We interrupt the steady stream of news of division, of tumult, of conflict and power struggles, with a story from within that suggests that human failure may still be getting along.
A few weeks ago in the southeastern corner of Utah, the San Juan County Fair took place, as it has for longer than anyone can remember, at the fairgrounds in Monticello. On the last day of the fair, a Saturday, it was time for the junior livestock show and auction, where children from the 4-H club showed off the steers, goats, lambs and pigs they have fattened all year.
The auction went smoothly, if quietly, when it came time for Alise Lewis to enter the arena and show off her lamb.
Alise is 17 and a senior at Monticello High School. She plays on the volleyball and golf teams, is president of her school’s National Honor Society chapter, and has been auctioning lambs at the county fair since she was five, always putting the money she raises into her college fund.
But this year Alise had a different plan.
As she and her lamb entered the arena, she handed the announcer a statement she asked him to read.
It started with a thank you to the junior livestock program for all the lessons it has taught her. Then Alise’s statement said this:
‘I usually save the money I make from selling my lamb for university. This year I would like to do something different. I would like to donate the money I raise to Ryan Imlay and Bodell Nielson. Ryan was involved in a swimming accident this summer and I hope the money I donate will help him on his long road to recovery. Many days of work and even their original wedding day have been missed and I hope to ease their burden with a donation.”
Ryan’s accident had occurred three weeks earlier when he dove into a lake during a family outing, hit his head in the sand and shattered one vertebra and broke the other. The news had spread quickly through San Juan County. Everyone knew that Ryan and Bodell, who had to postpone their wedding date, were in for a difficult road. He was in the hospital and fighting to walk again when the auction took place.
When the announcer finished reading Alise’s statement, Kurt Lewis, her father, nudged his wife Tamra. “Look what happens next,” he whispered, “I have a feeling we’re going to witness the goodness of America.”
Then the auctioneer started his chatter.
The lambs before that averaged $6 per pound. Alise’s lamb rushed past before the auctioneer could clear his throat. Hands shot up at a frantic pace until the auctioneer finally declared it had “sold” to Travis Shumway – at $54 a pound.
Alise had just raised almost $8,000 for Ryan and Bodell.
As Alise walked her lamb out of the arena, she put a satisfied smile on her face.
But she was not yet out of the gate when Travis Shumway shouted at the auctioneer that he would pay what he had bid, but he wanted to bring the lamb back in so it could be auctioned again.
This time the bidding was even more spirited, if anything, until it concluded with Chad Shumway’s winning bid of $44 per pound.
A beaming, if somewhat bewildered, Alise walked out of the arena once again.
Until Chad Shumway shouted, “Sell it again!”
Once again, hands shot up around the arena until Justin and Stephanie Ivins prevailed with a bid of $34 per pound.
Until proven otherwise, Alise’s 144-pound lamb will go down as the most expensive lamb in history, selling for $19,008.
Reporter Sally Jack describes the scene for the San Juan Record in her story titled “Lamb for Sale: Once, Twice, Three Times!” as they shake their heads in wonder at the goodness and generosity of the people in this community.”
Kurt Lewis said: “They probably could have auctioned it off a few more times.”
As for the stunned Alise, “I was a little nervous going in,” she admitted. “But I knew I had such a great community behind me. But it went much further than I thought. I didn’t expect this to be the outcome at all.”
In fact, by the time Ryan and Bodell received the generous donation a few weeks later, Ryan was out of the hospital and able to walk again, albeit with some hesitation, and the couple was able to marry in a quiet ceremony at home.
Kurt Lewis summarized the story of the lamb, the accident, the kind girl, the auction, and the willing bidders: “What it’s about is a young couple in need of help and the goodness of small towns; not that big cities don’t do it, but there’s just something good in these small communities that take care of their own. I am convinced that there are many people who want to do good; they just need the right thing.”
