Barbwire: Remembering Merle Coy

By Barb Lumley

Remembering Merle Coy

For many years dairymen, their friends and their families attended the Carroll County Daffodil Foundation Sale held on the last Tuesday in March each year. Cattle were brought in the morning of the sale and the sale was held in the evening. Cattle were prepared for and taken care of prior to the sale by the owners, with help from the committee and volunteers. One of the things the people attending the sale would take home with them and that was seldom forgotten was the memory of the gentleman who read the pedigrees — Merle Coy.

The Carroll County Daffodil Foundation Sale was organized by a committee of twenty three (23) dairymen in 1974. They agreed that there was a need in the area for a sale where dairymen from Carroll County and surrounding counties could consign and sell or have the opportunity to purchase well-bred dairy cattle. The first sale was held on March 28, 1974 at 7:30 p.m. The auctioneer was J. O. Fenstermaker and the sale manager was Arthur Wadsworth. No one was listed in the catalog to read pedigrees. The next few sales listed Cal Wilcox of the Ohio Holstein Association to read pedigrees. From the seventh sale on pedigrees were read by Merle Coy until he was lost in a tragic farm accident.

Merle had farmed, milked and bred Holsteins in Stark County until a decision was made to sell out and he and wife, Margaret, moved to New York, where he worked as an AI technician. He not only studied the pedigrees of the bulls he worked with in AI, he also learned the pedigrees of the outstanding Holsteins in the herds he worked with, consulted sire analysts and observed many outstanding cows. After a few years, the decision was made that he, Margaret and children, Mike and Mary, would return to this area and settle on a farm previously owned by a family member. A new barn was built, which included an office where Merle not only kept his registration papers and herd information, but also a collection of Holstein information. Once again he began building an outstanding herd of registered Holsteins. One of those was Coy Matchmaker Annie 2E EX 92, the 1990 All Georgia Aged Cow and 1990 All Georgia Junior Aged Cow.

Merle not only read pedigrees for the Daffodil Dairy Sale, he also read pedigrees for Russ Kiko and Associates for over twenty five (25) years. He loved his job and took every sale to heart, spending hours looking for information needed, preparing to assure a sale to be a successful venture. He spent hours studying the pedigrees.

He had a distinct voice with a special timbre and a way of talking that you didn’t forget. When Merle read a pedigree, he painted a picture of the cow he was talking about in your mind. “She was the big, black cow that stood in the first stall in so and so’s barn. She had that super high rear udder with lots of veining, maybe a little straight in the leg, deep rib, and so sharp and dairy with that long slim neck and she made high milk records too!” All you had to do was close your eyes and you could see that cow!

I enjoyed just sitting down with Merle and talking. It didn’t matter what the subject was, it was always an interesting and enjoyable conversation. He was very knowledgeable about many things. Of course, we could talk for hours about Holsteins and we often did!

Merle was lost to us in a tragic farm accident in October 1995. His sixty eight (68) registered Holsteins and three registered Brown Swiss were dispersed on Thursday, November 9, 1995. It was a crisp and cold fall day but the huge tent was filled and overflowing with the warmth of friendship, caring and respect of fellow Holstein breeders. Merle’s knowledge in breeding good cows was emphasized by the snug, well attached udders, good size, wide flat rumps and good feet and legs observed as his Holsteins passed through the sale ring. It was Merle’s philosophy that “the hills pay the bills” and he emphasized “intensive grazing” long before it became popular.

Merle Coy is gone, but for those of us who were fortunate enough to know him and call him friend, he is not forgotten. I have to thank the Holstein cow for taking me down the path that led to knowing Merle Coy and to the joy of his friendship. Not only has she taken me in that direction many, many times in the past years, allowing me to meet special people and form so many friendships, she has also done that for so many others. Our involvement with the Holstein cow has indeed been a blessing to all of us.