photo courtesy of Wayne Carlton

Amid all the fanfare and hustle at Elk Camp, it is ironic that a mule would win the spotlight. Yet since Ben Freeman donated his first mule in 1993, the mule auction has become a huge hit for folks attending Elk Camp and has brought in more than $165,000 for elk country.

Ben Freeman, the man who started it all by providing the first four mules that netted the Elk Foundation $24,000, passed away in December, leaving a legacy that will continue to entertain Elk Camp auction goers for years to come.

Freeman was a legend in the world of finishing school for mules. He would hand-pick a mule, work with it for a solid year, and bring it to Elk Camp. “These weren’t normal mules,” says Ben Tennison, editor of Western Mule Magazine and friend of Freeman. “From the day he sold one at Elk Camp, he was looking for another one. He’d train the heck out of it.”

Though Jake Clark picked up the reins of Elk Camp’s mule auction 10 years ago, Freeman’s legacy lives on with every bid.