SPENCER'S LIVESTOCK AUCTION A FADING MEMORY - Once Spirited Cornerstone Of Farm Life

(04/15/2019)

Spencer's livestock sale down for the count By Bob Weaver 2018 We returned to the Spencer Livestock Sale, what is now a shadowy image of a former time, a symbol of the agricultural era that has essentially faded into the food dependence of agri-corporations in the 21st century. Stopping by it gives comfort, a reminder of a simpler and slower time, with sale's going back to the early 1900s. It was once a big event for most farm boys and girls to accompany their parents or grandparents to the weekly livestock sale, herding pigs, cows, sheep, goats, turkeys, or chickens onto the family truck, and head toward Spencer. In earlier days, farmers would drive their animals by road to the sale. The activity around the large but now empty pens will soon fade into memory The sale, during much of the 20th century, started on Friday and often lasted into Saturday, with hundreds coming to buy and sell. The center of activity was the auction ring, the snack bar, and the socialization on the sale grounds. Kids would play while their parents often bartered with items on the side. While the auction was re-invented for a period of time in the 21st Century, it is down for the count. See related story SPENCER'S LIVESTOCK MARKET FADING INTO HISTORY?

Hur Herald ®from Sunny Cal The information on these pages, to the extent the law allows, remains the exclusive property of Bob Weaver and Dianne Weaver The Hur Herald. All information may be freely used but must not be sold or used in any type of commercial endeavor, or used on any web site without the express permission of the owners ©Bob and Dianne Weaver, The Hur Herald, 1999, 2000, 2001