The popular Stockmen’s Back in the Saddle Again Annual Dinner and Auction will feature a new twist this year.
Bidders looking to support the foundation will be able to use their phones or laptops to check out the items and place a bid from the comfort of their homes.
This is welcome news for those who went to purchase tickets only to find the event has been sold out for some time.
Scott Grattidge, Executive Director of The Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation, is hopeful the unique nature of some of the items up for auction will attract a lot of attention, prompting those who may have been disappointed at not getting tickets previously to perhaps support the cause online.
There will be about 65 silent auction items and eight to ten live auction items, one of which will be dinner for four with local country music legend George Fox.
Another uniquely western item in the online silent auction has Grattidge excited. A big horn sheep ram’s head has, according to Grattidge, the potential to garner significant interest and revenue.
“Some of these go for up to $1,000 an inch,” he said, estimating the horns to be about 38 inches.
A sampling of other items available in the silent auction include an Original 1937 Alberta brand book; tickets to local attractions like Calaway Park, Heritage Park and Capture the Flag Paint Ball; numerous items of art from local artisans; and, gift certificates for local businesses like Two Pharmacy and Tony’s Work and Western Wear.
Anyone looking to cut down a tree, improve the road into their ranch house, or take care of their cattle, will find something of value, according to Grattidge.
“We’ve got a couple chainsaws already, a load of gravel, and if you want some de-wormer, we can hook you up there, too,” he said.
The dinner is on Oct. 29, and the online silent auction will be open for bidding as of Oct. 26. To participate in the online silent auction or for more information, go to stockmen.ca.
“Anyone familiar with the Olds Auction Mart equipment sales will know that some people go online and make bids the first day, and then the last 10 minutes is when things get exciting,” Grattidge said.
The Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2020. The foundation manages The Bert Sheppard Library and Archive, located in the east end of the Cochrane RancheHouse.
The facility captures the western lifestyle through art, books and displays featuring artifacts; all with a western theme.
The Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation is a non-profit association, officially organized in 1980 by 50 founding members comprised of ranchers, farmers and individuals who wanted to commemorate the Canadian livestock industry.
The Foundation’s purpose is to identify, honour and remember the builders of the livestock industry and others who have made outstanding contributions to its progress; provide historical and business information relating to the livestock industry; familiarize the public with the lore of the cattle industry; and, encourage a general appreciation of the sociological and economic significance of the livestock industry.
At the library, users are encouraged to come and browse or research the materials. Some of the items available include more than 13,000 books related to western culture from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, including a complete collection of brand books for Alberta from 1888 to the present; more than 6,000 magazines on ranching, rodeo, horsemanship, veterinary science, history, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; and a collection of videos of more than 100 early pioneers who were videotaped by Stockmen’s volunteers.
The facility also boasts more than 100 audio tape cassettes of Western-related topics; sheet music, maps, pamphlets, and rodeo programs; and, canceled brand files (especially of interest to those tracing family history).
