Episode 44 | Secrets from Alamance County and the Pick of a Lifetime

Episode 44 | Secrets from Alamance County and the Pick of a Lifetime

Author: Matt Ledbetter November 24, 2025 Duration: 1:01:04

Matt sits down with his dad, the infamous Wade Ledbetter, inside the auction gallery for a story Wade admits might be risky to even share. What starts as a quiet memory from rural Alamance County quickly turns into a mystery about a ten foot clock, a fifty thousand dollar offer from Henry Ford’s museum team, and a farmhouse fire that erased everything. Wade takes Matt back to the days when he delivered milk to the Krauss family and explains why the story of that clock stayed with him for more than fifty years.

That secret leads Matt to share a story of his own. At twenty five, he walked into a house in Virginia that changed everything for him as a picker. A house filled with museum tagged antiques, rare crystal, first edition books, and paintings he was not yet experienced enough to understand. It was the pick of a lifetime, the kind that teaches you more in a day than years of picking can.

Two stories from two Ledbetters. One about a clock that vanished. One about a house that should never have been lost.

00:00 | Wade Introduces the Krauss Family and the Mysterious Clock
06:40 | Henry Ford’s Buyers and the Fifty Thousand Dollar Offer
13:50 | The House Fire, the Surviving Clock Weight, and Wade’s Milk Route
18:50 | Why Wade Believes the Clock Story Still Matters
25:30 | Wade’s Attic Finds and Early Picking Lessons
29:01 | Wade’s Unexpected Friendship with Mickey Mantle
38:28 | Matt Heads North and Walks Into a Once in a Lifetime House
45:20 | The Crystal, Paintings, and Museum Tagged Pieces Inside Phil’s Home
52:00 | Matt’s Big Scores and the Things He Missed
58:20 | Phil Passes Away and the House Is Emptied
01:00:40 | Closing Thoughts with Matt and Wade

As the conversation winds down, Matt and Wade reflect on the stories that shape a picker’s life. From a vanished Alamance County clock to the house that launched Matt’s career, these moments remind us that the best finds are often the ones you cannot plan for. Every attic, every basement, and every back road has a secret waiting on the other side of the door.

Do you know a folk artist or have a picking story worth sharing
houseoffolkart@gmail.com
(919) 410 8002
Leave your name and where you are from and you might hear yourself on the next episode.

Follow @houseoffolkart for more stories, field trips, and upcoming auction dates at LedbetterAuctions.com


Matt Ledbetter lives in a world of vibrant paint, carved wood, and compelling stories. In House of Folk Art, this Gibsonville, North Carolina auctioneer and collector pulls up a chair to share that world, drawing directly from his deep connections within the Southern folk art community. His perspective is unique; because he organizes renowned quarterly auctions, Matt often knows the artists personally and has handled their work firsthand. This isn't a distant academic lecture. Instead, each episode feels like a conversation about the objects and the people who make them, exploring the intricate history behind the creations and the profound, often very personal, motivations that drive the artists. You’ll hear about intimate encounters and the small details that give this art its soul, from the choice of reclaimed materials to the narratives etched into the surface. Tuning into this podcast means getting a backstage pass to a living tradition, where every whirligig, portrait, or memory jug carries a fragment of cultural history. Matt’s guidance helps unravel the rich tapestry of this creative landscape, making the stories behind Southern folk art accessible and deeply engaging for anyone curious about the visual heritage of the region. The House of Folk Art podcast builds, piece by piece, a vivid understanding of why these works resonate so powerfully.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 58

House of Folk Art
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