Do you remember the Tam?

Greetings from the Bluegrass State. It is my privilege to submit an article on behalf of the National Shorthorn Lassie Association. I’d like to share a few historical facts you may not know about Shorthorns and the history of the Shorthorn Lassies.

W. Henry Dilatush of Memphis, Tennessee proposed the idea of forming a women’s auxiliary and therefore, the first National Shorthorn Lassie was crowned in 1956 during the Chicago International. Twelve ladies competed for that title and Ann Bullock of Missouri was selected as the first national queen. We were very fortunate to meet Mrs. Bulllock during the 2006 Junior Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa. She was excited to be there and to witness the heritage of the Shorthorn Lassie program. My daughter, Fran was the national queen at that time, and it was fun to have the first and 50th queens together for some great photos.

On the ASA website, it is interesting to read the names of the past national and alternate queens. As far as I know, we are still the only breed that supports an alternate queen. Many of the national and alternate lassie queens are still very active within the livestock industry and many of them are still actively raising Shorthorns. What the list of national queens does not show is all the ladies that represented their states in hopes of becoming the national queen. I wonder where those ladies are and what they are doing with regards to the livestock industry. I represented Illinois in 1975 as state queen and made my first trip to Louisville, Kentucky for the NAILE and the queen contest. Little did I know, Kentucky would become my home where my husband Maurice and I would raise our children, Fran and Wes.

The National Junior Shorthorn Association is one we can all be proud of. My parents selected Shorthorn cattle for my sisters and I when Shorthorns were the only breed of cattle to have a junior association at the time. I will never forget my first youth conference. It was great to meet so many other enthusiastic young people who raised Shorthorns. I have attended many youth conferences and junior nationals and served on the junior board. My children also attended many youth conferences/junior nationals and were often in the top 5 in the contests. I now get to attend junior nationals with my grandchildren. My husband’s family began raising Shorthorns in 1898 and our grandchildren are now the 6th generation to raise Shorthorn cattle.

I have had the privilege of serving on the national lassie board several times. I have worked with some very interesting ladies from across the country. It has been our mission to promote Shorthorn cattle and oversee the National Shorthorn Lassie Queen Program. In the mid 80’s, the ASA sponsored a Shorthorn event in Reno, Nevada. I was president of the lassies then and we had the first ever semen auction to raise funds for a National Shorthorn Lassie Queen scholarship. Both the national and alternate lassie queens receive scholarships. We are so fortunate now to have assistance from the Shorthorn Foundation to continue with this program. All state queen contestants receive some scholarship monies from the foundation at the national contest.

For many years, exhibitors at national shows wore the same show ring attire. The Lassies sold sweaters and sweater vests and later, to accommodate our folks from the southwest, exhibitors wore long sleeve western shirts as our show ring attire. The monies generated from these sales were used to cover the operating expenses of the national lassies, contribute to the scholarship fund and provide monies for the travel expenses of the national queens. Thanks to many Lassie board members and their families, that merchandise traveled to many shows across the country. Currently, the National Shorthorn Lassie Association is selling chances on a silver Shorthorn cuff bracelet designed by Kay Knight. The chances are $100 each and will benefit the programs and expenses of the National Shorthorn Lassies. Any board member can assist you in acquiring your chance on this one-of-a-kind collectible Shorthorn keepsake.

Over the years, the lassies have developed several programs to promote Shorthorn cattle and promote the education of Shorthorn folks. The National Shorthorn Lassies started the first Shorthorn Key Conference which was held in Indiana. It has developed into a great program for Shorthorn Youth. At the national junior show, the national board and national queens host the Lassie Tea. It is a fun afternoon for young girls who may someday be interested in becoming a Lassie queen. Our national queens also put on the Lassie 101 program for the older girls and state queens. During this program, the national queens share some of their experiences while serving as national queens. They give helpful hints and suggestions to prospective queens regarding showring etiquette and share tips regarding the national lassie attire. They also share their photobooks which were submitted for the national contest.

One of the most unique things about the Shorthorn Lassie is the outfit she wears. At the time the national organization was formed, it was felt that the national Scottish attire should be adopted as our national outfit since Shorthorn Cattle originated in the Teas River Valley in England and many of the breed improvements were made through cattle imported directly from Scotland. The Royal Stuart Tartan is the official tartan for Britain’s Royal Family. I have been asked many times about the outfit while wearing it, as a queen mom or as a national board member. Often times it is difficult to identify queens representing other breeds of livestock. I feel very strongly that our outfit is very distinctive and represents our rich Shorthorn heritage.

As with any fashion trend, the length of the kilt and jacket have both gotten longer. The longer kilt is much more comfortable to wear and is warmer in cold weather. The kilt can now be purchased from several outlets. Somewhere along the timeline of the outfit, we gave up the red socks, flat black shoes, garters with rosettes and white ruffled cuffs on the jacket. The garters were difficult to keep in place at the knee, the cuffs were always dirty, and do I need to say anything about the red socks and shoes? The short square black jacket had to be made specifically for each girl. The black jacket can now be purchased at a variety of places. The same is true for the black boots. They should be plain, free of buckles and buttons and above all, comfortable.

Do you remember the Tam? It was the traditional “hat” worn with the kilt and plaid. It had to be worn two finger widths above the eyes and was difficult to keep clean and uncomfortable to wear.

All queens/contestants now wear crowns. At national events and the contest, the height of the state queens should be shorter than that of the national and alternate queens. The guidelines for hair, makeup and jewelry should be tasteful and complimentary to the outfit.

Over the years, the National Shorthorn Lassie Association has served countless cups of coffee and donuts before the shows in Louisville and Denver. That tradition probably stopped when the ladies got busy on show morning with cattle and kids.

The National Shorthorn Lassie board is responsible for the national queens and for orchestrating the queen contest. The contest I participated in taught me to make any contest, I was associated with in my life, to be as fair as humanly possible. Today, the judging process consists of four separate rankings. The applications submitted by state queen contestants are judged and ranked by a set of judges. A separate set of judges evaluates and ranks the queens in an interview. Their photo scrapbooks are also judged and ranked by another set of judges. The national board also ranks the queens. With this system, many judges are included in the decision-making process of selecting a queen. I really like to see both our national queens attending shows and sales all over the country representing Shorthorn cattle and Shorthorn people. Many national and alternate queens have become lifelong friends!

We have gone through a lot of changes in the National Shorthorn Lassie Association. There have been a lot of changes in the Shorthorn breed. I wonder what the future holds for the National Shorthorn Lassie Queen and the National Shorthorn Lassie Association. Our Shorthorn Lassie Queens and the proud tradition of the outfit they wear, represent Shorthorn cattle and its’ people well. Many of the ladies on the national board, are past queens or queen moms. All have a genuine respect for the Lassie program and are striving to make the program stronger and adapted to the changing times. Your National Shorthorn Lassie Board are planning some exciting things for the future, please pledge your support to your National Shorthorn Lassie Program.