Smoketown Dairy Sales observes 10th anniversary
Helen and Gordon Fritz, owners of Smoketown Quality
Dairy Sales Co., Inc.
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Handling cattle sale, from the left, are Gordon Fritz, of
Smoketown Quality Dairy Sates; Henry Kettering, pedigrees;
and Paul Si ler, auctioneer.
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BY JACK RUBLEY
SMOKETOWN - When Gordon
Fritz tells you he was bom 53 years
ago, don’t believe him. Fifty-three
years ago he was shot out of a gun,
and it’s going to take a lot more
than half-a-century to slow this
man down.
Fritz and cattle mix like ham
and eggs, a fact readily apparent
during the 10th anniversary sale of
his Smoketown Quality Dairy Sales
Co., on December 30. Wearing a
knit sweater with appropriate
Holstein motif, Fritz teamed with
ring man John Petersheim,
making sure that buyers had
ample opportunity to appraise his
cows from all angles.
Things got underway with John
Peila’s introduction of each cow
and Henry Kettering’s presen
tation of milk records and
pedigrees. After that it was up to
auctioneers Paul Snyder and Carl
Diller to keep things moving, the
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whole affair being a well
orchestrated demonstration of just
how a cow ought to be sold.
Now and then sensing when
proceedings might benefit from a
kick in the pants, Fritz was quick
to grab a microphone and let
buyers know just why they ought to
be in the thick of things.
Developed through lifetime
immersion in the cattle business,
this sense of auction tempo is no
accident. Born and raised in
Smoketown, Gordon credits his
father, John Fritz, for providing
him with the backbone of his dairy
experience.
“With Daddy running a cattle
business the three of us boys had a
one-way ticket to hard work,”
Fritz recalls, “and by the time I
was sixteen I was borrowing the
pick-up to buy and sell calves.”
The mid-50’s found Gordon
buying and selling with his brother
Robert, a partnership that lasted
until 1967, when Gordon and his
wife Helen decided to go it alone.
A self-confessed “city” girl with
no knowledge of the dairy
business, Helen caught on quickly.
“She’d often do the feeding and
milking while I was out buying and
selling,” Fritz reminisces. “I
might by 500 miles from home
when I’d call her and say, ‘what’s
goin’ on?’ She’d say,
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BUTLER FOODS INC.
We will receive
your market hogs
Our New Winter Hours*
8 AM - 1 PM
Mondays. Wednesdays.
Thursdays & Fridays
Located at the Vintage Sales
Stables, Paradise, PA
You will be paid immediately.
No commission or
yard fees deducted.
Reduced waiting time.
Premium prices are paid
for extra fancy hogs.
Call Ed Herrmann
for daily market quotations
717-442-4742