2021 Wall of Fame Inductees

Cow: EDR V I Angie Melvina EX-93 GMD DOM

Todd Stanek traveled to the EDR Dispersal in Palmyra on March 24, 1992, having never met the Ron and Doris Marsh family or seen Melvina in person. His interest in Melvina was not that she had been a successful show cow but that she was a high scored cow that had a high index. The pictures he had seen of Melvina made him believe that she was a cow with strength to burn and that he could mate her to the big time milk and protein bulls of that time to try to make bulls for A.I.

Stanek was blown away by her high, wide rear udder and her strength. Melvina became his first big time purchase of a Registered Holstein and time has proven this to be a good choice.

Like a lot of cow stories, this one has a few twists and turns to it. While at the sale, Stanek could tell it was a hard day for the Marsh girls and he offered to leave Melvina with the girls and not transfer ownership until they had shown Melvina one more time at the spring show. They took him up on his offer, with Stanek traveling to the spring show to take her home afterwards. At the time of the sale, Melvina was confirmed pregnant to Blackstar. When Stanek arrived at the spring show and walked into the barn where she was stalled, the Marsh girls saw him and started crying. Melvina had lost the Blackstar pregnancy and was in heat and would not be shown that day. Stanek assured them that this was ok – he had purchased Melvina to flush her and this was great because he could take her home and start to flush her right away.

Melvina turned out to be a great flush cow. Her first flush was to Mascot and made 25 good embryos. The result of that flush was four daughters that were the best two-year-olds in the barn at Our Favorite Holsteins. They scored 85, 86, 87 and 88 and they made the two-yearold milk records we ever had. Those four young cows brought the world to Our-Favorite Holsteins.

The Melvina cow family has consistently, generation after generation, produced the best cows in the Stanek’s barn. Their logo and advertising slogan is “Our-Favorite Holsteins - Home of the Melvinas”. Currently over 70 percent of the herd are Melvinas. One of the Mascots from that first flush anchors the branch of the cow family that is going strong today. Our-Favorite Unlimited, EX-94, is the latest Melvina to bring the world to the farm and her EX-94 Doorman daughter, Endless, is turning out to be a great brood cow. This family has produced the popular sires Undenied, Mafia, On Point and Union and many heifers that are at the top of the PTA type lists.

While Our Favorite Holsteins has certainly made “Melvina” wellknown worldwide, the Marsh family that bred Melvina considers her maternal pedigree to be just as influential. Melvina’s pedigree stems from a heifer purchased back several generations and the “Angelas” produced the best cows in their barn every generation, just like it has done for the Staneks. She was sired by Mel-Est Valiant Iros Melvin, a young sire that Ron Marsh used because he was $5 and he used young sire semen to save money. Melvin became a proven bull and Melvina his signature daughter.

Melvina was a growthy heifer that the Marsh family showed and did well but didn’t win. She really blossomed when she calved as a threeyear-old. She was Reserve Grand Champion at the 1990 Wisconsin Spring Show and went on to be named Reserve Junior All-American Senior 3-Year-Old. Melvina scored EX-93 3E and earned GMD and DOM honors.

In today’s world, they would say she was too big. At her thinnest, Stanek hauled her to town and she weighed in at 2085 pounds. But to this day, Melvina is the most graceful cow he has worked with. She lived in a stall, went out every day like all the other cows and never took a wrong step.

Stanek states, “It was an honor and a privilege to get to work with Melvina. One cow can make a hell of a difference in your life. I want to congratulate the Marsh family for breeding such a great cow and thank them for sharing her with me.”

EDR V I Angie Melvina EX-93 GMD DOM

Bull: Sunnyside Standout-Twin VG-85 GM

Sunnyside Standout was born in 1962 at Sunnyside Farms, owned by the Borgwardt family of Valders. He went into service at Tri-State Breeders in Westby, Wisconsin, later to be known as Accelerated Genetics.

It is not a requirement that Wall of Fame bulls be born in a Wisconsin herd, rather it is required that they have passed the test time and are greatly appreciated by Wisconsin Holstein breeders. Standout checks all of the boxes. He was born in a Wisconsin breeder’s herd, was housed at a Wisconsin AI stud, and had thousands of highly appreciated daughters in many Wisconsin herds. Standout was born to not just any herd. The Borgwardt family has provided exemplary leadership to the Wisconsin Holstein Association for generations, including Todd and Susan Borgwardt, who continue to operate Sunnyside Dairy Farms today. For many years Todd’s grandfather, Elroy Borgwardt, was Wisconsin’s national Holstein board representative. Elroy’s sons, Roger and Bill, were also active in WHA and both served as WHA President.

In the July 10, 1978 Standout Issue of the Holstein World, Elroy Borgwardt stated “Standout didn’t just happen. He was bred to sire offspring that are profitable for production along with desirable type.”

At Tri-State Breeders, Standout had at least 11,000 daughters in his production proof in nearly 3,000 herds and over 5,000 daughters classified. We know that proofs erode over time, but at the time, Standout was an exceptional production bull with sound type, just as Elroy said he had been bred to be.

The road to success for Standout was not an easy one. Marlowe Nelson contracted his dam, later to be a 93 point cow, for Tri-State,

Sunnyside Standout-Twin VG-85 GM

but Standout was born five weeks early and the twin did not survive. It was her third set of mixed twins. Long before genomics, an animal had to look the part to be accepted to an AI program and Standout was barely hanging on. Standout made it to Tri-State at nine months and was sampled. At the time, breeders wanted larger cattle, unlike today when there is concern about cows becoming too large. Standout himself was not big, he scored VG-85 and was Gold Medal. Another piece of his rocky start, at the time during their waiting period after initial sampling, Tri-State farmed their bulls out for natural service. Standout went to the Columbia County Hospital farm where he refused to service any cows. Of course they contemplated selling the bull, but they didn’t quite pull the trigger. As heifers, they were not standouts and they went unnoticed. When the daughters began freshening, he stamped a pattern of great production, sound udders and legs, and good capacity, but they came in all sizes, high fat test and low, spotted like Standout’s sire Burkgov or not speckled at all.

At the time, many breeders were interested in following specific families in the breed. By the end of Standout’s career that was not so much the case. Standout’s dam was by an Oostie bred bull and that qualified him to fit in the Homestead program. Here is another mark for Standout as a uniquely Wisconsin bull. Many today do not understand what it means to be a Homestead animal. Homestead breeders were based mainly in Wisconsin and advocated for a cow with a rugged constitution combined with dairyness. While we have lost the recognition of Homestead breeding today, they are somewhere in the pedigree behind nearly every animal of the Holstein breed today.

Standout’s sire is another story of the early 1960’s. Most matings were limited by the distribution area of the local AI center and frozen semen was a fairly new thing. Still, Standout’s sire, Burkgov Inka Dekol, was sourced out of Utah at Cache Valley Breeders and was one of the elite sires of the day. He was a grandson of Wisconsin Admiral Burke Lad, the foundation of the Burkes and the key sire at Pabst Farms and bred at the Green Bay Reformatory.

Standout was in active service at Tri-State for seven years and was put to sleep at 12 years of age and buried on the grounds at Tri-State.

Some interesting Standout statistics: - He was used heavily at Sunnyside farm, nine of his first 13 daughters there scored Excellent. Three Sunnyside sons later scored Excellent and several were in active service at Tri-State. - Other Wisconsin bred Excellent daughters included Gray-View Cocoa Standin, Wyss Homestead Sando, Kaderly Standout Pearl, Vigo Standout Vanity and Stetzerlann Standout Silver. - His highest scored daughter, JPG Standout Kandy EX-96 2E GMD, was All-American Aged Cow in 1977 and admired by many yet today. - There were hundreds of sons of Standout. In addition to the Sunnyside bred sons, another impressive son was Ca-Lill Standout Cavalier GM. Through Cavalier, Standout is a major foundation in Red and White and Black and White breeding even though Standout himself was not a Red Carrier. Other sons with many offspring include Hill-Haven Standout Job, Limestone Standout Strephon and Thumb-Pride Perfector.

Born in 1962 and recognized today in 2021, in reflection Standout was a very modern kind of bull, he made great ones for the show ring but also were appreciated in farmer-breeder herds across the

Person: Emil Titel, Plymouth

The 2021 Wisconsin Holstein Wall of Fame Honoree is Emil Titel of Plymouth, the renowned breeder of several of the foundation cows and bulls of the breed in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Emil Titel was born in 1874 at Glenbeulah, Wisconsin and after graduation from public schools he started farming with his father in 1904 and purchased some heifers in 1906 that became the foundation of three important families. Emil Titel’s principal cow families - the Vickery Vales, the Klazerinas and the Little Gifts - were influential in the Charles Konop, John Pester, Pabst Farms, John Hetts’ Crescent Beauty-Admirals, Kyland, Osborndale, Dunloggin, Pinehurst and Wisconsin Reformatory herds. Emil Titel’s influence can be seen in the pedigree of Wisconsin Admiral Burke Lad VG-GM. His sire, Wisconsin Admiral Burke, has four Vickery Vale females in a row that were bred by Titel on the maternal side. He also bred the Admiral Ormsby Fobes son who sired Burke Lad’s dam.

Vickery Vale 79278, born in 1905, lived to twenty years of age and it was her daughters and granddaughters mated with Admiral Ormsby Fobes that guaranteed Titel’s success. Titel purchased half interest in him for $7500. He sired amazing production and his daughters had great individuality and type and breeding power. Admiral Ormsby Fobes was the second calf from Wisconsin Fobes the 5th, once called “the greatest cow who ever lived”. An Admiral Ormsby Fobes daughter, Vickery Vale Mechthilde Ormsby, provided the Admiral component of the Crescent Beauty-Admiral line. She was purchased by John Hetts in the 1927 National Blue Ribbon Sale in Waukesha. She calved with twins - a bull and a heifer. The heifer proved to be a breeder, and the twins were mated twice to produce two great sires: Admiral Vale of Rock and Admiral King Fobes EX. In addition, Queen Pearl Fobes of Rock was the result of a mother-son mating, Admiral Ormsby Fobes of Rock-Twin to his own dam.

The Klazerina Della family was developed by Emil Titel. Admiral Ormsby Fobes was mated with a member of this family, and the resulting heifer, Klazerina Champion Fobes, was mated with Sir Ormsby Beechwood, a son of Admiral, resulting in Klazerina Champion Fobes 3d who was Grand Champion at the Wisconsin State Fair. Fobes 3d was mated to a Montvic Pathfinder son resulting in Klazerina Champion Rag Apple who was then mated with a Triune-Della sire to produce Klazerina Della. Della was mated with a son of her own granddam to produce Klazerina Della 2d EX, the Pride of Pinehurst, who was purchased from the Titels by David Bachmann, the young owner of Pinehurst Farms, Sheboygan Falls, in 1951 for $1250. Klazerina Della 2d would prove to have an early positive influence on the Pinehurst herd through herd sires

continued from page 31 Admiral Comet 21st and Pinehurst Klazerina Champion EX and her daughters Klazerina Della Gift EX and Pinehurst Klazerina Symphony VG-87.

A third family that resulted from Titel’s original purchase of heifers in 1906 were the Little Gifts who had a lesser influence but can be found behind some of the Dunloggin cattle.

By all accounts Emil Titel, especially after the Admiral Ormsby Fobes daughter came into production, owned an amazing herd. Harry Hill, President of the Wisconsin Dairymen’s Association wrote of Emil Titel in 1937:

“In spite of the many honors bestowed upon him by fellow breeders, Mr. Titel remains as modest as can be. While he revels in discussing cattle at all times, he had never been heard boasting of his own. His feats stamp him as a breeder of the highest caliber. There are few men held in higher esteem by his fellow workers than Mr. Titel. Yet through it all he works quietly and if you want to call on Emil Titel, the chances are you will find him in the barn working with his cows as he has been doing for the last 33 years.”

Emil Titel died in 1952 at the age of 78 years. The farm and herd were continued by his son Arthur Titel who sold out in 1957 at a Bairdmanaged auction with an average of $365 on 37 milking age females. Pinehurst Farms purchased the high seller Bonny Comet Beauty 2d, whose sire and dam were Admiral Comet offspring for $875.

Wisconsin Holstein Association Wall of Fame

1991 Bull - Johanna Rag Apple Pabst Cow - Colantha 4th Johanna W. J. Gillett, Rosendale 1992 Bull - Sir Pietertje Ormsby Mercedes 37th Cow - Wisconsin Fobes John Erickson 1993 Bull - Wisconsin Admiral Burke Lad VG GM Cow - Pabst Burke Rag Apple De Kol EX GMD Fred Pabst, Oconomowoc 1994 Bull - North Star Joe Homestead Cow - Allie Watson Prima Donna Baltz Hoesly, New Glarus 1995 Bull - Admiral Ormbsby Fobes Cow - Pietertje Maid Ormsby John S. Wuethrich, Granton 1996 Bull - Sir Fobes Ormsby Hengerveld Cow - Gray View BD Crissy EX-93 GMD Professor A. C. Oosterhuis, Madison 1997 Bull - Wis Ideal-EX-GM Cow - Wis Prima Donna EX-91 GMD Glen Householder & Archie Sandburg, Green Bay 1998 Bull - Elmoka Joe Homestead Cow - St. Croixco Lad Nina EX-94 EEEE Carl J. Nelson, Poskin 1999 Bull - Wis Leader Cow - Plain View Inga Art Imig, Clark County 2000 Bull - SWD Valiant Cow - Gene-Acres Felecia May Fury EX-97 5E Allen Hetts, Fort Atkinson 2001 Bull - Jule King Fobes Cow - Future Hope Reflector Blacky William Baird, Waukesha & Francis Darcey, Watertown 2002 Bull - Gray-View Crisscross Cow - Gray-View BD Skyanne Gray View Farms, the Nelsons - Harvey, Eugene & Pete, Union Grove 2003 Bull - Mayers Majesty Duke Cow - Mayers Mistress Dark Anna Christ Mayer, Washington County 2004 Bull - Elmer Brook Aristocrat EX GM Cow - Elmer Brook Elaine Inka Piebe EX GMD H. Otto Elmer, Monticello 2005 Bull - St. Croixco Pioneer Cow - St. Croixco Pidon Colette EX-92 4E GMD Bernard Kuhn & Aulden Davis, St. Croixco Farm 2006 Bull - Pabst Roamer EX GM Cow - Vickery Vale Mechthilde Ormsby Arthur James Glover 2007 Bull - Hagemans Tempo Cow - Vigo Burke Hengevale EX-93 GMD Elsmer & Gordon Berg, Dodge County 2008 Bull - Provin Mtn Ivanhoe Jewel EX GM Cow - Sky-Hi Mars Helen –ET Norman Rasmussen 2009 Bull - Pabst Comet VG GM Cow - Linden Dictator Wimble Wimpy (Wimpy) Harvey Swartz 2010 Bull - Life-O-Riley Marquis King, EX GM Cow - D-R-A August EX-96 DOM Elis Knutson 2011 Bull - Harborcrest Happy Crusader EX-92 GM Cow - Crescentmead Rotate Amanda EX-94 2E GMD DOM Elmer A. Woelffer, D.V.M. 2012 Bull - Lockway Sovereign Lucifer Lad Cow - Jan-Com Fond Matt Matilda EX-97 W. D. Hoard 2013 Bull - Fustead Emory Blitz-ET EX-95 GM Cow - Nectarlin Billie Bob Mark EX-90 GMD DOM Alvin R. Piper, Lake Mills 2014 Bull - Regancrest Elton Durham-ET EX-90 GM Cow - Snow-N Denises Dellia EX-95 GMD DOM Marlowe Nelson, Westby 2015 Bull – Townson Lindy-ET EX Cow – Stookey Elm Park Blackrose-ET 3E-96 GMD DOM Merle Howard, Lake Mills 2016 Bull – KHW Kite Advent-Red EX-94 Cow – Krull Broker Elegance EX-96 2E GMD DOM John D. Wuethrich, Greenwood 2017 Bull - Sandy-Valley Bolton EX-90 GM Cow - Scientific Debutante Rae EX-92 GMD DOM Elroy Borgwardt, Valders 2018 Bull - Emerald-Acr-Sa T-Baxter EX-91 Cow - Ripvalley NA Bell Tammy EX-94 GMD DOM Margaret Rassmussen, Lone Rock 2019 Bull - Pinehurst Copyright Cow - Audrey Posch David Bachmann, Sr., Sheboygan Falls 2020 Bull - Jenny-Lou Mrshl Toystory-ET Cow - Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy-ET William Hageman, Sr., Fond du Lac