Baldwin County Heritage Museum seeks donations for auctioneer chair display

By Allison Marlow
Posted 7/21/17

Tammy Kinney remembers visiting the Robertsdale Livestock Auction as a child and watching the men bring a large bull into the ring. The animal barely fit through the door. And, he was not happy to be …

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Baldwin County Heritage Museum seeks donations for auctioneer chair display

Posted

Tammy Kinney remembers visiting the Robertsdale Livestock Auction as a child and watching the men bring a large bull into the ring. The animal barely fit through the door. And, he was not happy to be there.

The man who led him inside ducked out as soon as the bull was in place. Moments later, the bull reared up and his horn caught the metal bottom of the auctioneer’s chair that dangled above the ring.

From a child’s point of view, it looked like the auctioneer had been tossed up and over the chair. In reality, he got out of the way of that bull, really quick.

Like many Baldwin County residents Kinney, now the curator of the Baldwin County Heritage Museum, has a lot of childhood memories tied to the livestock auction. The auction was built and run as a cooperative in 1949 and continued to host weekly auctions for 60 years.

Sales were cut to twice a month in 2013 and the final sale was held in May, 2014. Currently the stockyard is being torn down and a salvage operation is removing much of the old structure.

But that auctioneer’s chair is at the heritage museum, patiently waiting to be put on display.

The museum is seeking donations to build a new display for the chair and to remember the auction house. Kinney said the staff is also happy to look at donations residents might want to make of additional items from the auction house.

Contact the Baldwin County Heritage Museum at 986-8375 or visit http://www.baldwincountyheritagemuseum.com/