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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 1976)
Page 6 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, MAR. 17, 1976 ' I i i I lli ) I ; i 1 i I i IN BUYER STRETCHES OUT AT EDGE OF AUCTION RING Bryan Livestock Commission conducts auction every Tuesday Photos hy Douglas Winship and Jim Peters iStude ce to t m the of threi William: jMillei journal i‘ for E {ten ke students I "Dr. jsy scl ;lpast iport t iid Mil A&M t(ie cam it in the uedec [ent, h; st car R Lued leshma icn, w; nts w Rose p ATTENDANTS PROD HOGS THROUGH MAZE OF PENS Catwalks “Backstage” allow buyers to window shop before bidding bout hem ti Row' rrangi •reside ni h ATTENDANT IGNORES HOG’S PLEA FOR MERCY Livestock is paraded through auction ring during bidding CROWD GATHERS AROUND AUCTION RING TO BID ON HOGS Auctioneers move business along rapidly, a la municipal court Livestock auction features hogs, hati It’s as familiar as the pickup truck along Texas roadways. Its long, low building is surrounded by acres of wooden pens. Its large parking lot is empty except one day a week when the dirt expanses are packed with trailers, large-sized sedans and the ubiquitous pickup. To many Texans the prices quoted inside are far more important than, say, the fluctuating price indexes on the floor of the New York Stock Ex change. The animal commodity can also be converted into dinner much more readily. The Bryan Livestock Commission Co. holds an auction every Tuesday. Located on State Highway 21 east of Bryan, the commission attracts hun dreds of hungry buyers eager to scarf up some prime beef, pork or mutton, and sometimes even a swaybacked mare. The buyers and the curious sit or stand in a semi-circle around a caged staging area where tbe animals are paraded through. The auctioneer ac cepts bids from his vantage point above the dirt pit. With some red carpeting, music by the Lettermen, Bert Parks in the auction booth and some imagination it could well be a beauty contest. The many head coverings in evi dence are a hatter’s delight. Most wear the traditional stetson — straw or felt — but there are also hom- burgs, fedoras, stocking caps, duck hunting hats, print cotton caps, as well as a lonely porkpie. No fezzes or pillbox hats were spotted. The hat is your badge to bid it seems. Buyers signal their bids by nods, winks or head and arm movements. The auction, like most auctions, was ;roup Joyd ] essm his ye 'otes ii /t tl ^onsui landin and 5' oup; ;ey co: In ai and “h 'ector a gl moves quickly. The “backstage area —thep® chutes and corrals — is riotous cacophony of s quealing hog, sn ! ing cattle, and “sooieeing aW ^ dants is punctuated by thesmacli sound of a wood prodon the sidej hog. The larger animals are usu< treated to more persuasive pr» ones charged by batteries or % voltage electrical currents. While most buyers are inside^ ding, other window shop as lt ? meander along the catwalks the pens. —Jim PeW a ti. MOST BUYERS KEEP HAND COCKED FOR BIDDING The omnipresent hats are seemingly their badge to bid BIDS ONCE, BIDS TWICE, BEATEN BY A BID While looks could kill, this one didn’t; it only expressed disappointment. ulyc ind w. aut to The •ased ion, : onsur Bit ani