ROCKLAND — Walking into the Rockland Elks Lodge when Bruce Gamage, Jr., is conducting his monthly auction is always an adventure since you never know what fascinating pieces he will be auctioning off.

From cars, weapons and paintings to jewelry, canes and furniture, more than 300 lots go up for sale once a month in his own auctions. Gamage also serves as the auctioneer for numerous community fundraisers each year. 

Walk into his shop on Rockland’s Main Street and you’ll end up taking a trip down memory lane as a couple of his walls are covered excluisvely in Rockland memorabilia. 

But Rockland’s well-known auctioneer hasn’t worked exclusively in the antiques business.

Gamage returned to the Midcoast after being based in Germany from 1966-1969 as a member of the United States Army serving in the Hawk and Sargent Missile Battalions during the Vietnam era and snagged a job at the Maine State Prison for 11 years as a security and recreation officer. 

He opted for a law enforcement career after Germany since he “had a wife and son to support” and followed in his father’s footsteps as a member of the law enforcement family. 

So how does a security and recreation officer at a state prison wind up in the antiques business? 

“When I was working at the prison, I met Lt. Ronald L. Kenniston, who bought and sold antiques on his days off. He asked me to help him because we had the same days off,” Gamage said. “We used to knock [on] doors around the state long before the American Pickers [of History Channel fame] were even born.” 

And 47 years later, Gamage is still in the business with absolutely no plans of calling it quits.

Gamage is slated to do 10-11 auctions this year for his own business and estimates by year’s end he will have conducted an additional 15-18 fundraising auctions. 

“I was born and raised in this community and I love [giving back],” he said. “[The business and community] have been very good to me and one way I’ve always felt I could give back was by donating my time and skills to the many great charities. I couldn’t guess at the amount of money I’ve raised over the years, but has to be several million.” 

Over the course over nearly half a century in the antiques business, Gamage has encountered unique items, and he even admitted it was difficult to choose just one cool thing he has auctioned. 

But, he ended up choosing a Admiral Perry gold presentation medal as one example. The medal sold for $165,000 on Aug. 27, 2008 and had been presented to Commodore Matthew C. Perry by merchants of Boston in the 1850s. 

Almost surprisingly, $165,000 is not the most expensive item he’s auctioned. He once sold the Oakland Park land for the Howard Dearborn Estate for $6.5 million. 

He has also sold an N.C. Wyeth painting for $140,000 and a Queen Anne American Highboy for $145,000. 

In the past, Gamage has also partnered with Tradewinds Antiques and Auctions to hold two cane auctions per year in Massachusetts. 

At those auctions, Gamage auctioned around 200 lots per auction and has sold canes once belonging to royal families, United States presidents and Civil War Generals, in addition to decorative and gadget canes consisting of nautical, jeweled, violin and hidden weapon canes. 

If you are in the market for fascinating antiques, stop by a Gamage Antiques auction — the next one will be held Monday, Aug. 21, at 1 p.m. — or swing by his shop located at 467 Main Street in Rockland. For more information about upcoming auctions, visit gamageantiques.com or call 594-4963. 

Reach George Harvey at: sports@penbaypilot.com.