the subject. Thank you for this award.”
Arthur, together with his wife, Lilla, in 2006 when he was
inducted into the Maine Auctioneers Hall of Fame.
Noted country auctioneer Arthur Julia, at the age of 86, was still
working out at the local club and regularly playing racquetball
with 55-year-old men (and sometimes beating them).