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SPEAKER: $30 Now, to 52 and 1/2. 2 and 1/2. $30. Now the 2 and 1/2.

DENNIS HAMILTON: The FM hotel in Moorhead went on the auction block yesterday. Everything from table settings to office machinery were being handed out a window, in what used to be the bar and coffee shop to be displayed and sold. The FM is a landmark in the Fargo-Moorhead area, and if you were to ask a visitor to this area two years ago, where the best place in town to eat was, the answer would inevitably be the treetop restaurant atop the seven story building.

There's a lot of nostalgia that surrounds the FM. It's an unusual landmark in Moorhead, in that it's one of the few buildings in the Downtown urban renewal area that will remain standing. It will soon be converted into office space, and there's speculation that a new restaurant will surface where the treetop used to be.

At the auction, there were some former employees who remembered the hotel, and they talked about those days. Lynn Vetter, former chef for the treetop here at the FM hotel. What do you remember about the treetop?

LYNN VETTER: Well, there's many good years that I spent here. I worked for about 10 years. Real exciting.

DENNIS HAMILTON: What goes through your mind now when you see everything being auctioned off?

LYNN VETTER: It's kind of sad.

DENNIS HAMILTON: This is a landmark in Minnesota. It's nice that it's not being torn down.

LYNN VETTER: Yeah, really?

DENNIS HAMILTON: A lot of people came to the FM, to the tree top. People from a lot of different towns. And what they remember about Fargo-Moorhead would be the FM hotel. What do you remember about those people?

LYNN VETTER: They were all great people. In fact, I see a lot of my old customers right here today. Seen many familiar faces.

DENNIS HAMILTON: Thank you.

LYNN VETTER: Thank you. Jan Lulay. What do you remember about the FM?

JAN LULAY: Well, there was a lot of action. It was just a real beautiful place to come and eat and have a good time. And it's just really sad that it has to all end now.

DENNIS HAMILTON: What kind of people came to the FM hotel?

JAN LULAY: I tell you, you had every kind. Businessmen, people that were just traveling. You just had all kinds, really. There's nobody in specific.

DENNIS HAMILTON: What does the FM hotel mean to the Fargo-Moorhead area? What do you think?

JAN LULAY: I know it's pretty sad to see it all gone. I hear so many different people say the same thing. They just hate to see it gone. Especially the tree tops and the top of the mart. A lot of people are sad that closed because it was a nice place to come for an anniversary or just to be alone, and it was beautiful to sit up there and watch Fargo-Moorhead at the Christmas time.

DENNIS HAMILTON: It's great for high school prom people.

JAN LULAY: Yeah, right. We had lots of proms in this place and a lot of wedding receptions. I was really afraid that maybe when urban renewal come in, that maybe it would go down. But I'm really glad that it's not. At least we can look across the street now and see it. And there's a lot of memories, and a lot of people have passed through the doors, and I'm sure going to feel the same way.

DENNIS HAMILTON: It's sort of unusual, this being a landmark in the Moorhead area, that it hasn't gone down to urban renewal. That must mean something to people who live here and the people who remember the hotels?

JAN LULAY: I think that's one big reason why it hasn't went down. There's just too many people that have been residents of the Fargo-Moorhead all their lives. And I think the FM hotel was a big trademark for the Moorhead area. At one time, golly, this was the only spot. And it was the spot to come. And of course, competition kind of overrules everything. The little motel started coming up and naturally the older places are going to go downhill.

DENNIS HAMILTON: The trains out the back door.

JAN LULAY: Yes, we had so many complaints about that train, but people still come back. And I think the reason why they did was just for the entertainment and the eating was fabulous. Of course, every place has bad meals at one time or another, but this was generally a good place to come and eat.

DENNIS HAMILTON: So the memories are just about all that's left of the hotel, except for the seven stories of red brick that it's made out of.

JAN LULAY: I'm afraid so. Just memories.

DENNIS HAMILTON: Thank you much.

SPEAKER: Now we have four funnels, folks, with two brand new units in a cabana. 4 to a bundle now. All right. What are you going to give another 5 here now? 2 and 1/2. I'd say the 2 and 1/2. It's a 2 and 1/2.

DENNIS HAMILTON: So the furnishings of the FM hotel were sold. But this reporter, who's a former bellhop at the FM, knows that there's still a spirit lurking in that building that will never leave. And there are many people who will have the satisfaction of knowing that they were a part of what is now a memory. I'm Dennis Hamilton.

SPEAKER: 5 and now the 6, now 6 and now $7. $7 now the 8. And bid the 8 and go to the 8. 7 on the 8 and bid the 8. And now the 8 and now the 9 and now the 10, and then a 10 and a 10. 9 and now 10. Bid the 10 and now $11.