AMY KIRK: Be careful around this bunch: Famous Kirk family deals

• Amy Kirk

Amy Kirk

Talk about it

These were stories my husband shared with me for my column.

The Kirks have a family tradition of masterminding unusual deals. My father-in-law’s deal-making skills were clever and convincing propositions. Over the years his kids picked up the deal-making craft.

One of the family’s favorite deal-making stories I’ve heard several times happened during calving season years ago. My father-in-law had a cow that had prolapsed and, as every cattleman knows, the chances for a cow to survive such an ordeal are slim.

Even veterinarians with the right equipment and education have a low success rate.

Out of desperation, my father-in-law called the vet. Doc came up from Edgemont to have a look at the cow. The two men worked on the cow together and fixed her up.

They were so satisfied with their work that they were both certain their work had saved the cow from the ill-fated reputation prolapsed cows are known for.

Since the two men were both feeling confident with their work, my father-inlaw convinced the vet to take half interest in the cow as payment for his vet services. Doc agreed and therefore my father-in-law dodged a vet bill.

Unfortunately, the cow didn’t make it and Doc lost his investment.

On a much earlier occasion, my mother-in-law wanted a new vacuum after the Kirby salesman had given her a splendid home demonstration of the vacuum’s dirt-cleaning capabilities. In an effort to get his wife the new vacuum, my father-in-law turned on his deal-convincing charm to work out a proposition with the salesman.

My father-in-law was able to convince the salesman to accept a trade-in of a different kind instead of their old vacuum. The salesman, who must have been desperate for a sale that day, agreed to the unusual trade-in. My husband says he can still see that salesman’s car leaving the yard with a riding lawn mower sticking out of the trunk.

Another Kirk deal my husband loves to tell is the time his younger brother was planning a trip to Germany.

To help fund his trip, he talked my husband into buying one of his cows. As a young single man at the time and wanting to build up his herd, my husband obliged his brother and bought the cow.

While sorting cattle one day my husband and his dad discovered they’d both bought the same cow. Little brother had hit them both up on separate occasions to buy the same cow and was far, far away by the time the deal was discovered.

About 20 years ago, my husband sold an old pickup frame to a buddy who had restoration plans for it but never came and got it.

It sat in the junk yard until one day someone showed interest in buying it and hauling it off. My husband had a chance to get the old pickup frame hauled off and make some cash, so he resold it and doubled his money.

Now that you have a good understanding of what kind of man I’m dealing with, you can understand how it came to be that I got married to a Kirk.

Amy Kirk and her husband raise their two kids on a fourth-generation cow/calf operation near Pringle. She blogs at ranchwifeslant.areavoices.com.

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