My Friend Becky....My, she has a story!

I hope you enjoy this short story from my friend, Becky Tarlton. She is known all across North Carolina as a hardworking and honest auctioneer. Everybody's got a story....I think you'll enjoy hers!

T. Kyle

Shake my hand.  Good to see you.  I like an affirmative handshake.  There was a time when a contract was made and blessed with the shaking of hands.  My how things have changed.  How many times have you heard these sayings?  A person is only as good as their word.  A person’s word is their bond.  If you can’t say something good then say nothing at all.  Treat others as you wish to be treated.  There are many more but how many do we really try to live by?  I am sure we all fall short in some way or another.  I speak of my Dad every chance I get.  I always found him to be congenial with me and with others.  I never heard a cross word exchanged between he and my Mom.  Actually never heard him say a curse word until one time he was trying to load a very stubborn mule.  He and the mule were at odds.  He was hot and sweaty and so was the mule.  The mule kicked at him and he gave that ole mule a piece of his mind.  I immediately tattled on him.  My Dad was one of eleven children.  His own father passed away in the flu epidemic of 1918.  His mom remarried, but he also passed leaving the family to take care for themselves.   My dad started working in the Dan River Mill when he was 9 years of age.  His salary was to maintain the family.  While working in the mill he started trading horses and mules.  Keep in mind that in those days the farming as well as travel was via livestock.  Then came a time that my Dad was sick but still worked his mill shift.  The supervisor informed him he would be required to make a double shift.  He was sick and needed to go home.  He was told if he went home not to come back.  That was his last day in the mill.  He started trading to make a living.  The year was 1922 and trade was busy.  He traveled from county to county for court day.  On the day court was held in the county seat all the folks traveled to town.  Brought their wares to trade, buy and sale.  Dad said he always tried to end the day with a good saddle horse so travel to the next town would not be so hard on his bottom.  There were few hotels and he couldn’t afford one anyway.  He slept in cemeteries.  He claimed the deceased didn’t mind and the live ones didn’t linger around at night.  After hobbling the horses so they could graze he would bed down for the night.  During the trade days the farmers would bring in their cattle and horses for auction.  During the auction my Dad would be hooking horses behind the platform.  The teams were called snatch teams.  The farmers could see them work before purchase.  While my Dad was working he would me listening to and mimicking the auctioneer. 

On one such occasion the auction began but the auctioneer was less than competent.  The farmers were loosing excessive money.  They physically made the auctioneer leave the premises.  But then there was the dilemma.  There was a field of livestock and no auctioneer to work.  Someone exclaimed, get the kid in the back hooking teams.  He can sell the stock and he knows stock prices.  They put my Dad on the block that day and many days there after. 

His career started that day in 1926.  He continued to trade and auction.  He would bring horses in from the Dakotas via rail car.  He would have holding pens set up for their arrival and customers waiting to purchase as soon as the train arrived.  He had a livery stable in downtown Salisbury in an area known as Hogan’s Alley.  He would auction several horse and cattle sales per week.  By the 40’s and early 50’s he had several drivers hauling livestock from state to state.  Local farmers depended on him for good work stock to take care of their crops.  They would choose a work type horse early in the Spring and pay for it after the crops came in.  If the crops failed they would bring the horse back with their apologies.  The next year he would supply them another horse and wish them a better year.

My growing up years was filled with horses, mules and cows.  And of course the auction chant was a large part of my every day life.  My dad would work auctions that would last all day, all night and into the next day.  He would be weary and so tired when finally coming home.  There was his little girl ready to crawl in his lap.  Happy for his return, I would say, Daddy will you auction something for me?  You know that man’s voice was tired and his body was weary.  He would say,  Aww right now, take a look at it and what do ya want to give for it…and so it began.  I loved to hear him work.  My happiest days were spent on the auction block beside my dad.  I would not get down, just lay my head down and take naps.  Sometimes they let me ride the horses and ponies through the sale.  I would ride so many that I would fall asleep in the saddle while waiting my turn in the ring. 

At home I would stand on a box while auctioning to a make believe crowd.   I always desired to be an auctioneer.  My dad really tried to discourage me.  He knew the things that I enjoyed and would want to auction were reserved for men only.   So I started working retail while still in high school.  I continued to work and attend community college.  I did retail management for years and finally an armed nuclear security officer for McGuire Nuclear Station.  After all of that came a family.  Thankfully my three boys enjoyed horses as much as myself.  We traveled showing horses as well as participating in rodeo events.  At one such event they needed an auctioneer to sell their “Calcutta” riders.  There was no one to be found.  Someone said get Becky to do it.  I did and once again I had that burning desire to be an auctioneer. 

In 1987 I attended auctioneer school and things have never been the same since then.  It was a rigorous two weeks of study.  We were learning numbers, contracts and all the different kinds of auctions.  I met some wonderful people in that class and we are still friends today.  I believe there were about 63 students in that class.  When my Dad attended the student auction he listened attentively.  I ask him later what he thought and did he see future auctioneers.  He said yes there were several he thought would make it.  I ask him if I was one of them…all he did was raise his eyebrows.  I have seen that look many times in the past…like when he thought I paid too much for a horse or saddle.

My auction career started as a bid caller.  You know that is what I thought an auctioneer really was.  I sold at horse auctions in several locations.  Finally in 1995, I was hired at my first auto auction.  It was a big thing for me as well as all women.  Until that that day in June there were no female auto auctioneers in North Carolina.  I was such a novelty that when I would start selling the dealers from the other lanes would crowd into my lane just to hear the lady work.  Even now when I am at a commercial farm equipment auction it is usually an all male environment.  I like it…doesn’t bother me a bit.  I love the auction industry.  I must admit there have been lots of changes since those days of listening to my Dad.  Hand shakes are just that…a shake. 

You better have a good attorney written contract and sometimes those are not even good enough.  We do have a licensing board that does its best to weed out less desirable and corrupt people calling themselves auctioneers.  Our state provides continuing education to keeps us informed of new laws as well as helpful ideas and ways to improve our businesses.  The other big thing since I began is the Internet and online auctions.  Many of us have fought this modern age miracle but I believe this enhances our auctions.  I am not sure what my Dad would say about online and simulcast auctions but I believe he would be all for it.  He always believed a person could not have too much education and that we should try to learn something new everyday.  He did not have the opportunity for education.  His learning was self-taught through working and yet he was one of the smartest people I knew.  He could calculate in his head faster than you could enter it into a calculator.  He watched world and local news every day.  If he heard something he could remember every word.  If he saw your buyer number one time at the auction he would recall it. 

Any one that knows me surely knows I love the auction chant and the action of a live auction.  However these days I spend many hours cataloging for online only as well as live auctions.  We spend time with auction previews as well as auction checkouts.  In this day there is room for all of them.  We are so fortunate to be able to practice the way that is best for our seller and ourselves.  I am so pleased to be an auction professional.  My Dad was an auctioneer for his entire life.  He only slowed down when his vision would not allow him to see the bidders.  He might not could see them as well as he once did but he could still call the auction right up until he passed in 1996.  I was very blessed with loving parents and a Dad who was a good and kind person…and one great auctioneer!!

Post Comment: You can reach Becky on Facebook here! . I encourage you to reach out to her and give her your thoughts about her story!

Business lessons I learn from a cramped plane seat.

Some people hate flying. I'll admit, in my younger years, I was scared to death, tightly holding on to the arm rest, and having a racing heart at the slightest bump.

Times have changed however. I have found the solitude at 30,000 feet is golden. My cell phone is off, people are quiet and the constant hummmmm of the engines become peaceful. Today, I took off from McCarran Airport in Nevada and just as we reached our cruising altitude, the captain said, "look out the window to the right and you'll see Mt. Zion National park as well as the Grand Canyon,  the Colorado River and Monument Valley." All of these are huge land masses, but at 30,000 you can see it great. I can't help but think it's the view God in heaven must see as he looks down from his kingdom.

Today alone, we flew over Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Eight very distinctive and diverse eco-systems.

Back to the flight; I learn a lot about business by getting out of my world and visiting other areas; in fact,  I learn a lot by flying. Here's a few nuggets I take from my travels and flying.

1.  I think metaphorically, it pays to look at life, relationships, and business from above. So often when we are "on the ground" we are only able to look at situations, relationships and problems in a one dimensionless capacity. As I know you'll agree, life is not one dimensional. Try to view these areas of your life looking from 30,000....you'll see all aspects of them more clearly.
2. It really pays to have some quiet time. Now, I understand my introvert friends reading this are saying "ya think". But for us extroverts who complicate our lives by also being talk out loud- multi-taskers, consider having some quiet time. This is also a great time to reflect and exercise your spiritual life; prayer. When you look out your plane window, surely you are in awe!
3.  Be nice. It is so interesting to watch people with an entitled mentality get service from a flight attendant. I would say that serving a diverse group of people who are tired, hungry, cramped and sometimes scared is a very tough job. Nice just wins. That Golden Rule thing pays incredible dividends whether you're asking for that extra cup of java or working with fellow employees, team members or clients.
4.  Slow down and enjoy the view. On today's flight, I saw some spectacular views; canyons,

   

   Monument Valley

   rivers, mountains, and more. Being on a plane forces you to slow your world down (even though you're going about 400 miles per hours). Looking at your life from a high altitude gives you the ability to reflect on lots of positives. Quietly celebrate the great achievements as you look down, but also, look at the problems you have. I find that when you're taking that roof-top view of things, solutions can sometimes be more easily determined. 

These are just a few of the things that I thought about today at 30,000. The captain just said we're 300 miles from Charlotte....so, I'm going to look down on my life, exercise some quiet time, be nice to my neighbors and fellow team members,  flight attendants, think about my achievements, ponder on solutions for problems I may have, and finally, give thanks to the Lord above for such a beautiful country that I have flown across today.

T. Kyle