In 1966 a group of men saw the need for a new livestock auction in Live Oak
County, and formed the Live Oak Livestock Commission Company, Inc. Shares in
the new company were sold to many local and area ranchers. Facilities were
built at a location midway between George West and Three Rivers, and the
first weekly sale took place in 1967.
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The first Officers of the Corporation were Clifton
Wheeler, Jr., President, Tommy Martin, Vice-President, and Raymond Wieding,
Secretary. In addition to these men, some of the first directors included
Aubrey Lee, Jack Davidson, H.B. Spradley, L. R. Hoskins and Sam Huff.
Management of the business was contracted to Mack Buckaloo and Joe Gulley
until April 1970, at which time Fred Rhodes and his partners Buford Dugger,
Bob Dougherty and L.J. Lyne started the Live Oak Livestock Company. The new
Corporation hired Bernice Wernli as Office Manager, and she worked for the
company for more than thirty years of weekly sales before she retired.
Through the years other partners have included C. W. Wood, Jr., Wesley
Reagan and A. D. Cobb III. Today the Commission Company and the Auction
Company are principally owned by Riley Rhodes, and are operated and managed
by Riley and his partners, Russell Wood and Willy Shannon.
When Fred Rhodes took over the management in 1970, he coined the phrase,
“Business goes where it is invited and stays where it is appreciated,” and
had it printed on the Auction Barn letterheads. We continue to try to live
up to those words today as we work hard to meet the needs of our sellers and
our buyers. We invite you to come by for a visit anytime.
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