ASHLAND — In an almost total “White-out,” six of the White family children sold grand champions and reserve grand champions in every large animal category except baby beef on Friday at the Ashland County Fair.
The White boys put on their finest button-ups, blue jeans and most importantly, their shiny belt buckles, for the day they have been preparing for all year: the junior fair livestock sale.
The White girls showed up in striped button-ups tucked into their blue jeans, their dirty blonde hair tucked into tight ponytails.
They showed up to the fairgrounds bright and early, greeted by the smell of hay and morning dew.
The kids, staggering in ages from 11 to 15, raised the animals to fetch them the highest bid. The highest bids almost always go to the grand and reserve champions.
For Bria White, who showed her grand champion market lamb, named Rebel, not only did she fetch the highest bid for market lamb, but the highest bid of any animal up for auction.
Rebel sold for $160 per pound, a price that almost doubled the existing record of $86 per pound, which was held by Heather Heffelfinger, according to auctioneer Andy White.
Bria broke down in tears as the audience continued to bid on Rebel.
“I don’t even know what to think or say,” Bria said.
Allen Fore, Vice President of Public Affairs for Kinder Morgan, sealed the final bid for Rebel. He chose to let Bria keep the meat, along with the money.
“This was life changing for her, and that’s what this is all about. That’s why I do these things, to really help people,” Fore said.
“I’ve probably done a hundred of these [junior fair auctions] and I’ve never seen a reaction like that,” Fore said.
Bria said she is not sure what she will do with the meat yet; she might donate some to charity and she might save some of the lamb for a Christmas feast.
But that feast will be for her family only, because Bria said she will not eat her own show lamb.
Fore purchased the lamb, which weighed 149 pounds, for a whopping $23,840. It was the last champion he purchased of the day. Prior to that, Fore purchased:
- The grand champion rabbits for $2,000.
- The grand reserve market chickens for $2,000.
- The grand reserve goat for $3,000.
His champion purchases totaled $30,840.
Fore said he did not plan or expect to spend that much money, but the kids work hard and deserve every penny.
A family affair
Parker White, Bria’s sister, followed up a tough and emotional round of bidding with her reserve grand champion lamb named Toby.
Parker’s 139-pound lamb sold for $70 a pound.
The sisters both go to Crestview schools: Parker is in seventh grade at Crestview Middle School and Bria is a sophomore at Crestview High School. They are both in 4-H.
Parker has shown lambs for the past six years, but Toby was the first lamb that placed her on the list of champions.
Parker said it’s “very emotional” to say goodbye to Toby. It’s a feeling she is used to in some ways, but it is different every year, much like the lambs she has raised.
“I’m just glad all these people came out to support me this week and about my family who supports me and everything I do,” Parker said.
Bria has won grand champion lamb for the past four years, and the years prior to that she had won reserve grand champion for two years.
“My dad always did it growing up, and we always had sheep when I was a baby and stuff. And growing up, I went to Louisville one time when I was six, and that was my first time ever showing; I fell in love with it and I could not get myself away from it,” Bria said.
So, after winning the highest bid, Bria said she felt grateful more than anything.
The sisters’ wins set a high bar for their cousins to follow.
The hog brothers
Brothers Gunner and Gilbert have both shown hogs for the past nine years. Gunner raised the grand champion, Teddy, named after President Theodore Roosevelt. It was his second time winning the title.
Gilbert raised the reserve grand champion, named Abe after President Abraham Lincoln. Last year, Gilbert won the grand champion title for the first time.
Teddy, weighing in at 269 pounds, fetched $22.50 a pound, and Abe fetched $20 a pound.
“We all go out to the barn every day and work together. So it’s me, my brother, and then my two sisters. We all work hard. We raise our own pigs actually,” Gilbert said.
The boys are home-schooled in New Philadelphia, and they are both a part of 4-H. They planned to save their money for their futures, a consensus shared by all six of the White family winners.
“We worked really hard for it, and it’s good to see it all pay off,” Gilbert said.
The steer brothers
After patiently waiting their turns, holding on to the largest animals sold in the auction, Danner and Case White were called up to auction off their market steer.
Danner went first with his grand champion market steer, shown in delicately groomed and fluffy black fur. The auctioneer greeted him with an extra special welcome, wishing him a happy 13th birthday.
The crowd applauded with various “happy birthday” shouts. Danner said selling his steer, named Jameis after former Browns quarterback Jameis Winston, was exactly how he wanted to spend his birthday.
Jameis, weighing in at 1,450 pounds, sold for $8.50 a pound to Harvest Trucking.
Then it was time for Case to show his reserve grand champion steer, named Cracker. Case wore a bright pink button up and a cream cowboy hat that matched the color of Cracker’s fur.
Cracker, weighing in at 1,480 pounds, sold for $10 a pound.
“We come from a long line of people, like my dad and his parents and their parents, that have been showing. We have great cousins that show too, and they were all showing at the Ashland County Fair when they grew up, too,” Case said.
Not only did Case and Danner’s dad, Andy White, show animals too, he went on to become an auctioneer for the fair.
Andy has auctioneered the livestock sale for 23 years, but he handed the microphone to his colleague while his sons showed their steer for the final time. This was a moment he needed to watch as a proud father.
“It takes a lot of work to get to this point, and you want to raise your kids and teach them these life lessons, and you want them to be hard workers. The humbling part is this year we were all able to take a step back because our kids got to the age where it clicked and they did the work themselves,” Andy said.
“We are preparing these kids for life and these businesses understand that, and they showed up in full force today and the support they are showing these kids is truly unbelievable,” Andy said.
Case wants to follow in his dad’s footsteps and become an auctioneer. So, he got some practice auctioning off his own hog in the general market hog auction. He sold his pig for $10 a pound.
