DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — Just like church folk, Mike Sherow lumbered up the stairs of Winter Livestock and found his usual seat — smack dab in the center of everything.

Almost every Wednesday since the mid-1970s, the cattle buyer has found his spot at the sale barn — except for the time he had surgery. Even then, he didn't miss too many sales, driving while sick the two hours from his Reno County hometown of Langdon. For Sherow, after all, there is not a better profession than bidding on cattle that filter through the sale ring.

He's just one of the characters who come here weekly — where men i...