Jake Fallesen (Crabtree) has raised sheep since 1958 and since the 1970s worked as an auctioneer throughout the Western US. Fallesen started the Scio Friday Night Auction, which became a monthly community event that features everything from retail goods to yard sale items, friendship, and fun.
Bio
Jake Fallesen was born and reared in Crabtree. He received his first lamb when he was six years old and has had sheep ever since. He raises lambs as show lambs for children, breeding stock, and commercial lambs. In his prime, Fallesen ran several thousand sheep, but he has cut back to just a few hundred. He has been an active participant in festivals and events in neighboring Scio his whole life. In addition to raising sheep, Fallesen has dedicated himself to auctioneering. He learned his trade at a school in Texas. At his peak, he worked 250 auctions a year all over the western United States. He has worked a variety of auctions from livestock to auto sales to charity benefits. According to Fallesen, the challenges of the job include pricing items, keeping everyone in the room happy, and finding good ringmen (the people who spot bids in the audience). Fallesen describes his kind as a dying breed because of the prevalence of online auctions and sales. Fallesen is a strong advocate for live auctions and supporting the talented auctioneers who can make their fee in just a few minutes. The auctioneer’s job is to sell as much as possible at as high a price as possible. And a good auctioneer not only sells goods, he or she also entertains with a repetitive patter that lulls the audience and encourages more and higher bids. When a friend needed to sell a few items in the early 2000s, Fallesen started the Scio Friday Night Auction. The event has turned into a monthly community event that features everything from retail goods to yard sale items. Fallesen continues the practice he loves, and the auction provides low-key entertainment in downtown Scio.
