The sale barn had a big impact, not only on the town of Troy but all of Bradford County.
In the article, auctioneer George Scott stated that the barn closing was a sad day because the livestock barn was a valuable asset to the farmers. He added that the farmers certainly needed the barn in 1939 when the price of cows went from six cents to fifty cents a pound. George went on to say that back then small butcher shops relied on the sale barn; however, when Federal Inspectors began checking, these small butcher shops could not afford to meet the federal specifications and had to close. The “big boys” took over, and the price of cows plummeted.
In the article, Lee De Coursey fondly remembered going to the sales with his father. He stated that when WWII broke out in 1941, everything in their lives changed. He especially remembered the soda machine that sat in one corner. Lee, along with friends, collected the empty glass coke bottles and turned them in for the two-cent deposit. When the supplier saw the bottles gone, he would shake his finger at the kids, threatening to stop supplying the soda; however, he always kept that old machine filled.
Robert Storch remembered that at Christmas time, the sale barn owners gave out calendars, cigars and chocolate covered ox- heart cherries. The candy was given to the children and the cigars to the fathers. Bob mentioned that he couldn’t wait until he was old enough to trade those cherries in for a cigar.
It was said that Ron Wilston was the youngest buyer ever at the Troy Livestock Sale Barn. Ron began buying at the sale barn at the age of nine. With his dad’s permission, Ron bought calves, sheep or whatever was a bargain, and then took the animals home to raise. Ron was on had for the final sale.
In the article, Roy Watson stated that the reason the sale barn closed was due to the cost of calves being down and also the number of calves brought to the sale barn. The Troy Livestock Cooperative then leased the operation to Empire livestock, who took care of the sale’s management.
The last sale that Empire held occurred on Wednesday, February 21, 1996. At this time, Empire closed the doors and discontinued sales at the building.
On New Year’s Day 1997, the sale barn was reopened by Roy and Diane Andrus, who were former dairy farmers and cattle dealers. Although they knew that the situation was bleak for farmers, they just couldn’t bear to see the historical building closed. Their motto was “Good cattle sell well, while poor cattle sell poorly. While Roy and Diane struggled to keep the sale barn in operation, the economy did not improve. After their last sale on Wednesday April 14, 2004, the business was sold to Charles Earle, of Troy, who tried several venues in the barn; however, none proved profitable.
When the gas industry came to town Troy Borough began selling water to the industry from a back-up well located on the sale barn property. Since the borough did not have a right-of-way onto the sale barn lot, they purchased the building.
After many months of discussion, the borough transferred the ownership of the building to the Municipal Authority, who in turn leased it to the Troy Historical Society.
With agriculture being the cornerstone of Pennsylvania’s economy, we need to salute our FFA teachers (past and present) who have been teaching our young farmers so that Pennsylvania will always have productive farmland. Agriculture is still a way of life for over 62,000 families in Pennsylvania. Surely, the citizens of Bradford County can rally to save a building that meant so much to farmers in our area.
If you are a past FFA student or someone who would simply like to save the Troy Sale Barn,` we would like for you to attend this open house on Saturday October 18 at any time between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.