They may be strapped to their seats thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean, but British Airways passengers will hear the cacophony of sounds and witness the vibrant colors of this year's Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair livestock auction.
The annual auction, which benefits individual 4-H'ers, was filmed by Kevan Pegley of the Spafax Airline Network Inc. in Britain for a documentary announcing British Airways' merger with USAir.
The merger will allow British Airways to begin flying out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport in September.
All passengers on the 8 1/2 -hour flight from London to BWI will see the half-hour documentary, Mr. Pegley said. Passengers on other British Airways routes will see the film in September.
The Carroll County segment will probably be a couple of minutes long, Mr. Pegley said.
"We're really interested in showing the rural side of Maryland," said Mr. Pegley, who is impressed with how Maryland has maintained rural sections despite its proximity to
Washington and Philadelphia.
"We're trying to show the traditional side of Maryland as well as the development in Baltimore and the lengths Maryland has gone to promote tourism," he said.
"To me, with a livestock auction, there is nothing much more rural than that."
During their three-day stay, the crew also filmed most of the tourist attractions in Baltimore, at a horse farm in Baltimore County and during a sailing trip off Annapolis, Mr. Pegley said.
"I've shot in a lot of places, in America and around the world," he said. "Never have the people been as friendly and as easy to work with as in Maryland. It's been a real pleasure to work here."
The auction itself, which opened with 4-H'er Tracy Clagett singing the national anthem, ran from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., as each youngster brought his or her animal to the auction block for the bidders to see.
About 120 bidders participated.
Prices ranged from 82 cents a pound for a 1,255-pound shorthorn steer to $31 per pound for Justin Wildesen's 120-pound grand champion market lamb.
"Jessica, how much did you say you wanted for your animal?" the auctioneer asked Jessica Fogle as she showed her grand champion steer. "Five dollars? Let's help her get there."
And to bidders who were hesitating on a price, he called out, "It's only money. We'll tell you when its too much."
Masonry Contractors, owned by Martin K. P. Hill, purchased the most animals.
