auction in Battle Creek. The auctioneer failed to appear and Graves recognizing Tim in the crowd awaiting the sale, asked him to take over. Though reluctant because he had no experience in the field he did take over and was so successful that he determined to launch into the auction business and followed it the rest of his life.

From the time he moved to Battle Creek in 1893 and for several years afterward Tim bought cattle for Felix Hale, one of the founders of Battle Creek and a well known stockman. It was from Mr. Hale in 1894 that he bought the land on which he built the house in which the Preece family still lives.

In 1906, Tim Preece and Fred Brechler became partners in the cattle business. They purchased the Hale land and feed yards in east Battle Creek which they operated in conjunction with a ranch they bought in Holt County. They dissolved partnership after World War I when Fred Brechler bought the Madison feed mills and moved to that city.

For several years Tim, under government contracts handled by Tom Napper, bought cattle and horses and delivered them to Indian reservations in Nebraska and South Dakota. Associated with him in this work was William Nedrebet. Tim Preece sold cattle at public auction throughout Nebraska and in South Dakota and Minnesota. He was a friend of many years standing of Otto Emrich, founder of the Norfolk Livestock Sales Company, and of his sons Ces and Bus. He was associated with the company from its beginning and sold for it for more than thirty years. He was one of the original stockholders, served as its vice president and at the time of his death was president.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Preece were active in church, community and political affairs. Both served as democratic committeeman in their precincts. Mrs. Preece worked as a volunteer to obtain signers for the woman's suffrage referendum. This was a cause that was not popular in some of the communities of our county and it took courage and stamina to get the quota of signatures. Mrs. Preece was a life long member of St. Patrick's Altar Society and for many years the chairman of the Catholic cemetery committee. She worked for the establishment of the Battle Creek public library and served on the library board and intermittently as chairman for twenty five years. She was a charter member of the American Legion Auxiliary and the month of her death, June, 1962, she received a pin for forty years continuous membership.

Tim Preece served on the town board for more than thirty years. He was chairman of the board when the streets were first paved, and also when the village successfully made application for federal funds under PWA for the building of the present high school. He served as trustee of St. Patrick's Church and because of his interest and remarkable memory he helped many a descendant of pioneers locate an unmarked family grave in the Catholic cemetery. He was a renowned story teller, especially of early days. He knew everyone in the community and in his later

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