July 10, 2025
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Snow, mud all part of spring consignment sale

By Earleen Hinton

Wet snow fell during this year's Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale on April 2 turning the walkways to mud between rows of farm machinery for sale. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

A day earlier or a day later would have made the annual Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale a lot more pleasant, but Mother Nature accommodates no one—including area farmers looking to sell or buy equipment.

A heavy wet snow fell across the 30-acre sale site between Polo and Milledgeville all-day Saturday making the venue very, very muddy and chilly.

“We’ve had snow before the sale, but not actually on the day of the sale. And this is a wet heavy snow,” said Sheryl Hopkins, of Public Auction Service, on sale day.

The annual event is held every spring and includes farm machinery, automobiles, lawn tractors and just about whatever else someone brings in before sale day.

The event has become a generational “must do” for some area farmers.

“I’ve been coming here for 40 years,” said Dan Langy of Lena who was busy chatting with with two buddies from Lena and Stockton. “It could be worse weather.”

Mark Engelkens of Freeport adapted his ATV with an umbrella to protect him and his passenger from the elements.

“I’ve been going to get an actual roof for it, but for now this works,” he said smiling as the machine slithered across a muddy pathway.

Sara Coleman and her toddlers, Lucy and Cole, trekked their way through the mud en route to finding her husband across the field at a different sale ring.

“We were trying to buy a well pump, but it went too high for us,” she said extricating Lucy from a mud rut.

But the mud was a major attraction for Kasen Bocker, 8, of Leaf River who made sure he splashed through one behind a row of tractors while waiting for his dad and brother to catch up.

“We just got here a few minutes ago,” said Randy, Kasen’s dad. “We usually come over every year.”

The Polo Lions Club operates the main food booth in the center of the sale site. The covered building was a popular place for visitors to get out of the snow and grab a hot dog, cheeseburger, or pork chop sandwich and chat with friends and neighbors.

“We had a steady crowd,” said Lion Mike Faivre.

Hopkins, whose family started the event years ago, said overall the day was a success.

“We had a decent crowd,” said Hopkins on Sunday. “Items sold well and we had 450 online bidders so overall it was a good crowd.”

Toddler Lucy Coleman of Rockford expressed what many visitors to this year's Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale were thinking when heavy, wet snow fell throughout the event on April 2. Lucy was walking with her mom, Sara, and Cole, her 3-year-old brother before her mom picked her up and carried her to see her dad who was bidding on items on the east side of the sale grounds. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

Wet snow fell during this year's Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale on April 2 turning the walkways and parking areas to mud. Here, workers push a car as a tractor pulls it out of a muddy quamire. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

Mack Engelkens of Freeport used a strategically placed umbrella to shield himself from the wet snow that fell during this year's Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale April 2. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

Kasen Bocker, 8, of Leaf River, couldn't resist playing on one of the many mudpuddles at the Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale on April 2. Pictured with Kasen are his dad Randy and brother Levi. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

Auctioneer Lenny Bryson takes bids on an antique tractor at the Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale on April 2. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

John Deuth, a member of the Polo Lions Club, prepares sandwiches at the Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale on April 2. The Lions serve food and beverages at the popular event located 11 miles west of Polo on Milledgeville Road. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

A tractor pulls a car out of the muddy parking lot at the Hazelhurst Spring Consignment Sale on April 2 after heavy, wet snow turned the walkways and parking areas to mud. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

Earleen Hinton

Earleen Hinton

Earleen creates content and oversees production of 8 community weeklies. She has worked for Shaw Newspapers since 1985.