Ah yes, here it is. Kyle McDonald, 2005, and he blogged the whole thing.
http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/
It's also on Wikipedia, with the entire timeline and list of items.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip
Paperclip, doorknob, camp stove, generator, on and on. Took him about a year before he traded for a house.