[ad_1]
This is part of a weekly series answering “Why is that?” questions about Salem and the Mid-Valley.
The question: Why does a large headstone sit in front of the historic Poultry Building on the Oregon State Fairgrounds? We have the answer. But first, a little history.
The background: Vive La France was a world-famous Jersey cow, the product of sire Golden Glow’s Chief and dam Sugar in the Barrel. She was raised in the late 1910s on the farm of Ovid Pickard, a well-known cattle breeder near Marion, an unincorporated community about 15 miles southeast of Salem.
Research led me to at least three published tales about how the cow got its name, one on account of the French blood in Pickard’s ancestors. Another claimed he named the calf for the heroine of a book he was reading.
However, Pickard said in a 1927 Oregon Statesman article that comic strip characters Mutt and Jeff were the inspiration. The duo happened to be in France, bringing to mind the words Vive La France, which means “long live France.”
Whatever the origins, the celebrated cow may have been better known by her nickname, “The Wonder Cow,” for holding three world records at a time and producing 5,332 pounds of butterfat in six years.
In 1919, Vive La France was the grand champion, producing 14,926 pounds of milk and 1,032 pounds of butterfat in 365 days. She was the second cow in the Jersey breed to reach the 1,000-pound butterfat mark.
Curious about how much nearly 15,000 pounds of milk is? A conversion calculator told me it is roughly 1,745 gallons.
Her records have since been shattered due to genetics and technology. Dairy cows today are bred to be larger, hungrier and more productive, and the milking process is automated and handled by robots.
Vive La France was prized not only for butterfat production but her genes. Her registered offspring reportedly were highly sought after. Her value at one point was $30,000, the equivalent of more than $460,000 today, and the publicity she gained impacted more than just the Jersey cow business in Oregon.
Research published by the Willamette Heritage Center claimed the famous cow did “more to advertise Oregon throughout the country than any other one thing.”
When Vive La France died at about age 10, reportedly from an udder infection following milk fever, she was buried in front of Pickard’s home along the highway in Marion. In 1927, the local papers reported on the public unveiling of a monument at the site memorializing the cow.
A nationwide movement, including donations from Jersey breeders across Oregon, raised funds to erect a headstone with the cow’s name and achievements carved in granite and a circular metal plaque with her image above the inscription.
Why is there a headstone on the Oregon State Fairgrounds?
Now, back to explaining how the headstone wound up at the Oregon State Fairgrounds.
Ovid Pickard died in 1952, with an entire paragraph in his obituary dedicated to his prized Jersey cow. Oddly enough, her name was left out. The obit did mention four of her calves sold for $22,000.
The headstone eventually was moved to the fairgrounds, although it is unclear why. Perhaps descendants of Pickard wanted it removed before selling the property.
The Capital Journal reported on Sept. 7, 1955, the relocation of the stone from the cow’s gravesite in Marion to the fairgrounds.
The nearly 3-foot-tall monument sits in the grassy area in front of the Poultry Building, on the northeast corner, less than 50 feet from an entrance to the Livestock Pavilion. While I found no documentation explaining the location, it makes sense to be near the barns, a site worthy of inspiring young dairy farmers but often passed without a glance by most fairgoers.
A single flower decorated the base of the headstone during this year’s state fair. Noticeably missing was the image of the cow, the circular imprint of where it once was still visible.
Versions of Wonder Cow lore include her remains, not just the headstone, having been dug up and reinterred at the fairgrounds. An online guide to offbeat tourist attractions perpetuates the rumor, but nothing in our archives suggests anything but the monument was relocated.
Oh, by the way
The 102-year-old Poultry Building is about to undergo a $1.6 million renovation, paid for by State of Oregon construction bonds.
Magnificent and modern were among words used to describe the building when it opened during the 1921 state fair, designed and constructed specifically as a poultry exhibition hall. Its Spanish Colonial Revival style of architecture was unique to Oregon and rare in America.
It is most recognizable today for the decorative crests with sculpted busts of roosters around the exterior, 14 by my count. Some of them previously were used as flag stanchions.
The Poultry Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as an ensemble with the 1919 Horse Stadium.
Restoration of the Poultry Building will include the windows and doors, the plaster and stucco, and the chickens, as needed, according to the state fair website. The hope is for the work to be completed by the 2024 state fair.
Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Email your “Why is that” questions to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com.
[ad_2]
Source link