Butte’s M&M bar memorabilia for sale online

Memorabilia from Butte's historic M&M bar is being auctioned online, including the back bar and a safe that have been on the premises since the early 1890s. Majority owner Dan Klemann closed the bar in September in a dispute with Dan Casey, the owner of the gambling machines, over the utility bill and the future of the business. Burns Online Auctions, a Bozeman-based company, is handling the auction, which began Monday. The Web site has pictures of the items and bidders can see them in person on March 18 at the M&M. Bidding closes March 19. A live auction of less expensive items is slated for March 20. Also included in the auction are Stevie's shoeshine chair, the band stage, bar stools, neon and other bar signs, a plaque with a photo of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama's visit to the M&M in July 2008, a cardboard Max Baucus campaign poster and a 1995 NCAA Division I-AA national championship poster with the picture and autograph of quarterback Dave Dickenson, who is listed as "Dickerson" on the auction Web site. Klemann declined to comment on his decision to put the items up for auction. The M&M opened as the Martin & Mosby Saloon in 1890 and stayed open around the clock to serve miners as they came off their shifts. The M&M was open continuously for 113 years, and became the city's unofficial St. Patrick's Day headquarters, before closing in April 2003. It reopened in March 2005 after some remodeling and updating and was sold to Klemann in March 2008. Klemann had planned to sell the M&M to Casey last year, but the sale fell through. At the time, the utility bill was in the name of Casey's business. Casey had the power turned off in September in an attempt to force Klemann out, both men said. Nine former employees of the M&M filed claims with Montana's Wage and Hour Unit, saying Klemann underpaid them or didn't pay them for their work at the M&M. In December, an investor in the M&M building asked a District Court judge to foreclose on the historic building so it could be properly maintained and sold without losing value.