Lexington Has The
Darndest Market
The farmers in Davidson County set out
to auction some beef cattle: now they
sell a hit of everything.
Hi/ IV. GAIL LANGLEY
Holding up a small wire cage the auc¬
tioneer asked. "What do you hid for
this fine looking specimen?”
The fat critter inside sat poised, ready
to leap forward as soon as the door was
opened.
From the back of the room an
amused voice hollered. "Ten cents!"
Laughter erupted through the crowd.
and another male voice said.
"П1
give
fifteen cents."
When the bidding stopped, the auc¬
tioneer said. "Sold to that gentleman in
the back for twenty-five cents. He has
just bought a nice looking opossum."
This buyer is one of many who
throngs the stock market in Lexington.
North Carolina every Wednesday.
Late Tuesday evenings and early
Wednesdays the farmers enter the
grounds of Davidson’s Farmers Live¬
stock Market on old Highway 64. west
of the town’s business area, where a
wide variety of stock is unloaded into
the pens of the huge barn.
From Beef to Beefalo
About forty years ago a group of
farmers formed a co-op by buying one
dollar shares of stock. The feed and
grain business began in a store up town.
From there they launched the stock sale
out to the country where beef cattle was
first auctioned. Gradually, different
animals were brought in for sale. Now.
On Wednesdays the co-op oilers a variety ol livestock, held in pens ol the huge bam. Elsewhere on the
grounds an incredible miscellany ol items is lor sale, (all photos by Joe Langley)
12
poultry of many varieties is sold along
with sheep, goats, hogs. and. of course,
opossum.
One of the local businesses. Glosson
Enterprises, brings in a crossbreed of
beefalo once in awhile.
Not only animals but equipment is
sold at the stock market. At eleven
o’clock on Wednesday mornings the
fanners show their "dilapidated equip¬
ment". as one employee described the
tools, at a junk sale. Then at one o’clock
the stock sale begins. The bidding
moves quickly along, finishing by four
in the afternoon.
The farmers co-op can compete with
any stock sale in the state for its effi¬
ciency. Where dealers have stood in line
for four or five hours at other markets,
here they move rapidly, seldom having
to wait longer than fifteen minutes to
stand beore the auctioneer.
The Flea Market
If buying animals does not appeal to
everyone, then there are numerous
other items on display throughout the
four and a half acre grounds that are
bound to be of interest.
Beginning about nine o'clock on
Tuesday mornings, dealers from Maine
to Florida, covering nearly all the east¬
ern states, arrive to set up tables with
merchandise.
The flea market side of the farmers
co-op began when the wives put up
tables in the parking lot, displaying
their quills, sewing, embroidery and
fruits and vegetables. When these prod¬
ucts sold well at minimal prices, more
items were added. Now, approximately
two hundred and thirty dealers offer
anything from new and used merchan¬
dise to antiques.
A dealer, standing in line at the con¬
cession stand, was telling about his
early morning sales. "I sold four
shotguns before I could even finish
unloading the truck." he said.
The action is best during Tuesday
afternoons when people get off work.
One man said. "Those coming through
on Wednesdays are mostly lookers. By
two o’clock we start loading up to go
home." Some dealers travel on to other
states to other flea markets.
Weekly Reunion
It was a cool, sunshiny Tuesday mor¬
ning as Fonda Langley, my sister-in-
law. and I strolled through the grounds.
She goes practically every week and
was eager to go with me this time.
The market is open all year round.
The winter months from January
THE STATE, JUNE 1985
