WAVERLY - A Waverly businessman with the means to travel, Vern Schield's curiosity for countries and cultures took him around the globe. Schield often brought home momentos from his trips abroad.

Dolls. Musical instruments. Farm implements.

"He just liked collecting," said Schield's daughter, Marilyn Jackson of Boise, Idaho.

Elephant tusks from Africa. A 4-ton granite sphere from Costa Rica. A German-made Fendt tractor.

"He didn't buy trinkets. He bought things that were definitely unusual and definitely things you'd want to put in a museum and not on your home," Jackson added.

In 1968, Schield and his wife, Marjorie established a museum in Waverly to display artifacts collected on trips to more than 70 countries. the museum also showcased original equipment from the Schield Bantam Co., a major crane manufacturing company built up by Schield and his brother, Wilbur.

Forty years later, the museum is closed. Vern and Marjorie Schield died in 1993 and 1995, respectively. The building at 805 W. Bremer Ave., donated by the Schields to Wartburg College, is for sale and its contents, also property of the college, are in the process of being donated and auctioned off. The building also housed five apartment units and the office for Self-Help International, a nonprofit agency founded by Schield to help people in developing nations.

Wartburg's decision stems from declining interest in the museum and a desire to "phase out of the apartment management business," said Gary Grace, vice president for administration, in a prepared statement.

Items that tell the story of Schield's life and the start of the Schield Bantam Co. are joining the collection at the Bremer County Historical Society Museum, located on the northwest corner of West Bremer Avenue and Fourth Street.

Jackson's International Auctioneers and Appraisers in Cedar Falls will auction most of the collection on Oct. 20-21. Items will be available for viewing at 2229 Lincoln St. in Cedar Falls or online at www.jacksonsauction.com starting Oct. 12. A printed catalogue also will be available three weeks prior to the sale upon request.

Jon Crisman, vice president at Jackson's, highlighted a 7-foot pair of ivory elephant tusks as an item of interest. The pair could bring in up to $20,000, Crisman estimated.

"To find a pair this large is quite unusual," he said.

Scott Leisinger, vice president for advancement at Wartburg, said in a press release that Wartburg is committed to preserving Schield's Bantam No. 1 dragline - a crane with a bucket that scooped lime as it did excavation. Schield designed and built the prototype in 1942. In addition, some artifacts may be housed at Wartburg.

Most proceeds from the sale of the building and Schield's artifacts will be used for improvements to Wartburg's Neumann Auditorium. That keeps with the Schields' aim of "bringing the world to Waverly," Leisinger said, because the facility is often the site of international cultural events and speakers.

Proceeds from Schield's elephant ivory tusks - legally acquired before a 1989 Endangered Species Act ban - will go toward scholarships for African students studying at Wartburg.

Merry Fredrick, director of Self-Help International, said she appreciates that Wartburg is relocating the nonprofit's office on to campus, and expects to move later this week.

For her the museum's closure is bittersweet.

"There is a lot of history here," Fredrick said.

The museum averaged 500 visitors per year, though it wasn't necessarily the primary stop for some who took the tour.

"The Schields played a huge role in this community and they also gave back to this community and it's just the end of this era," Fredrick said.