Fairbury resident Wayne Kurth has a piece of local history in his possession and would like to know more about it.
The farm sale poster dated January 20, 1905 lists a public auction at the S.M. Pricer Farm six miles north and 1.5 miles east of Fairbury, or four miles south of Rugby. Sale items included 10 head of horses and mules, four head of cattle and various farm implements. Bee Tinges is the name listed in large print at the bottom of the document.
A friend of Kurth’s daughter found the bill of sale at farmhouse auction in Wisconsin.
“She knew Jamie was from Fairbury, Illinois so when she saw it, she bought it,” Kurth recalled.
The man who sold the item said it had been in his family’s Wisconsin barn since he was a kid. This man is estimated to be in his 50s or 60s. Jamie then gave her father a call to tell him the news.
“I got this as a Christmas gift this year,” Kurth explained.
A piece of barn lumber is attached to the sale bill with a piece of wire on the back, allowing it to be mounted in the barn for so many years.
“That’s pretty good for a piece of paper stuck to a piece of old barn wood.”
If a local museum would like to display the historical Fairbury artifact, Kurth would be happy to give it to them. He can be reached at 815-692-3649. He is sure someone out there has historical connections to this.
“My daughters and I used to kid around when they were young and growing up here,” Kurth said. “I always told them Fairbury was the center of the universe.”
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