Recently, I had the opportunity to visit one of this area's most revered institutions - the Kidron Auction. Nearly every small town in the Amish Heartland holds a weekly livestock auction, but the Kidron establishment holds the distinction of being Ohio's oldest.

In 1918, a group of local farmers and businessmen held the first livestock auction in the tiny village of Kidron.

The sale was held at the Jacob Moser barn, located on the square in Kidron. At the time, the auction - as a method of selling property - was just beginning to take hold in this area. Consequently, the first sales, held monthly, were not as successful as the group of businessmen had hoped.

In late 1923, these would-be entrepreneurs of Kidron gave up on their venture and decided to sell the company. The buyer was a young local auctioneer by the name of S.C. Cy Sprunger, who admittedly didn't have much money to invest in the business. Sellers and buyer eventually struck a deal - and Cy bought the auction company for $5.

A few months later, in February 1924, Cy held his first sale. For six years after that, the Kidron Auction was held monthly. As popularity and demand grew, sales began to be held twice a month and finally, in 1932, weekly sales started.

In the early days the auctions were held outside, but as sales increased, small additions were made to the original Moser barn. In 1937 a new feeder hog barn was constructed, and a year later, an enclosed sale pavilion and ring and attached office facility were added. (These structures are still in use today.) A scale was also put in at this time to allow livestock to be sold by weight. Prior to this, stock had been sold by the head.

Cy continued to be the driving force behind the auction's success. In his prime, he would act as auctioneer for three additional weekly sales in the area, plus farm and real estate auctions.

In 1947, the auction expanded its services to offer machinery sales several times a year. Originally, these sales were begun to raise funds for a much needed Kidron fire department. After a few years, these sales had provided enough money to purchase the first fire truck for the village of Kidron. The machinery sales are still held, with proceeds going to the fire department and other community projects and needs.

In 1948 the Kidron Auction celebrated its 25th anniversary under the management of Cy Sprunger. To recognize the milestone, a two-day gala was held in Kidron with games and food; state officials were in attendance for the memorable event.

Cy Sprunger passed away in 1956, at which time the auction was taken over by his brother, Earl. In 1973, John Sprunger, Cy's eldest son, took over the business and remains the manager today. In the early 1980s John added a new weekly hay and straw auction to the Thursday schedule.

At the time of that $5 deal, young Cy Sprunger could never have have guessed at the success and notoriety that would come to his name and his descendants as a result of this purchase.

I remember attending the auction a couple of times when I was very young, but I hadn't set foot inside the arena-like pavilion in many years. To my nostalgic satisfaction, not much had changed.

The auction is held each Thursday, with a hay and straw sale starting at 10:15 and the livestock portion beginning at 11 a.m. in the pavilion. I arrived early - the lights were still off - and staked out a seat on the highest wooden bench overlooking the selling ring. A large portable heater was plugged in, and its heat soon filled the room. I watched people trickle in - mostly men and boys, clad in Carhart jackets, jeans and baseball caps, or Amish garb - and by 11 a.m. only a few seats were left open. Two Amishmen chatted boisterously in Pennsylvania Dutch beside me, enjoying sandwiches and Cokes, and quieting only when the auctioneer stepped into the booth overlooking the ring, turned on the microphone and uttered softly, Test, test.

The auctioneer was a young man, maybe mid-30s, and friendly looking. An older Amish gentleman seated beside him seemed to act as a recorder, scribbling down each transaction. Another gentleman stood in the ring below, guiding the animals from their holding pens into the ring, and out another door after they'd been sold.

The auction handles dairy cattle, calves, hogs, and sheep, to name a few. During the time I spent observing the auction, dairy cows and calves were sold - black-and-white holsteins and cocoa-brown, doe-eyed Jerseys.

Here's a fancy heifer, the auctioneer would say, as a cow plodded into the ring. For each animal, he read a basic description, detailing age, any health concerns, and how many calves the cow had had.

Sold for $1600; buyer gets the cow, her calf and a lot of milk! he announced of one cow who was pregnant.

As I glanced around the room, I couldn't help but wonder how many farms had been built up and maintained by animals bought at the Kidron Auction. Without a doubt, agriculture is a mainstay of the economy in the Amish Heartland, and a visit to a livestock auction told me that economy is thriving today.

More than three quarters of a century after that first auction, the chant-like auctioneer's call still rings out on the square, each Thursday at the Kidron Auction Barn.

From its humble, hopeful beginnings, the Kidron Auction has evolved into a multi-million dollar business, serving Ohio farmers with the best in competitive livestock marketing services.

And - it's fun to watch!

-Historical information provided by the Kidron Auction, Inc.

Sidebar: Long History of Auctions

* It has been argued that the first auction in history took place in Biblical times, when Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery over jealousy of his many-colored coat.

* Auctions occurred in Babylon in 500 B.C. Women were sold into marriage at annual auctions.

* Ancient Romans held auctions in the atrium auctionarium. People indicated their bids by winking or waving.

* In 193 A.D., the entire Roman Empire was put on the auction block by the Praetorian Guard, after they had killed the emperor. Didius Julianus outbid everyone else and became the emperor of Rome.

* In Great Britain, art auctions were held as early as the seventeenth century in coffeehouses and taverns.

* And of course, in America slave auctions were widespread from Colonial times up to the Civil War.

Information Source: Agorics, Inc., copyright 1996. (March/April 2002 Edition)