Owning property is a large part of fulfilling the American dream, but how about owning an entire town? Pray, Mont., founded in 1909, was once a famous stopping point for travelers driving to Yellowstone National Park before the highway came to the area. Now you can own it!

The offices of United Country – Mason & Morse Ranch Company of Glenwood, Colo., and United Country – Shobe Auction & Realty of Lewistown, Mont., have entered into a joint marketing agreement to sell the entire town of Pray, Mont., at an auction event on-site on June 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Barbara Walker’s family has run the town since 1953, but when she lost her husband Johnny to cancer in 2006, she found that maintaining the town was too difficult to do alone. She made the decision that it was time to sell Pray and move on to new opportunities.

But Walker said being the owner of Pray doesn’t have to be a difficult job. “The town is pretty low-maintenance,” she said. “You collect the rent once a month and water and mow the lawn. I’m hoping somebody buys it because they want to do something with it.”

This five-acre property features a historic 1950s-style store with two commercial spaces within and space to expand into the remaining five rooms. The store is filled with several antique artifacts that are included in the sale. This build qualifies for historical designation with the State of Montana. The town also has a newer energy-efficient building with commercial space and an apartment. Pray also has established rental income with a U.S. Post Office land lease for their building, which provides the town with its own zip code.

“A zip code … that’s it, plain and simple,” Walker said. “It was the reason for Pray becoming Pray in 1909 and that’s the reason it’s called a town today.”

Pray is located in the heart of Paradise Valley and only 22 miles from Livingston, Mont., 30 miles from Gardiner, Mont., and 30 miles from Yellowstone National Park. It is also near Chico Hot Springs Resort and Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, which offers over 1,000,000 acres of forest land for the public to access year-round.

For more information or to view the property, email United Country – Mason Morse Ranch Company at sales@ranchland.com or visit www.ranchland.com. This auction is being presented in conjunction with United Country – Shobe Auction & Realty, who can be reached at www.UCShobeAuction.com and www.UCShobeRealty.com.

“Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.” Here is a Wordle for the United Country Blog!

Check out this joint-effort ad campaign from United Country Real Estate and our Glenwood Springs, Colo., affiliate Mason Morse Ranch Company. Another excellent way United Country works with its offices to achieve national recognition.

Welcome to 2012, everyone! A new year always brings new opportunities, and 2012 is no exception. As United Country President Mike Duffy recently posted on Facebook, “This year is going to be THE transition year!” Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “transition” as an “evolution from one form, stage, or style to another.”  Whether it is a United Country family member using a company program they hadn’t leveraged before to expand their business or a homeowner deciding it’s time to move out of the big city to greener pastures, people are always look to innovative and creative ways to transition into a better situation. How do you plan to evolve this year? Let us know!

By Kyla Barcus – Public Relations Manager, United Country Real Estate

As a child, I wandered the high grasses of my family’s 40-acre property, my imagination leading the way. Stacks of hay bales were igloos in the winter, and an oval patch of ground surrounded by trees was my hidden city. I was a country kid.

During my teenage years, I begged my parents on a regular basis to move to town on the grounds that, “There’s absolutely no point in living out in the middle of nowhere when you don’t farm anything or even own a cow.” I was certain that our long dirt road was the only thing standing between me and ultimate happiness.

As much as I complained, I knew deep down that I was lucky. There was freedom in the space and an opportunity for discovery each and every day.

My siblings and I became off-road bicycle pros at early ages, mastering the art of riding through gravel, potholes and mud mounds; never the flat, smooth sidewalks the town kids navigated. Looking back, I think that like many other parts of our country life, those bumps and puddles made us stronger and braver, ready to face and conquer obstacles, and never afraid to get a little dirt on our hand in the process.

We went fishing in our own backyard and learned to drive four-wheelers long before cars were on our minds. Appropriately, I spent one summer pretending to be a real estate agent, after my dad’s Realtor® friend gave me his old briefcase and outdated listing forms. I drove “prospective buyers” around on my four-wheeler, and by the end of that summer, I had sold every “lot” on our property to a variety of imaginary buyers.

In the summer months, my mom released us to the great outdoors by 8:00 a.m. and only called us back inside for lunch and at dark, so we found entertainment by using our imaginations. My brother regularly played “bull rider” with the help of our large propane tank. It, of course, was the bull — a natural fit for riding. Why else would it have a handle on the end? It was the toughest rodeo bull in the state, and with a pretend stopwatch, we would cheer as my brother conquered the prestigious eight seconds.

The space provided by 40-acres also meant that there was plenty of room for ‘toys.’ My dad was an avid auction-goer, bringing home the best treasures imaginable. When I was nine, he returned from an auction and unloaded a motorized miniature Model T, like those driven by clowns in local parades. It held two children, or one dad. As you can imagine, we fought like cats and dogs for a turn, and it wasn’t long before the car disappeared. For months we tried to solve the mystery of the stolen car, all the while wondering why our parents weren’t at all concerned about the theft. We eventually realized that the disappearance might have been prompted by one too many brawls over who got the next turn.

I’m happy to report that the car was replaced by something even better! That something also held four passengers … room for all of us at once. It was a used coin ride that probably sat outside a grocery store in its glory days. It looked like a huge blue cereal bowl painted with comets and asteroids. To our astonishment, we didn’t have to put money in the coin slot to make it start, nor was it timed. So, all four of us climbed inside and hit the go button. And go it did, until one of us scrambled to push stop and we all stumbled nauseously over the side to lie on the concrete below. The effects of the spinning and bobbing lasted at least 10 dizzy minutes. Shortly after recovering, we promptly jumped in and did it again. We sometimes had contests to see who could stay in the longest. I don’t remember what the prize was — probably because I never won.

One of my favorite memories was the year I tried to embrace my rural roots by planting my own flower garden in a quaint corner of our yard. Each day, I jumped off the school bus to note the progress of my creation and I was thrilled as tiny vines and plants started to emerge from the ground. One afternoon, as I ran toward the house to drop off my backpack and retreat to my garden, I found my mom at the door beside my four-year-old brother. She had her hand on top of his head and she said, “Chad has something he needs to tell you.”

Eager to get on with this strange family meeting, I looked to my brother who said, “I farmed your garden today. C’mon, I’ll show you.” As he took off in the direction of my garden, I knew this wasn’t good. There he stood, proud as could be, like a small Vanna White presenting a prize. I looked down and saw his little push-along John Deere tractor and combine in my former garden. Little plow lines danced through the middle, and my tiny plants lay in piles ready for “baling.” My perfect stone edging was now stacked like a fence to contain two plastic cows. I smile now, remembering the cute look of astonishment on his face at the fact that I didn’t see the beauty in his masterpiece. “It’s a fine farm,” he told me. I must admit that it was.

Thinking back on these memories, I regret the summers I spent loathing the isolation of country living. Now, as I sit on my parent’s front porch, I see it all so differently. Earlier today, I spotted my brother’s rusty toy tractor and combine in the back yard, and I thought to myself that they deserve to be permanent fixtures in the flower garden. My mom is pulling my daughter around the yard in a wagon with two black Labrador Retrievers chasing happily behind. I hear the locusts beginning their evening serenade.

Someday I hope to find myself sitting on my own front porch staring out at a little acreage. Hopefully my daughter will still be young enough to complain about how the country life cramps her social life, because I want her to have the same moment of awakening that I did when I realized how blessed I was to be a country kid.

It seems so fitting that my career led me to work with United Country Real Estate, where I might, in some small way, play a part in bringing others to a place where similar memories can be made.

The way I see it, United Country is a purveyor of dreams. A paradise is built in an individual’s mind, and United Country brings it to fruition. As that buyer stands amid his dream property, he’ll know he has found his freedom.

Kyle Shobe, the Livestock Marketing Association’s reigning World Champion, and auctioneer with United Country – Shobe Auction & Realty in Lewistown, Montanta, was featured last night in the television news segment “World Champion Auctioneer Brings Talents to Area Auction.” Watch the video and read the full story below.

World champion auctioneer brings talents to area auction – NBCActionNews.com.

In 1925, Roscoe Chamberlain founded United Farm Agency with the mission of providing city dwellers a ‘roadmap to the country’.  United Country Real Estate continues the legacy and commemorates the occasion with the 85^th Anniversary United Country Commemorative print. This special print, created by United Country graphic artist Kevin Anderton, portrays 85 years of United Country heritage with carefully selected images of the company’s past and present.

This collector print was introduced at our 2010 United Country National Convention Benefit Auction in New Orleans with the first print selling for $1,100. Now through a special promotion, you can buy our historic print today for a guaranteed price of $100.00 (plus S&H). 

All proceeds from the prints will go to benefit St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the nation’s top children’s cancer hospital, where no child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay.

 
Please contact Trina Turner at (800) 444-5044 or tturner@unitedcountry.com with questions or if you’re interested in purchasing a commemorative print.

by Kyla Barcus, public relations manager, UCRE

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” ~ Albert Schweitzer

February 14 -21 is National Random Acts of Kindness week. No matter how big or small, your acts of kindness can change lives and create a chain reaction to spread even more generosity throughout your community. Join us this week as we pledge to make a difference through random acts of kindness. Please visit United Country’s Facebook page to share your acts of kindness or an act of kindness you’ve witnessed this week— which we hope will inspire others to do the same, both this week and in all the days to come.  The following true story illustrates the power of random acts of kindness and how one small gesture can make an enormous difference.

Last fall, my sister and I bravely embarked on a long road trip to take our three kids to the Omaha zoo. If you’ve ever traveled with a 5-year-old, 4-year-old and 9-month-old packed like sardines in the backseat for a four-hour drive, you’ll understand what I mean when I say, “bravely embarked.”

At exactly 6:45 that night, as we exited the highway to grab dinner in a small town along the way, we had a major tire blow-out right there on the exit ramp. Suddenly we were transformed into two stressed-out women stranded halfway between home and our Omaha hotel, with three hungry children, a shredded tire and only a pitiful, half-flat donut spare at our disposal. Before my sister even had time to finish her frantic phone call to her husband, a nice couple had already stopped to offer assistance. Upon peeking into our car full of crying kids, the gentleman promptly rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt to investigate the dilemma while his wife called the owner of the only service shop in town to see if he could reopen the store to sell us a tire. While we sat there, three more strangers stopped to offer help. I’m not sure that those generous people truly understood what a blessing they were to us that night.

One random act of kindness can have a monumental impact.

Moments like that remind me of the rural community I grew up in. Small towns just seem to have a way of breeding hospitality and character. I can’t think of a time when I’ve driven down the main street of any small town without receiving a wave or nod from a stranger passing by, and it’s that distinct hospitality and kindness that draws so many people to small town life. But, I also know firsthand that kindness and generosity can be found in small towns and big cities alike.

Not long ago, as I was standing in line to buy a much needed cup of coffee at a store here in Kansas City, the man in front of me turned and said, “That coffee is on me young lady, have a wonderful day.” Then, he smiled and walked out the door, leaving me and the cashier speechless. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen in the city every day, but when it does, it can more than change someone’s day—it can change someone’s perspective, creating a desire to pass on that kindness to others.

Whether we live in rural or urban America, through a kind word or a helping hand, we can all emulate the characteristics of small town warmth and generosity and spread it to wherever we call home.

National Random Acts of Kindness week is the perfect time to take the kindness challenge. What will you do to make a difference? First on my list…I’ll be buying a cup of coffee for a stranger.

Make sure to tell us about your acts of kindness on our Facebook page and ask your friends to do the same. Need some random acts of kindness ideas? Visit www.randomactsofkindness.org.

While children have spent the past few weeks scouring the pages of toy catalogs and websites to prepare their Christmas wish lists, grownups have had their eyes on dream properties in United Country’s catalogs and at UnitedCountry.com. United Country features more than 35,000 incredible properties from across the nation at UnitedCountry.com, including vacation homes, mountain escapes, beach homes, lake homes, waterfront properties, log homes, country homes, small and mid-size city homes, recreational land, ranches, farms and commercial properties of every type imaginable. Here’s a sampling of some of the most viewed United Country listings of the last month.

Historic Turner House – Greer, S.C.

Listing Number:  39032-05720
Price:  $1,395,000.00

The R. Perry Turner house was constructed in 1937 in Greer, S.C., by  renowned architect William R. (Willie) Ward. This magnificently restored home is constructed of handmade brick, topped by a slate roof and finished off with copper gutters. The front entry, with a two-story covered front porch and a hanging second floor balcony, leads to a grand foyer punctuated by a sweeping semi-circular grand stairway. The balance of the first floor is comprised of a large music room/parlor, formal living room, formal dining room with built-in corner cabinets, butler’s pantry/breakfast room, wood paneled library, kitchen, utility room and the first floor bedroom suite discreetly tucked away to the rear of the house. At the top of the grand staircase, the focal second floor grand hall mirrors the foyer and provides access to four bedroom suites plus the back hallway that leads, in turn, to a sewing room/nursery, sleeping porch (or sixth bedroom), and the back staircase that reaches the attic, from the basement, in three flights. The tree-canopied grounds are completed by a lighted formal English garden, fishpond, slate roofed two-car garage and interconnected front and rear driveways accessing both bordering streets.

Ages Past Country Inn Bed & Breakfast – Cashton, Wis.

Listing Number:  48102-06650
Price:  $430,000.00

Imagine owning this unique, beautiful and established turn-key business that has a high occupancy rate, many returning customers, verbal agreements with at least three area businesses to host clients and business associates, a history that includes providing lodging and fine dining to movie stars and professional musicians, and comes with an offer from the current owners to provide 30 to 60 days of free consultation to a new owner? Ages Past Country Inn has been an established Bed and Breakfast since May of 1997. Built in 1898 by John Cremer for his lovely bride, this 111-year-old Victorian home was purchased by the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in 1918 to be used as a rectory for its resident priests. In 1996 the current owners purchased and restored this 7,500 square foot home. Guests can choose from seven different rooms (including three suites), each with a private bathroom. Throughout the property you will find king-size mahogany beds from Indonesia, oak furniture from Europe, a turn-of-the-century armoire and side table from Belgium, fireplaces, beautiful stain glass windows, authentic signed carpets from the Middle East (one of which is 120 years old), a Chinese sculpted carpet, and chandeliers from Belgium dating back the 1800s. The majority of the personal property and furnishings will be sold with this Bed & Breakfast business. Other features of this home include lounges, foyers, a kitchen, a reception room, and two laundry areas. There is also a full apartment in the basement level. This turn-key business comes with a computer system including a full-access website and online reservation program.

Harmony Hills Ranch – Arlington, S.D.

Listing Number:  40019-00018
Price:  $1,652,000.00

Escape to Harmony Hills Ranch, the Midwestern getaway of your dreams. Characterized by gently rolling green landscapes in the famous prairie pothole region of the central flyway zone, this ideal recreational ranch is an eastern South Dakota treasure. Over the past 70 years, this contiguous 560-acre ranch has won many conservation awards including: Top Ten in the Nation of Farming in the Flyways by Ducks Unlimited Inc. (long-time United Country strategic parter), Outstanding American Conservationist Award by Pheasants Forever, Conservation Tree Care Award, Wildlife Habitat Conservation Award, and Land & Wildlife Stewardship Award. Harmony Hills Ranch harbors a variety of wildlife habitat, including 12 abundant wetlands, thousands of trees ranging from nine to 90 years old, including Ash, Oak, Cedar, Pine, Spruce, Russian Olive, Box Elder, Apple and Lilac trees. Hunting and recreational opportunities include a wealth of waterfowl, trophy white tail deer, wild turkey, pheasants and other upland game birds, and an abundance of fishing. An established bison herd of 130 bison currently roam the 400-acre grasslands surrounding the ranch. The wetlands, trees and four home sites make up the remaining 160 acres. Located only two miles south of the 2,000 acre Lake Sinai, which is one of the deepest and best walleye lakes in South Dakota, this area naturally attracts thousands of ducks and geese flocking in season.

Auction Fever was alive and well during the 2010 National FFA Alumni Benefit Auction held October 22nd during the 83rd National FFA Convention at the Indianapolis Convention Center. This year’s convention set an all-time event attendance record with a total crowd of 54,942 members, advisors, sponsors and guests.

The annual live auction was conducted by veteran auctioneers Mike Jones, president of United Country Auction Services and Shawn Terrel, vice president of United Country Auction Services. Jones and Terrel have conducted the auction the past four years on behalf of the National FFA. In addition to United Country’s Kansas City, Mo., home office team, owners and staff members of United Country – Bonham Auction and Realty of Indianapolis, Ind., and United Country – Coffey Realty & Auction of Bloomington, Ind., assisted in conducting the auction.

Every table at the live auction event was filled to capacity with 736 people registering for the live and silent auctions. Online simulcast bidding was made available by United Country for those who could not attend in person.

One of the major highlights of this year’s auction was a 2011 Ford F-150 Supercrew XLT donated by Ford Motor Company, which produced a final bid of $29,500. Other highlights included a six month New Holland tractor/baler lease for $7,250, a New Holland Rustler utility vehicle for $7,100, a 2010 Yamaha Grizzly ATV for $4,650 and a trip to Germany donated by CLAAS for $3,750. Proceeds for the live and silent auction were approximately $120,000.

“Future Farmers of America” was founded by a group of young farmers back in 1928. Their mission was to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population. They taught us that agriculture is more than planting and harvesting– it’s a science, it’s a business and it’s an art. FFA continues to help the next generation rise up to meet those challenges by helping its members to develop their own unique talents and explore their interests in a broad range of career pathways.

Today, the Future Farmers of America members are our nation’s future biologists, chemists, veterinarians, engineers and entrepreneurs of America. United Country representatives hope that some of the 523,309 FFA members will consider a professional career in real estate or auctioneering. There are 7,487 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.