With four mule collars hung on his arms and shoulders, L.C. Tabor struggles to open the barn door. Tacked high above the barn door, a portrait of a mule watches the efforts of the 60-year-old man.
It all started back in 1946, just after the end of World War II. At age 19, Tabor went to the Allen County Fair with his father and bought his first mule. It was the beginning of a lifelong hobby.
“I’ve always been around mules,” Tabor said. “My daddy had them on his farm. Back then, everyone had mules. They were good work animals, and my daddy used them for plowing and hauling.”
Even though Tabor now has modem farm machinery to get out his crops of wheat, com and tobacco, he still uses his mules for small jobs around the farm.
“I don’t let my mules graze all the time. I put them to work,” Tabor said.
In between farming chores, Tabor and his son, Greg, raise prize-winning mules. Greg showed his first mule when he was just 3 years old and has been raising them with his father ever since.
It was Greg that painted the portrait of the mule on the barn. Tabor’s herd has grown to as many as 46 animals. The best mules go to the county fair and auction. Yearly, Tabor and his son attend about a dozen of these events. They always come home with a trophy. The awards clutter a small upstairs room in the Tabor house.
“I can’t even begin to guess the number of awards I’ve won in the 31 years I’ve been showing mules,” Tabor said.
Buyers have come from as far away as Nebraska and Oklahoma to buy the prize animals. Tabor has sold them for as much as $6,000 a pair.
Tabor himself has traveled to Lawrenceville, Ga., made my sale and drove back without sleep.
“I like to buy and sell, but most of all I like to meet my friends.”
