Barbwire: Holsteins & Friends

By Barb Lumley

Holsteins & Friends

Congratulations to the All-Ohio winners! I fully understand your passion for the show ring and your joy at winning the AllOhio awards.

A special congratulations to the Junior All-Ohio winners! Watching the youth as they present their Holsteins in the show ring is so enjoyable. Many of our outstanding registered dairy herds began because a young person wanted to show a calf at a fair or district show.

We can be so proud of our youth who are involved in any way with dairy. They work hard, handle responsibility well and the love they feel for the animals they work with is so obvious. Every youth is so deserving of our praise, respect and support.

What could make a cold, snowy winter day more enjoyable but an unexpected phone visit with an Ohio Holstein breeder? Word reached me that an Ohio Holstein breeder I had known from years ago would like me to call her. While I recognized the lady’s name and remembered some things about her herd, I didn’t think I had ever met her, unless we might have talked at the one Daffodil Dairy Sale she had attended. She was well-known a few years ago for merchandising the offspring of an outstanding Blackstar daughter and a Bell daughter.

We had such a nice visit on the phone, talking about Holsteins, family, fairs and much more. So glad you got in touch with me, Cora Powelson! We will talk again.

When the phone rang a little later in the day, it was Esther Welch. Anytime Esther and I talk is an interesting and enjoyable visit, and while we always talk about Holstein happenings, we also discuss many other things. Thanks to Esther encouraging me to write a column for the Ohio Holstein News 20 years ago, there has been “life after milking dairy cows” - and it has been an interesting one.

Esther was a good editor and gave me guidance, and I appreciated that so much. When I go back and read some of those early columns, I have to smile; my writing has definitely improved over the years. Who would ever have thought writing about Holsteins and Holstein activities would lead to having a book published that has been purchased and read not only by people in this country, but also in the United Kingdom? Thanks, Esther!

While the Ohio Holstein Association is about cattle, more importantly it has also always been about friends. I think everyone who is reading this will agree that being involved in the Ohio Holstein Association, serving on the Board of Directors and participating in the multitude of activities over the years has led to meeting many different people and forming friendships. What a blessing for all of us!

We are looking forward to the coming of spring and hoping for an end to the sickness and problems we have been dealing with for so long. We will still have to get through some cold, snowy, dreary days when everyone’s spirits need lifted. On those days, let your thoughts turn to your Holstein friends. Take time to give someone a call or meet them for lunch or coffee; talking Holsteins “does a body good.” Believe me, I know … I’ve been doing it for years!