From $875 cow to Holstein dynasty: How a Slovakian immigrant’s millions and a young breeder’s eye for cattle transformed the dairy world forever.
In the glow of a setting March sun in 1953, as shadows lengthened across the Houckholme stable floor, young Dave Houck milked cows while chatting with a visiting Record of Performance inspector. The conversation would alter the course of Holstein history. “There’s a good one up in Woodville,” the inspector mentioned casually. “Highcroft daughter. Couldn’t recall the farmer’s name.” He returned moments later with the information: “Lillico.” By midnight, Dave Houck had purchased Bonnie Lonelm Texal High for 5 from Clarence Lillico, a cow who would later produce a white bull calf named Romandale Reflection Marquis, destined to become one of the most influential Holstein sires of the 20th century.
This pivotal moment came just months before Houck joined forces with Stephen Roman, a Slovakian immigrant who had transformed himself from a General Motors assembly line worker to a mining magnate. Together with Stephen’s brother George and Houck’s breeding genius, they would build Romandale Farms into a Holstein powerhouse that rewrote industry record books and conquered show rings across North America.
From Immigrant Dreams to Holstein Royalty
Stephen Boleslav Roman stepped onto Canadian soil in June 1937, a 16-year-old immigrant with ambition that far outstripped his modest circumstances. Alongside his older brother George, sister-in-law Mary, and nephew Tony, the Romans arrived from Slovakia carrying $2,500 and dreams of opportunity in their new homeland.
Their first Canadian home was a small farm on Scugog Island near Port Perry, Ontario, where they engaged in mixed farming. Though the Romans had been educated at an agricultural college in their homeland and raised in relative luxury on their father’s estate, they faced the humbling realities of immigrant life in Canada.
“Stephen Roman dreamed the classic immigrant dreams,” observed a contemporary. “He would make a go of it, he vowed, no matter what.”
The Romans’ neighbors, Russell Carter and his son Alan, became crucial allies. Alan taught Stephen English in evening sessions, the Carters drove the Romans when needed, and their wives shared household equipment. In a telling anecdote about the brothers’ resourcefulness, George once “rented” Stephen as farm labor to Russell Carter in exchange for the use of a horse.
While farming provided a start, Stephen quickly realized it wouldn’t satisfy his ambitions. He secured a job at General Motors in Oshawa, where he worked under foreman John Puhky. Roman displayed the relentless drive defining his career, taking every overtime shift available, earning promotions, and studying English, business, and law in his limited spare time.
With carefully saved earnings, Roman began speculating in penny mining stocks. After losing $2,000 in his first venture, a substantial sum for an immigrant laborer, he learned a fundamental lesson: “In the mining game, the person who makes the fortune is the one who controls the action.”
Roman and Puhky formed Concord Mining Syndicate, starting with nineteen mineral claims. Roman quit GM to focus entirely on this new endeavor. By 1948, the company-controlled properties from Quebec to Alberta. When the Leduc oil discovery created a boom in 1949, Concord acquired claims near significant strikes.
By 1954, Roman claimed to have made his first million dollars. The immigrant teenager had become a wealthy entrepreneur, ready to return to his agricultural roots, not as a struggling farmer, but as the ambitious owner of Romandale Farms.
Building a Holstein Empire
In 1950, Stephen Roman purchased 150 acres north of King Road on Bathurst Street, Ontario, marking his official entry into the Holstein business. Though he briefly considered breeding Guernseys, he astutely recognized the ascendancy of Holstein cattle in his region.
His early purchases reflected more enthusiasm than expertise. Accompanied by an “unenlightened” herdsman, Roman acquired foundation animals from various small herds. Dorothy Lonelm Texal Supreme VG came from Smith Brothers and Murray Holtby, Eyton Lodge Jean Rag Apple Echo. At Jack Houck’s Houckholme Farm, he purchased Re-Echo May Burke EX shortly after she completed a 35,314-pound Canadian championship record.
With his herd growing rapidly, Roman scheduled his first production sale for March 31, 1953, at Hays Sales Arena. The event averaged $784.77 per head on sixty-four animals, the first of nineteen Romandale auctions that would systematically raise the bar for Holstein merchandising.
But Roman’s most strategic move came when he hired Jack Houck’s son, Dave, as herd superintendent in June 1953. The Romandale advertisement announcing the hire noted: “It is expected that he will contribute much to the development of our breeding and testing program, for we have long admired Dave’s ability to pick the good ones, care for them, test them, and show them.”
Houck brought an almost spiritual connection to Holstein cattle at just twenty years old. As a boy, he missed church services to read the Holstein Journal in the family car, hand-milked Spring Farm Bearli to a Canadian record as a teenager and had won the Ontario Junior Dairy Cattle Judging Competition in 1945. After a stint at Hickory Creek Farms under the mentorship of Whitie Thomson, Houck returned to work with his father before Roman’s offer came.
Jack Houck, recognizing opportunity, encouraged his son to accept Roman’s proposition. “Romandale,” he said, “was a big, pushy outfit destined to go to the top.” History would prove him right.
The Highcroft Revolution
Dave Houck arrived at Romandale with five remarkable cows. These females, all daughters of Lonelm Texal Highcroft, would become the foundation upon which Romandale’s breeding empire was built.
Texal Highcroft Colantha, Leila Texal, Texal Francy Wayne, Georgina Texal Piebe, and Bonnie Lonelm Texal High seemed unimpressive on paper. None had production-tested dams. Only three had classified dams, all scoring merely Good Plus. Yet these unheralded cows possessed an unmistakable uniformity and quality that caught the practiced eye.
A contemporary described them as “remarkably uniform in their type pattern-tall, wide-chested cows with clean, broad rumps…beautiful quality of bone…fine textured udders, some long-teated in front, udders carried high and wide in the rear.”
Full sisters Texal Highcroft Colantha and Leila Texal, both out of Hileana Colantha GP, founded the Colantha family-“a tribe which empowered the Romandale herd to move forward.” Before their arrival, the Texal strain was merely “a strong regional bloodline, popular in and around York County.” The Romandale program elevated it to “international prominence.”
But the most consequential of these foundation cows proved to be Bonnie Lonelm Texal High. Purchased after that fateful conversation with the R.O.P. inspector, she traced directly back to Musette, an 1882 import from Holland who had once been shown by an Amish deacon later chastised by his church for exhibiting livestock.
As a mature cow, Bonnie stood sixty-two inches at the withers and “many times taped over a ton.” Despite her immense power, she maintained “a respectable angularity” and walked on “legs made of clean, flinty bone.”
Bonnie’s show ring career included winning the milking three-year-old class at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1953. Judge Harvey Swartz, handling her at the Royal Winter Fair the following year, grabbed her rear udder and commented admiringly, “Nice skin.”
From these Highcroft foundation cows flowed numerous champions, including Texal Fond Hope Darkie VG (All-Canadian two-year-old of 1954), Texal Fond Hope Sparkie VG (All-Canadian two-year-old of 1956), and Romandale Highcroft Rose EX (Reserve All-American three-year-old of 1959).
The A.B.C. Reflection Sovereign Magic
If the Highcroft daughters provided the foundation of Romandale’s success, their mating to A.B.C. Reflection Sovereign catapulted the herd to greatness. This cross became “one of the potent combinations of breed history” -a pairing that merged “the flash, style, and quality look of the A.B.C. blood” with “the power, clean bone, and boxcar rumps of the Highcrofts.”
The results were spectacular. Three of the four members of the 1962 All-Canadian get of A.B.C. Reflection Sovereign were out of Highcroft dams, while the fourth was from a Fond Hope daughter of a Highcroft cow. With one substitution, this group was also named the 1962 All-American get of sire and later voted All-Time All-American.
Among the most celebrated progeny from this cross was Romandale Cora EX-4, daughter of Texal Highcroft Colantha. Described as possessing “Hollywood good looks,” Cora became grand champion and best udder at the International Dairy Show in 1962. Later, after selling for $23,300, she achieved the rare distinction of being nominated All-American while having over 100,000 pounds of milk production. At age twelve, she classified EX-96 and produced a son named King of the A.B.C.s, who would influence the breed for generations.
Another standout was Romandale Reflection Betsie EX, described as “one of the prettiest females bred at Romandale.” Reserve All-American three-year-old in 1960 after winning at the International Dairy Show, Betsie continued her show career by winning the Interbreed Best Udder Class at the Royal Winter Fair in 1965 at the relatively advanced age for a show cow.
But the crowning achievement of the A.B.C.-Highcroft cross was Romandale Reflection Marquis EX-ST, the son of A.B.C. and Bonnie Lonelm Texal High. This “white male monster,” as one admirer called him, would transcend even his parents’ considerable influence and leave an indelible mark on Holstein breeding worldwide.
The Marquis Dynasty
On a crisp autumn day in 1962, the crowd at the National Dairy Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa, fell silent as judge Spencer Dunham raised his hand to indicate his Grand Champion Bull. The massive white yearling at the end of Dave Houck’s lead stood motionless, commanding the ring with his presence. Romandale Reflection Marquis had just defeated America’s best bulls on their home turf, cementing the Roman brothers’ status as international Holstein powerhouses.
Marquis was the embodiment of the Romans’ breeding philosophy, the product of “one of the breeds infallible crosses, A.B.C. Reflection Sovereign on a Lonelm Texal Highcroft dam.” His journey from calf to legendary sire exemplified the Romandale approach to Holstein breeding: identify exceptional foundation animals, make strategic crosses, and market the results with flair.
As Marquis matured, his dominance grew. “Partially proven at Hawkherst, Agro Acres and Romandale, Marquis topped the 1964 Romandale Sale on the $37,000 bid of Curtiss Breeding Service, Cary, Illinois,” chronicled one industry observer.
His progeny soon dominated show rings across the continent. Between 1968 and 1974, Marquis offspring dominated the All-Canadian and All-American contests. “Few sires have fathered a longer list of All-Canadian and All-American winners, and few have produced stronger breeding cattle,” noted one Holstein historian.
Among his most influential daughters were Annzibar Marquis Kizil EX-7, All-Canadian three-year-old in 1971; Neodak Marquis Josephine EX, a member of the 1973 All-Canadian get; and the remarkable Mellow Breeze cows, Mellow Breeze Marquis Sue EX-2 and Mellow Breeze Marquis Arlene EX.
The Mellow Breeze sisters came to Romandale through another of Dave Houck’s inspired discoveries. While speaking at a breeders’ seminar in Maine in 1968, Houck was approached by Vermont dairyman Doug Nelson about two Marquis daughters he had spotted. Houck purchased the pair from Robert P. Sherman Jr. of New Haven, Vermont.
Despite their undistinguished maternal lines, both were in calf to Don Augur True Type Model. In a remarkable coincidence, both delivered Excellent daughters, Mellow Breeze Florry EX and Mellow Breeze Giselle EX-4. These females founded families that would rival the Colanthas in breeding power and consistently produce high-selling, high-performing offspring for two decades.
One of Canada’s Wealthiest Men
While Romandale’s Holstein breeding program flourished, Stephen Roman’s business empire expanded exponentially. In 1953, he purchased 900,000 shares of North Denison Mines at 8½ cents each. After renaming it Consolidated Denison Limited, he acquired claims near Quirke Lake that contained “the largest body of uranium ore ever discovered.”
Roman later identified as “one of his life’s main accomplishments” the fact that he raised $59 million to bring the mine into production, without losing financial control of the project.” Within four years, he owned “the richest uranium mine in the world,” and by the mid-1970s had secured forward orders worth five billion dollars.
His office reflected his status. Journalist Paul McKay described it as dominated by “a massive, dark antique desk imported from Europe with an intricate pattern of wood inlays and hand-carved gargoyles glaring out from the corners.” Behind it stood “a wooden bookcase filled with leather-bound books, all of which were kept meticulously free from dust.” The room featured “burnished oak panelling” and “a plush blood-red deep-pile carpet.” Roman’s chair was “dark brown leather, trimmed in gold.” Above the chesterfield hung “a Habsburg era original” painting depicting “an antelope being dismembered by a bloodied, snarling bear.”
Roman’s office procedures were equally distinctive. He scheduled important meetings for Friday the 13th, believing it his lucky day. Pregnant secretaries were dismissed when “their stomachs began to bulge.” Yet despite his demanding nature, he respected those who stood their ground, when a secretary refused his order to run through the office, insisting she would “walk briskly,” Roman backed down after a moment of “stunned silence.”
Despite his wealth, Roman often lunched on humble fare, cabbage rolls, wieners, and beans “smothered with ketchup, which Roman consumed with gusto”-though more elaborate meals were prepared for distinguished guests like American President Richard Nixon.
At Romandale Farms, Roman maintained the same involved management style. “Not content to sit back and permit his managers to run things, he was never far removed from the heat and the dust.” He knew every animal by sight, could recite all pedigrees from memory, and was personally involved in breeding decisions. “To him goes the credit for some of the herd’s wisest match-ups,” noted one observer.
Show Ring Conquests
Stephen Roman believed that “through the show ring lay the path to the Holstein mountain-top.” By 1959, Romandale had reached the summit, winning Premier Breeder and Exhibitor banners at the International Dairy Show in Chicago.
As Roman accepted congratulations after this triumph, Robert M. Rumler, Secretary of the Holstein Association of America, approached. “Well, Steve, you did pretty well,” Rumler acknowledged. When Roman thanked him, Rumler added, “You realize, of course, that this is not our most important show.” Rumler asked which was the premier event, saying, “Why the National Dairy Cattle Congress at Waterloo!”
Roman took this as a challenge. The following year, Romandale Farms won Premier Breeder and Exhibitor at the National Dairy Cattle Congress, and repeated the feat in 1961 and 1962, “the first time in history that one herd had taken these banners three years in succession.”
The Romandale show team became legendary, featuring animals like Romandale Cora EX, Romandale Reflection Betsie EX, and Romandale Highcroft Rose EX. In 1961, these three formed “one of the breeds fanciest home-bred trios” to win Best Three Females at Waterloo.
The impact of Romandale’s show ring dominance extended beyond ribbons and banners. It established Canadian Holsteins as world-class, paving the way for an export market that would become a cornerstone of the Canadian dairy industry. “In the continuance of a tradition started by Astengo and Tom Hays, the Romans’ annual forays across the border, meeting the Americans on home turf, provided the Canadians with international leadership of flair and style. On this foundation was built the Canadian success in exporting breeding stock around the world.”
The Money Press
Stephen Roman approached Holstein merchandising with the same innovation he brought to mining ventures. While not the first breeder to use reduction sales as marketing tools, Roman perfected the strategy, eventually holding eighteen Romandale auctions where access to Romandale genetics was available only through these carefully orchestrated events.
Roman’s tax strategy influenced the timing of these sales. “Because of Canada’s Income Tax Act, which provided for income-averaging over five years, Roman liked to hold a sale every five years.”
One of his innovations was offering animals in pairs. “A number of females, usually ten or twenty, were sold on choice, the highest bidder taking his pick. The remaining animal formed a nucleus for a new Romandale herd.”
These pairs typically included “a name recognition female, one who had done it all, and a younger female of unusual potential.” This strategy maximized returns while ensuring that Romandale retained quality foundation animals to rebuild the herd.
The results were spectacular. The ninth Romandale Sale in 1975, marking the farm’s twenty-fifth anniversary, featured a bull selling for $72,000 and a female for $31,000. The 149 head averaged $4,358.39, “the highest ever made at a Canadian auction of animals from a single herd.”
But these figures paled beside the 1979 Romandale Dispersal, described by Holstein-Friesian Journal as “fantastic and unparalleled.” The auction grossed $2,795,500 on 201 head, averaging $13,907.96-“the highest ever made at a North American dispersal” and “three times better than the previous Canadian high.”
The sale featured world-record prices for A.B.C. Reflection Sovereign offspring. Romandale Pride, a three-month-old bull calf, sold for $400,000 to Japan Holstein Breeding Services; Romandale Trillium, an eight-month-old heifer, brought $330,000; and Romandale Rose, a three-month-old heifer calf, fetched $175,000.
Even after this dispersal, the Romans assembled another herd and held further sales. Their 1984 dispersal averaged $11,668.85 per head, “the highest averaging herd sale ever held in Canada.” Eight Northcroft Ella Elevation EX-97-3E progeny were featured, including Romandale Sterling, who sold for $300,000, and Romandale Valour-ET, purchased by Japan Holstein Breeding Service for $200,000.
The final chapter came on November 13, 1990, when the forty-year Romandale story concluded with a final dispersal averaging $3,635.90 on 117 head.
The Count Crystan Legacy
While Marquis established Romandale’s reputation in North America, another bull extended the farm’s influence across the Pacific. Romandale Count Crystan EX-ST, the Citation R. son of Gray View Pet Crysta EX, was sold to Hokkaido Dairy Agricultural Co-op of Japan for $15,000 in the seventh Romandale Sale in 1969.
Roman had drawn semen before shipping the bull, making it available to other breeders. Used extensively at Romandale, Count Crystan “came up with one of the highest type proofs in Canadian history, even surpassing the record set by A.B.C. Reflection Sovereign EX-Extra, his paternal grandsire.” His 474 classified daughters rated 92% Good Plus and better for type, with 33 Excellent and 178 Very Good females.
In Japan, Count Crystan’s influence was revolutionary. “This bull is credited with changing the nature and quality of Japanese Holstein type in a single generation.” At the 1983 All-Japan Show, “three-quarters of the exhibited cattle were Count Crystan offspring.” His daughters “not only looked the part but shattered several Asian production records.” The Japanese commemorated his contribution by constructing “a memorial statue in recognition of his contribution to breed progress.”
His North American daughters included Continental Scarlet-Red EX (All-American three-year-old), Romandale Countess Jewel EX (All-Canadian four-year-old with multiple Superior Production records), and Romandale Countess Jan EX (grand champion at the C.N.E. in 1981).
The Breeding Philosophy
Behind Romandale’s success lay a disciplined breeding philosophy developed through collaboration between the Romans and Dave Houck. Making breeding decisions was “more or less a collaborative effort. The loud voices belonged to Steve Roman and Dave Houck; the buzz came from George Roman, seated in the background, who provided wise counsel.”
The team shared a vision of “show type, good legs and udders, and longevity.” While “popularity of bloodline” was considered, it was “not determinative,” though matings were “never permitted to shift too far from an A.B.C. Reflection Sovereign focus.”
Their approach to analyzing cattle was methodical. “In analyzing a female, they tended to think in terms of sharp or power fronts and their natural accompaniments.” They recognized that certain traits came with trade-offs: “The powerhouse cow or the real smooth one, they found, often appears too straight in the leg, but her udder is usually tucked tightly underneath. On the other hand, the loose-jointed, rangey cow is often loose of her udder attachments.”
The Romandale breeding philosophy “worked toward the middle, trying to reconcile these extremes… moving toward a median point.” They discovered that “the hardest thing to breed was strength and spring of rib with cleanness of bone.”
This thoughtful approach, backed by Roman’s financial resources and marketing acumen, produced cattle with “the consistency of a baker stamping out tasty treats with a cookie cutter.”
Strategic Restraint: The Roman Approach to Breeding Economics
A common misconception holds that wealthy hobbyists like Roman operate with unlimited budgets. “This hobbyist farmer usually approached the cattle business on a no-nonsense basis. The enterprise must stand on its own merits. There is a dollar limit on what will be spent.”
“Many times, Dave Houck suggested to Stephen Roman that they buy this cow or that, only to be told by Roman that the Romandale cow budget would not allow it.” Major purchases like Pet Crysta, Crisco X, and Northcroft Ella Elevation came “when the farm bank account was bulging, usually after a major Romandale sale.”
This fiscal discipline extended to breeding decisions. When evaluating potential sires, “their first task was to sort out the beast’s breeding pattern. They scrutinized his best daughters and his worse; determined his strong points; enumerated the things that the sire could never accomplish in a million years.” They used promising bulls “sparingly at first, more if the results justified, always exercising the keenest discretion.”
The Legacy
On September 23, 1989, Stephen Roman died at age 68. In obituaries, the business press remembered him as “a business titan.” Peter Newman in Maclean’s described him as “a builder and a risk taker on a grand scale,” while Toronto Sun journalist Diane Francis called him “one of Canada’s greatest builders.”
His physical appearance matched his larger-than-life persona: “Dominating the face of high Slavic cheekbones-a face that frequently broke into a mischievous grin-were two honest eyes, eyes that met yours in direct gaze.”
Though known as a “hard shell capitalist,” Roman possessed “a philosophical turn of mind” and was “the deepest of thinkers.” He believed “a good man’s life on earth was a gradual ascension towards enlightenment and godliness” and saw wealth-creation as “a high calling, an activity perfectly compatible with a religious perception of the universe.”
The true mourning for Stephen Roman in Holstein circles began on November 13, 1990, when the Romandale herd dispersed. “For with the dispersal came the realization that for the first time in forty years, no more Romandale full-page Holstein Journal advertisements would appear monthly… no more would Romandale Farms provide the high-powered international leadership… no more would the beautifully scripted Romandale breeding program produce the kind of cattle that made Holstein lovers drool.”
Today, the Romandale influence continues through countless pedigrees tracing to Marquis, Count Crystan, and other Romandale sires and cow families. Perhaps more importantly, the Romans set a standard for breeding excellence and promotional savvy that transformed how Holstein cattle are marketed worldwide.
As for Bonnie Lonelm Texal High, the $875 cow who produced Romandale Reflection Marquis, her purchase illustrates the perfect partnership between Roman’s willingness to invest and Houck’s eye for quality. These complementary talents and George Roman’s steady counsel built a Holstein dynasty that reverberates through the breed decades after the final Romandale cow left the auction ring.
The story of Romandale is ultimately one of vision: the immigrant’s vision to build a fortune, the breeder’s vision to identify genetic combinations that would create superior animals, and the marketer’s vision to showcase these achievements to maximum advantage.
Key Takeaways
- Strategic partnerships trump individual brilliance – Roman’s financial resources and business acumen paired with Houck’s breeding genius and eye for quality cattle created synergy neither could have achieved alone
- Foundation females matter immensely – The seemingly modest purchase of five Lonelm Texal Highcroft daughters, particularly Bonnie Lonelm Texal High for $875, provided genetic building blocks that generated millions in revenue and worldwide genetic impact
- Show ring success translates to commercial advantage – Roman recognized that championship banners would elevate Romandale’s profile, strategically targeting and winning major shows to establish market dominance and international credibility
- Innovative marketing creates premium value – Roman’s auction strategies, including the pairing system, scheduled sales timed for tax advantages, and creating event-like atmospheres for dispersals, revolutionized Holstein merchandising
- Financial discipline applies regardless of wealth – Despite his billions, Roman insisted Romandale operate as a sustainable business with budgetary limits, demonstrating that even prestige agricultural ventures require sound economic foundations
Executive Summary
The Romandale story represents one of the most remarkable partnerships in Holstein breeding history, where Stephen Roman’s immigrant-to-mining-magnate financial resources combined perfectly with Dave Houck’s exceptional cattle evaluation skills to build a Holstein empire. Beginning with Roman’s strategic hire of 20-year-old Houck in 1953 and the pivotal purchase of Bonnie Lonelm Texal High for $875, Romandale Farms dominated show rings across North America while pioneering innovative marketing approaches that set new standards for Holstein merchandising. Their breeding philosophy, centered on strategic crosses between A.B.C. Reflection Sovereign and the Highcroft female line, produced legendary animals like Romandale Reflection Marquis, whose influence extended worldwide. Despite Roman’s immense wealth, the operation maintained strict fiscal discipline, operating on sustainable business principles while establishing Canadian Holsteins’ international reputation for quality that continues to resonate decades after the final Romandale dispersal in 1990.
Learn more:
- Top Ten Most Influential Holstein Breeders of All-Time
- Roy Ormiston: The Holstein Man’s Holstein Man Who Revolutionized Modern Breeding
- How Hanover Hill Holsteins Revolutionized the Dairy Breeding Industry
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