Farmers Stay Silent During Auction So Young Man Can Win the Bid on His Long-Lost Family Farm
By Lauri Gwilt - Jul 8, 2018
“I’ve had two profoundly humbling days in my life. The first was the day my son was born. The second was that unforgettable day at the Auction House.
”This is how David, one of the participants in a session I recently facilitated, answered the question I had just posed to the group: “When in your life have you set a big goal and had no idea at the time how you were going to make it happen?
”Generations before David was born, eighty acres of their small family farm in Nebraska had been separated out and willed to a distant relative. Coming from a long line of farmers David heard this story over and over as a child, and it fueled a passion within him to make the farm whole again.
In 2011, David and his family learned that the precious eighty acres was going to be sold at auction within a couple of weeks. Suddenly at the ripe old age of twenty-something David needed to figure out how to find an extraordinarily large sum of money. “Even though I dreamt of getting the land back for as long as I could remember, when the day came, I wasn’t ready.” He knew in his heart he had to give it his very best effort – and after two weeks of meticulous planning, creative thinking and sleepless nights, he and his father came up with their ‘best number’, and headed for auction.
When they walked through the door of the Auction House that night, their hearts immediately sank. The place was packed with over 200 farmers, most of whom had much larger farms, more resources, and could outbid him and his father many times over. The Auctioneer called the session to order and asked for the first bid. David and his dad looked at each other, took a deep breath, and made theirs. The Auctioneer acknowledged their bid, and then called for a second.
Silence fell over the room.
After many attempts to solicit another bid, the Auctioneer took a break. When they reconvened, a second bid was once again called for; silence. Three times they took breaks, each time the room remained completely silent. Finally, the Auctioneer had no choice but to award David and his father the winning bid. David and his father were stunned – the family farm was once again complete.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/farm...t-family-farm/
A good news story for a change.