Brent and Mary's oldest son, Jason, now a 31-year-old resident of Midway, said the auction kept them in line. His childhood was filled with hot, dusty summers walking up and down the auction's alleys and winters so severe they froze the corral gates shut.

"We were never in trouble because we never had time to be in trouble," he laughed.

Hundreds of livestock traders and onlookers flocked to the auction ground each Saturday. By Brent Kelly's estimate, they auctioned off hundreds of thousands of animals. But the auction grounds also became a place where parents could give their children opportunities to experience the farm life, Jason Kelly said.

"A lot of people don't have those (experiences) anymore," he said.

Modernizing

But times changed.

For one thing, the Kellys' grown-up children outgrew the auctioneer lifestyle. While Brent and Mary's children still pitched in when they could, the work has become too arduous for the aging couple to continue on their own.

"It's difficult to find help," Mary said.

And then there are the livestock industry's dynamics. The demand for livestock auctions decreased as more traders move to Web sites like www.cattleusa.com and www.Imaauctions.com where they can view streaming videos and place bids on cattle anywhere in the country.

"With the Internet system, people are selling their cattle on video," Brent Kelly said. "The need for the auction is getting less and less."

Thatcher, a long-time patron of Utah Livestock Auction, said he doesn't like the buy-from-the-comfort-of-your-living-room format.

"But I'm an old-timer," he said. "I guess we've modernized."

Thatcher prefers to be in the auction arena when he buys cattle, but for a practical reason.

"Just like when you go look at a car," he said. "It's not quite the same to look at it in a picture as to go sit in it."

Regardless of the exterior influences of the industry, Brent Kelly said 30 years is long enough.

"There's a time and a season for everything," he said. "Now's a time and a season for us to get out of that weekly activity."

'A huge hole'

Though Utah still has six other active auction locations, Jason Kelly said he thinks the loss of Utah Livestock Auction will leave a void in Utah County.

"It's gonna leave a huge hole for a lot of the people who come down to buy an animal," he said.

Robert Walton, 53, owner of Walton Meat Packing in Springville, is one of those frequent buyers who will feel the absence of the auction.