She walked into that 1981 sale ring with recently swollen hocks and a cooling crowd. Heffering paid $47,000 anyway. Four years later, half of her sold for $1.45 million.
Brookview Tony Charity, EX‑97‑3E — the cow Bob Murphy called “probably the best one ever.” Not a freak of height, but a masterpiece of width: the depth of body, the high, wide rear udder, the quiet balance that made hardened judges run out of words. (Photo: Maggie Murphy)
The classifier went quiet.
Bob Murphy had spent the better part of his life crouched behind Holstein cows—running a hand down a topline, stepping back to read the set of a hock, studying the way an udder cleaved and carried. By his own reckoning, he’d put a score on something close to half a million head. A man who’s seen that many cows doesn’t rattle easily. He’s watched the great ones come and go. He knows that “perfect” is a word you save, because the day you spend it carelessly is the day it quits meaning anything.
It was the mid-1980s, in a barn at Hanover Hill Farm outside Port Perry, Ontario. The cow in front of him had already worn more banners than most herds win in a generation. Murphy walked around her. Walked around her again. Then he said the thing breeders still repeat, word for word, more than forty years on—that of the tiny handful of cows ever rated at 97 points, “she’s probably the best one ever,” with the most correct overall conformation of any cow he’d ever seen.
Think about that for a second. Not the best he’d seen that year. Not the best in the barn. The best he’d ever laid eyes on—and this was a man who’d seen damn near everything the breed had to offer.
Her name was Brookview Tony Charity. And here’s the thing most folks get backward: the score didn’t make her. By the time she settled at her famous mark of EX‑97‑3E, the number was just the paperwork catching up. When she was scored on the American system in June 1984, she became the 21st Holstein in the U.S. ever to reach Excellent‑97—the highest score their program had ever awarded. The truth had been spotted years earlier—in a cold sale ring, on a cow nobody else was quite sure about.
The Night Nobody Was Sure
Now, you’ve got to understand the era to understand the gamble.
This was the early 1980s—the golden age of the North American show cow. A great female could become a household name in dairy circles. The Royal Winter Fair and World Dairy Expo were cathedrals, and a Grand Champion banner could rewrite a farm’s future. Embryo transfer was still young enough to feel like wizardry; flushing a single great donor to a half-dozen elite sires was rewriting what one cow could be worth. The big Ontario and New York outfits were assembling the cow families that would shape the breed for decades. And the people doing the buying weren’t gambling on spreadsheets. They were gambling on the eye.
Charity was born on August 6, 1978, bred by John D. and Karl E. Havens at Brookview Farm in Fremont, Ohio. Look at how she was bred, and you’ll see why old-timers nod: she was a Kanza Matt Tony daughter out of Leaderwood Elevation Charmer—and that puts Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation, the most important type bull the breed has ever known, right there as her maternal grandsire. Here’s the bittersweet part: Charmer made nearly 19,160 pounds as a three-year-old and was shipped off to Japan in 1979. Charity was the only daughter she’d ever leave behind on this continent. Matt on Elevation. Bull-power married to the great type-transmitting foundation of the era. The blend that made her wasn’t an accident.
The dam who left only one. Leaderwood Elevation Charmer, VG — a Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation daughter who milked close to 19,160 pounds before she was sold to Japan in 1979. Study the frame and the udder: this is the Elevation strength and dairy quality that would come together one more time, in the white-marked heifer calf she left behind on this continent. Charmer gave the breed exactly one daughter here before she shipped out. That daughter was Charity.Where it all started. Leaderwood L Charmer Dora, born in 1970 — the matriarch standing behind Charity’s dam, and the foundation the whole family was built on. Look at the strength through her body and the quality of that udder for a cow of her era; this is the deep, durable Leaderwood type that Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation would later amplify into Charity herself. Greatness like Charity’s rarely comes from nowhere. Usually, it comes from a cow like this one — a generation or two back, doing the quiet work no banner ever records.
And here’s where the story damn near ended before it began.
By the fall of 1981, she came up for sale as a young cow—and she’d developed fluid in her hocks. Anyone who’s raised cattle knows that sinking feeling. Your best young cow, the one you’ve been bragging on at every coffee shop in the county, suddenly walking out stiff and swollen right when the whole world’s about to look at her. The swelling came down on its own out at pasture—slow, stubborn, on the cow’s own schedule. By sale day, she walked clean.
She didn’t start out as anybody’s sure thing. As a heifer in Ohio she was good, not great—first senior yearling and reserve junior champion at the Ohio District 9 Show, and that was the end of her early show honours. Roger Schug bought her as a bred heifer in 1980. Then, in March 1981, Albert Cormier of Cormdale Farms in Georgetown, Ontario, brought her across the border—the first Canadian chapter in a cow who’d become Canada’s most famous. (Read more: How Albert Cormier Rewrote the Rules of Global Holstein Business – and Made the Whole Industry Catch Up)
Under the Cormdale banner she had her one real humbling. At the Kitchener Championship Show, milking better than nine months, she placed tenth in the three-year-old class. Tenth. The cow who’d go on to never lose her class again, buried in the middle of a Kitchener lineup.
By that fall she was catalogued for the Designer Fashion Sale in Syracuse, New York, on November 21, 1981—and she’d developed fluid in her hocks..By sale day, she walked clean.
But word travels in this business. The buzz had cooled. A few of the buyers who’d circled her were looking elsewhere now.
Not Peter Heffering.
Heffering ran Hanover Hill with Ken Trevena, and he had the gift—the one you can’t teach, the one that separates the breeders we remember from the ones we don’t. He looked past the hocks. He saw the depth through her body, the spring of rib, that rear udder hanging high and wide like somebody had drawn it off the breed standard instead of off a living animal. He saw the way she stood—not nervous, not showing off, just there, filling the space with the kind of quiet authority great cows carry, and lesser ones never learn. (Read more: How Hanover Hill Holsteins Revolutionized the Dairy Breeding Industry)
Heffering didn’t buy her alone, and he didn’t buy her cheap-easy—he outlasted a syndicate of Ontario breeders headed by Ken Empey Jr., and a New York breeder, George Morgan of Tyrbach Farms, who wanted in too. In the end Heffering and Morgan took her in partnership for $47,000, and Charity went home to Port Perry. Two years later, when her brightest days were already showing, Hanover Hill bought out Morgan’s half for $250,000 U.S.
Read those two numbers back to back. Forty-seven thousand for the whole cow in 1981. A quarter-million for half of her by 1983. And we’re only getting started.
Looking back, what they paid would seem almost funny. We’ll get to why.
The eye that saw it: Peter Heffering leads Brookview Tony Charity out at the Ontario Spring Show, a ring of good cattle strung out behind her. This is the quiet authority he’d bought into when others backed away — a cow who didn’t fidget or grandstand, just walked to the front like the front was where she’d always stood.
What Made Breeders Drive All Night to See Her
She walked into the show ring in 1982. And here’s the line you’ll hear repeated wherever old show people gather: in her own class, she was never beaten. Not that year, not the next, not ever—across her whole career, the judge’s hand never came down on another cow in her class.
Look at the width — and look how small the man behind her seems. Brookview Tony Charity takes her second Supreme Champion at World Dairy Expo in 1984, Peter Heffering nearly swallowed up behind that barrel of a body. It’s remembered as the first time Expo crowned its Supreme on the colored shavings rather than the tanbark — a fitting stage, because there wasn’t a cow in the building who belonged on it more.
Let that settle, because in the show business, it borders on impossible. Everybody gets beaten eventually. The good ones get beaten by the great ones, and the great ones get beaten by youth, an off day, or a judge who saw it differently. Charity just… didn’t. Year after year, ring after ring, the placing came back the same.
Supreme at Madison, 1985 — one of four. Peter Heffering steadies Brookview Tony Charity while Stephen Roman holds the purple rosette, flanked by the Ontario Dairy Princesses and a bank of silver. The banner behind them says World Dairy Expo; the cow in front of it said something louder. On this floor, against the best the continent could ship to Wisconsin, she simply didn’t get beaten in her class.
Read the ledger and try not to blink:
The Triple Crown (1982): Grand Champion at all three U.S. National Shows—Harrisburg in the East, Madison in the middle, Fresno out West—in a single calendar year.
The Royal Dominion: Grand Champion at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair four times—1983, 1984, 1985, and 1987—the first Holstein ever to do it.
World Dairy Expo: Supreme Champion honours four times on the tanbark at Madison.
The full reckoning: Six superior production awards and a string of All-American and All-Canadian nominations, a résumé few cows in history can touch.
The fourth one — the one that made history. Brookview Tony Charity stands Grand Champion at the 1987 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair under Judge Jeff Nurse, draped in roses, with Peter Heffering on the halter and Stephen Roman (in the hat) accepting the trophy. No Holstein had ever won the Royal four times. When the rosette went on that November, no one ever had to wonder again.
And lest anyone think she was all ribbon and no milk pail: at five years old, she pumped out 39,015 pounds of milk at 3.6%, with 1,422 pounds of fat, milking 3X over 365 days—a record that earned her the Erle Kitchen production trophy, putting her among the most productive cows in the world in the 1980s. Show banners and a milk record like that, in the same animal. That’s the part that ought to stop a working breeder cold.
Now, about that “never beaten” business—there’s one honest asterisk, and it’s worth telling straight, because it makes the record more impressive, not less. One cow in history topped Brookview Tony Charity: Continental Scarlet-Red. But read how it happened. Charity was a four-year-old that day; Scarlet was a five-year-old. They never met in the same class. They met only at the Grand Champion drive—the final walk, where age and class fall away, and the best of everything stands together—and there, Scarlet took Grand with Charity standing Reserve. So the in-class record holds, clean and untouched. The only cow ever to beat her had to wait until the very last walk of the show to do it, across an age line, with everything on the line. That’s how close to flawless she really was.
Picture the kind of evening that made her a legend. The Royal Coliseum in Toronto—banks of seats packed in tight, the ring lights burning white against a black November evening outside. The smell of clipped hair and cedar shavings, and that low electric hum a crowd gives off when a great class is grinding toward its finish. Charity led them in. And when the judge made his walk, the hand came down where it always came down—on her.
Supreme Champion, World Dairy Expo — a banner Brookview Tony Charity carried out of Madison four times. The trophies bank at her feet; the seats behind her have emptied. And the cow herself stands the way she always did when the noise died down: calm, square, and done arguing the point.
That’s how you measure a legend, by the way. Not just by the banners she carried. By how rarely, and how narrowly, anybody got close enough to take one from her.
So what made breeders load the truck and drive half the night to stand in front of one cow? Listen to the men who judged her. At Madison, Fred Foreman put it plainly: “When a cow has milked for nearly 14 months we have no trouble starting the class with her and naming her grand champion of the show.” Lowell Lindsay called her flat out “the greatest cow of the breed I’ve seen.” And Loren Elsass said her form would “make her the standard of comparison for a long time.” These weren’t soft men. They didn’t hand out words like that. They just couldn’t find a way around her.
The cathedral she filled: Peter Heffering and Brookview Tony Charity in the lineup at World Dairy Expo, the great class strung across the colored shavings under the Coliseum tiers. This was the room breeders drove all night to reach — and the cow at the end of the strap was the reason the seats stayed full long after the easy classes had emptied them.
The Year She Almost Didn’t Come Back
Here’s the part the show programs never printed.
In 1983 it nearly all ended. A reaction to some of the antibiotics she’d been given cost her her appetite and her strength, and for a stretch of dark days the breed’s living definition of perfection was just a sick animal in a stall. Ken Trevena and Willis Conard practically lived with her through it—not the cow on the magazine cover, just a cow who needed them.
And that ought to stop us, because it’s easy—too easy—to talk about a legend like Charity as if she were a trophy on a shelf instead of a living thing that bled and breathed and could be lost. Anybody who’s ever had a great one knows the truth of it. Great cows aren’t made in the ring. They’re made in the dark mornings and the long nights. In the watching. In the worrying. In that flood of relief when she finally stands, eats, and walks back to being herself.
She came back.
Not just survived—came back to the ring and kept right on winning. And the breeders watching took note, because that kind of resilience isn’t a footnote to them. It’s a trait. The deep, stubborn constitution to take a hard knock and still throw strength to the next generation—you can’t pin a banner on it, but you can build a cow family on it. They would.
There’s one more decision tucked in here that tells you everything about how Hanover Hill saw her. With Charity still capable of winning anywhere they pointed her, they pulled her off the show string for a stretch and put her on an intensive embryo program instead. Sit with that for a moment. The most undefeated cow in the breed, standing home in the barn while lesser cattle paraded for banners she’d have won at a walk. It was the right call, and it was a brutal one—the kind most people can’t make even when they know in their gut they should.
Two bets, one cow. Stephen B. Roman (right), the uranium magnate whose Romandale Farms paid a record $1.45 million for half of her, and Peter Heffering (left) of Hanover Hill, the cattleman who’d staked $47,000 on a swollen-hocked unknown four years earlier — flanking Brookview Tony Charity, EX‑97. Whatever Bay Street thought she was worth, these two had their hands on the halter.
The Financial Shockwave
We said we’d get back to what she cost. Here’s why it matters.
July 15, 1985. The Hanover Hill Dispersal, Port Perry. Some 2,500 people had come from Canada, the United States, England, South and Central America—and about an hour into the second day, the cow they’d all really come for walked in. When Heffering led Charity into that sale ring, the “king and queen of the dairy world” were met with a standing ovation. Auctioneer Bob Shore opened the bidding at $50,000—and it climbed from there until a Canadian record fell. When it was over, Stephen B. Roman’s Romandale Farms had half of her for $1,450,000, outlasting a syndicate headed by Richard Witter of Taurus Service—the bidding handled, remarkably, by Witter’s 14-year-old son, John.
A million-dollar cow, eating her hay. Brookview Tony Charity in her pen at the 1985 Hanover Hill Dispersal, her records tacked to the board behind her, a couple of onlookers studying her through the rail. An hour later she’d walk into the ring to a standing ovation and a Canadian-record bid. Right here, though, she’s just a cow with her head in a bucket — which is exactly what the best of them never forget how to be.
When a single cow walks the road from a sale-barn purchase to an international financial instrument, you’re not watching the dairy world anymore. […] Lay it out, and the line tells its own story:
Year
Financial Event
Value
1981
Purchased by Hanover Hill (Heffering & Trevena) at the Designer Fashion Sale
$47,000
1985
Stephen B. Roman’s Romandale Farms buys a 50% share, July 15
$1,450,000 (CAD), a record
1986
Bay Street limited partnership built on frozen semen from six of her ET sons
$3,500,000
Read that 1986 line again. Stockbrokers in a Toronto financial district, writing up share offerings on the genetics of a cow bred in Fremont, Ohio. The breed had spent a hundred years putting prices on bulls. Now the suits were trying to turn perfection herself into stock certificates.
But none of that—not the million-four, not the three-and-a-half—is really the heart of this. It’s just the world admitting, late and loud, what one cattleman had seen quietly in a sale ring with his own two eyes, years before the rest of them caught on.
The People Who Loved Her
A cow like Charity belongs to history now. But she was never alone in it, and the people around her are half the reason the story still lands the way it does.
The Havens family bred her in Ohio. Heffering saw her when others blinked. Roman backed her with a fortune. And through all the championship years at Hanover Hill, it was Ken Trevena who knew her best—not the cow on the magazine cover, but the cow in the stall at five in the morning. (Read more: THE ROMANDALE REVOLUTION: How a Uranium Billionaire & Cow Sense Conquered the Holstein World)
Away from the tanbark: a quiet morning in the barn at Port Perry, the great cow in her stall and the man who knew her best leaning in to check her over, fork in hand. This is where legends are actually made — not under the lights, but here, in the early quiet, with someone who cared enough to look twice before the day began.
He’s the one who saw the mornings. The feed bunk. The udder filling. The way she handled the trailer, the noise, and the strange barns, and settled in anyway. By every account, she was level-headed—all business, no foolishness, a cow who went about being great without a lick of drama. The kind you could trust at the halter, the kind that never made you nervous walking into a ring full of people.
What none of them knew, in those good years, was how little time was left.
A Photo From a Barnyard, Forty Years On
Here’s something that happened while we were writing this.
When this story first ran, a reader named Cyrus Conard picked it up and recognized a family name in it: Willis Conard, one of the two men who’d nursed Charity through the 1983 illness that nearly took her. Willis was Cyrus’s uncle — brother to his father, Wayne, who himself spent years connected to Hanover Hill. When Wayne passed away last year, the family found this photograph among his things — Charity being classified right there in the Hanover Hill barnyard, the wash water still flecking the air, the classifier working his card at the edge of the frame. By family account, it’s the day she scored the 97.
Think about what that means. The most documented cow of her generation, and the truest picture of her highest moment sat in a family’s keeping for forty years — not in an archive, not on a magazine cover, but with the people who’d been close enough to the cow to be part of her story. That’s where greatness actually lives. Not in the record book. In the family that kept the photo
The moment the number happened. Brookview Tony Charity is classified in the Hanover Hill barnyard — wash water still in the air, the classifier’s card already filling in at right. By the family’s account, this is the day she scored EX‑97. The photograph was kept for forty years by the Conard family — relatives of Willis Conard, the Hanover Hill stockman who helped nurse her through her darkest week — and surfaced only when Wayne Conard’s son found it after his father’s passing. Courtesy of the Conard family.
Twilight
She died on August 10, 1988, at Hanover Hill Farm in Port Perry. She was ten years old. Cancer.
Ten. Think about that—a cow who’d won the breed’s biggest banners four times over, whose genetics got underwritten on Bay Street, gone before she’d reached an age plenty of ordinary cows pass without anyone marking the day. There’s a particular ache in that for anybody who’s lost a good one too soon. All that public glory, the headlines and the seven-figure prices, and it ended in the most private way there is: an empty place in a barn where greatness used to stand, and a man who’d cared for her for most of her life left to find the words.
Trevena buried her right there on the farm, marked by a rock and a plaque on the idyllic Hanover Hill ground in Port Perry.
Incredible Perfection—that’s what they called her, and you could write a whole book around those two words and not improve on them. That’s not ad copy. That’s grief, trying its level best to be precise.
Where She Lives Now
Here’s the thing about a truly great brood cow, though. The finest monument to her was never going to be a plaque on a fence post. It was always going to be a daughter who makes you stop mid-stride and look twice—and then a granddaughter, and then a great-granddaughter you stumble onto three generations down a pedigree when you weren’t even hunting for her.
Now, Wikipedia will tell you her genetic history was “unremarkable” and that none of her offspring matched her own show-ring heights. And on the banner count, that’s fair. But walk the maternal line out forty years and tell me it didn’t matter.
Over in the Netherlands, Charity 504 EX‑94 stood Grand Champion at the National NRM Show back in 2004, carrying the line into a fresh generation of European admiration. In 2022, Het Uilenreef Charity 16 was named Grand Champion at the Neppelenbroek Holstein Show—another branch, still wearing the name like it means something, because it does. That same year in Austria, Jomargo Goldendreams Cheyenne‑RC took Grand Champion at the Austrian Dairy Grand Prix, tracing right back to Charity through the European family. And in Wisconsin, Sellcrest D Cheeto‑Red carried the old blood back toward the coloured shavings at Madison—her owner, Trish Brown, admitting she hadn’t even realized how remarkable Charity’s legacy was when she first bought the cow.
Forty years later, the line still wins. Jomargo Goldendreams Cheyenne‑RC, EX‑90, is mobbed with a high-five the moment she’s named 2022 Grand Champion at the Austrian Dairy Grand Prix for Bernard Unterhofer in South Tyrol — banner on her back, udder swung full. Trace her sires back — Golden Dreams on a Texas‑Red, a Kite‑RC, a Rubens‑RC — and the line runs straight home to Brookview Tony Charity. Look closely at the handler’s number, too: 97. Some things a pedigree doesn’t have to explain.
That’s what a real cow family does. It outruns the people who started it. It crosses oceans and languages and housing systems and forty years of shifting type fashion.
And here’s a word for the present, while we’re at it. Modern Holstein breeding often chases extreme stature—taller, sharper, more. Old-school breeders remember Charity differently. She wasn’t a freak of height. She was a masterpiece of width—chest width, body depth, dairy strength, the whole package in balance. Complete cows age better in pedigrees than flashy ones ever will. Every time a breeder today picks balance and longevity over the freak of the moment, they’re chasing something Charity already had figured out.
Brookview Tony Charity in 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1987 — four lactations apart. Look at what time did to her: more depth, more strength, the udder still riding high and level. This is the difference between a cow who’s merely fashionable and one who’s correct. The fashionable kind break down. Charity just kept getting truer.
The Cow They Built a Statue For
In 2017, nearly thirty years after she died, something happened that no other cow in this breed can claim. They built her a statue—a real one, eight metres tall.
It stands in Cathedraltown, a neighbourhood in Markham, Ontario, built on the former grounds of Romandale Farm. Charity, Perpetuation of Perfection, the sculptor Ron Baird called it—a life-sized Holstein worked in gleaming stainless steel, mounted high on 26-foot posts so she floats above a little parkette, catching the cold Canadian light against the open sky. It was a gift from Helen Roman-Barber, Stephen Roman’s daughter, to the land her father once farmed.
Home, at last, to the right barn. Ron Baird’s stainless-steel Charity — Perpetuation of Perfection — on display beneath the rafters of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, draped in a fresh garland like the four she earned here in the flesh. The permanent statue stands in a Markham subdivision she never visited. But for a few November days, eight metres of polished steel came back to the one Coliseum that was always, unmistakably, hers.
And here’s the irony only a dairy person fully feels. Charity never set hoof in Markham. Not once. From the day she landed in Canada to the day she died, she lived at Hanover Hill in Port Perry, and that’s where she’s buried. “She never went to Romandale Farm,” Ken Trevena said years later, standing by her grave. “Anyone in the Holstein business knows that.” The neighbours grumbled about the giant chrome cow on stilts; the city even talked of moving her. None of it touched the truth underneath. You don’t raise eight metres of stainless steel over a subdivision for a cow that didn’t matter.
To somebody outside the dairy world, a monument like that might seem a little strange. A statue. Of a cow.
But ask a Holstein breeder, and you won’t have to explain a thing.
Because they understand it in their bones. They’ve had one like her, or they’ve spent a lifetime hoping they would—the cow that changes how the whole barn feels, the one visitors ask to see before they’ve got their boots off, the one whose daughters you keep when good sense says sell, the one whose name turns up three generations down and makes you smile before you even know why. Charity was that cow, multiplied by history. The one who made a hardened classifier reach past his own vocabulary. The one who made judges keep arriving at the same answer—and made the one cow who ever topped her wait until the final walk of the show to do it. The one who made financiers write numbers that sounded ridiculous right up until the pedigree proved them conservative.
And maybe that’s the truest measure of her—truer than the EX‑97‑3E, truer than the four Royals and the four Madisons, truer than a record million-four for half a cow. It’s that nearly forty years after Ken Trevena laid her to rest on that farm in Port Perry, serious breeders on two continents still argue about her, still breed toward her, still run a finger up a maternal line and go quiet when they hit her name.
Brookview Tony Charity. Incredible Perfection.
She did exactly what her legend promised.
She compelled our imaginations to carry her on—and we’re still carrying.
Ken Trevena — Reveals the operational management and day-to-day husbandry strategies behind Hanover Hill Holsteins, detailing how meticulous transition nutrition and rigorous structural care converted high-potential genetic purchases into legendary, multi-year show ring champions.
Blondin Goldwyn Subliminal EX-97: A Final Bow for the Queen — Dismantles the modern obsession with genomics-only indexing by proving how an elite maternal line delivered over 310,000 pounds of lifetime milk while maintaining a flawless physical score across eight lactations.
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Uncover Brookview Tony Charity’s awe-inspiring journey. What transformative steps propelled this extraordinary figure from modest origins to legendary acclaim? Continue reading to discover.
The legendary Brookview Tony Charity heralded as “incredible perfection” and the exemplification of the “True Type in Motion,” carved out an indelible mark upon the chronicles of dairy cattle history. With her stellar accomplishments, she compiled a recorded monument to excellence not soon to be equaled. Her achievements include six superior production records and an astounding tally of nine All-Canadian and All-American titles. Charity was never defeated in class, a feat that speaks volumes about her unparalleled quality and presence in the show ring. Yet, these accolades merely scratch the surface of her illustrious career. Charity’s name is etched in the annals of history as the only female to capture the prestigious Grand Championship honors at the Royal Winter Fair four times, in conjunction with securing the Supreme Championship at Madison an unprecedented four times. Her victories define Charity’s legacy, but the enduring standard of excellence she represents in the world of elite dairy show cattle she indeed was incredible perfection.
Charity’s Beginnings: From Ontario to Ohio
Remarkably, eight of Brookview Tony Charity’s twenty direct dams were bred in the esteemed herds of Wentworth County, Ontario, specifically those of pioneering breeders Samuel Lemon from Lynden and Thomas G. Berry from Hannon. In the mid-1940s, a family member was sold to Arthur H. McKane of Georgetown, Ontario, who bred Charity’s fifth through eighth dams. Among these ancestors, Emeraldale Rag Apple Marie—the eighth dam—stood out, producing 155,365 lbs. of milk and 5,974 lbs. of fat over eleven lactations. Her progeny consistently shone in the show ring. Emeraldale Spartan Molly (GP), Marie’s daughter, was the dam of the celebrated Emeraldale Citation Comet, an All-Canadian and All-American Junior Yearling Bull in 1964. Charity’s sixth dam, a Spring Farm Fond Hope (EX-ST) daughter, was exported to Leaderwood Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1960, establishing the family that would eventually produce Charity.
Greg Briggs, recognizing the potential of this lineage within the Leaderwood herd, acquired the entire lineage for Roger Schug from Monroeville, Ohio. Schug sold Leaderwood Elevation Charm (VG), Charity’s Elevation dam, to Karl and John Havens of Fremont, Ohio. There, she was mated with Kanza Matt Tony (VG-GM), leading to the birth of Brookview Tony Charity.
Schug reacquired Charity as a bred heifer from the Havens, marking the beginning of a new chapter in her compelling story. Upon her calving, which resulted in a heifer calf sired by Conductor, Charity was classified as Very Good at 85 points, earning particular praise for her exceptional mammary system.
By January of the following year, Charity and her daughter had been purchased by Cormdale Farm Inc. in March 1981. At that juncture, Cormdale Farm was a collaboration between Albert Cormier and Bruno Rossetti from Italy. Cormier is famous for discovering and developing cows like C Lauduc Broker Mandy, Skys-the-Limit Claire, and Lylehaven Lila Z, and for being one of the first in the industry to import European semen from the Netherlands into Canada. Cormier co-founded Generations with Dave Eastman, one of Canada’s most successful private A.I. centers now part of the Select Sires Federation.
Although promising and young, Charity faced challenges—most notably, fluid accumulation in her hock joints impacted her appearance. However, she conceived quickly and was poised to calve a second time by March of the subsequent year. Despite the swollen hocks, her resilience shone through as she triumphed in her class at several shows, underscoring her innate quality and potential. Her ability to overcome these challenges is truly inspiring.
A Transformative Decision: Charity’s Remarkable Journey to Hanover Hill
In the fall of 1981, Peter Heffering visited Cormier’s farm in Georgetown, Ontario, to select cattle for the Designer Fashion Sale, the most important sale in the calendar that year, in November. Spotting Charity despite her swollen hock, he recognized her potential. Earlier that year, she triumphed at the Halton Black & White Show, claiming the top spot in the three-year-old class and securing the reserve grand championship.
For Cormier and his partner, selling the cow at a high-profile auction was a promising opportunity to profit, particularly given their concerns over the young cow’s hocks. A noteworthy anecdote from this period highlights the meticulous obligations they undertook. As Peter visited Cormdale towards the end of the summer to inspect all consignments, ensuring the animals reflected the esteemed reputation of the event, he encountered an utterly transformed Charity. Charity’s hocks had notably improved out in the field for summer—no trace of the earlier concerns remained. This level of care and attention to detail is a testament to the dedication of those involved in her care.
Upon seeing this remarkable improvement, Albert suggested he might need to reconsider selling her. That comment, however, prompted a visceral reaction from Peter. Understandably irritated, he pointed out the extensive efforts and resources already committed to advertising the sale and the reputational damage that could ensue should Charity be withdrawn. Recognizing the gravity of Peter’s concerns, Albert promptly retracted his comment, confirmed Charity’s presence in the sale, and never broached the subject again.
In November, Charity commanded a remarkable price of $47,000, leading to her acquisition by Hanover Hill Holsteins in collaboration with George Morgan of Walton, NY. They outlasted a syndicate of Ontario breeders headed by Ken Empey Jr. Two years later, Hanover Hill purchased Morgan’s share in Charity for $250,000 U.S.
1983: The Inception Incredible Perfection
Her calving in March 1982 marked the beginning of a stellar career for the cow affectionately named “The Incredible Perfection.” This marked the beginning of her significant impact on the dairy cattle industry. Charity made history by becoming the first cow to win grand champion at all three U.S. National Shows in a single year and capped the season as the Royal’s winning four-year-old and reserve grand champion. These unique achievements set her apart and left the audience in awe.
That year, Brookview Tony Charity’s illustrious show career began in late April at the New York Holstein Show, where she dominated the 4-year-old class and secured the reserve grand champion title. A week later, she succeeded similarly at the Ontario Spring Show in Stratford. That fall, Charity made breed history at the U.S. National Shows—Eastern National in Harrisburg, PA; Central National at World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI.; and Western National in Fresno, CA.—by becoming the first cow to be declared grand champion at all three in the same year. She was recognized for having the best udder at each show and was crowned Supreme Champion at Madison. At the Royal Winter Fair, she won her class and was named reserve champion by Judge Orton Eby, claiming the Erle Kitchen production trophy. This would mark the only time Charity was ever defeated, with Continental Scarlet-Red 3E-95 GMD being named Grand Champion.
Judges praised Charity’s big, open frame, style, grace, dairyness, balance, and exceptional udder. Her remarkable journey covered an 8,000-mile circuit, culminating in unanimous selections as All-Canadian and All-American 4-year-old. In 1984, Holstein World honored her as the All-Time All-American 4-year-old. Despite her extensive travels, Charity completed an impressive 329-day record as a 3-year-old, producing 21,786 lbs. of milk with 3.8% butterfat, totaling 844 lbs. of fat (200-211).
The long show year, stress, and lack of rest nearly claimed Charity’s life when she calved in 1983. A severe reaction to antibiotics caused her to lose appetite and strength, among other health issues. However, the relentless care from Ken Trevena and Willis Conard of Hanover Hill saved her. Though she skipped the U.S. shows in 1983, she reclaimed her throne in Canada, winning her first 5-year-old and champion titles at the Ontario County and Peterborough Championship Shows. At the Royal Winter Fair, she secured the grand champion rosette, impressing Judge Doug Wingrove with her balanced mammary system, style, and openness of rib. She was unanimously chosen as the All-Canadian 5-year-old. Beyond the show ring, Charity’s lactation records were remarkable, completing a 4-year-old lactation with 37,340 lbs. of milk at 3.5% fat in 343 days, earning a BCA of 267-256-267. That year, she also achieved an Excellent classification mark.
A Triumphant 1984: Charity’s Stellar Return
The year 1984 marked another triumphant chapter for Charity. Competing as a mature cow, she earned grand champion honors at the Stratford Spring Show and the New York Holstein Show. Under Hanover Hill Holsteins’ stewardship, she returned to New York State in June. She achieved a significant milestone: Charity scored Excellent 97, becoming the 21st Holstein in the U.S. to receive this highest distinction in the American type classification system.
Charity calved on July 31, 1984, and two and a half weeks later, she endured the intense heat at the Canadian National Exhibition. Participating in the “Canadian 100” Holstein Show, she emerged as the grand champion with the best udder, marking a historic event commemorating the Holstein Association’s centennial. Despite losing considerable condition early due to heavy milking, her well-balanced udder, clean hocks, and distinctive dairy character secured her second grand champion and Supreme Champion titles at the Madison Show. Returning to Canada, Charity claimed grand champion honors at the Peterborough Championship Show and the Royal under Judge R.F. Brown, winning the best udder and Erle Kitchen production trophy. By year’s end, she was unanimously hailed as the All-Canadian and All-American mature cow.
1985: A Year Brimming with Excitement for Charity
1985 brimming with excitement for Charity. That spring, she reclaimed grand champion titles at the Stratford and New York Shows. However, her most significant headline moment arrived in July.
In the days leading up to the 1985 Hanover Hill Dispersal, Steve Roman developed a keen interest in Charity. Just a week before the scheduled event, Roman contacted Heffering to inquire which of the sale’s two dates Charity would be available. Heffering informed him that Charity was slated for the second day. Roman could not attend that day and requested a rescheduling to the first. Unwavering, Heffering declined to alter the sale timeline. The following day, Heffering was notified by Roman’s secretary that Roman had cleared his schedule to attend on the second day, also requesting an advance herd inspection on the subsequent Wednesday.
On the morning of Roman’s visit, a minor altercation unfolded between Heffering, Trevena, and some of their sales staff, resulting in a decision to terminate one boy’s employment. The rest of the barn crew, showing solidarity, threatened to resign if the termination stood. Heffering, resolute, accepted their resignations, leading to a mass walkout. By evening, Heffering had impressively replaced the entire crew with new hands from the United States. Despite the upheaval and the added pressure of Roman’s imminent arrival, they managed to maintain composure and successfully conducted the farm tour for Roman.
On July 15th and 16th, the Hanover Hill Dispersal at Port Perry farm drew an international crowd of 2,500 eager spectators. As Heffering led Brookview Tony Charity into the sale ring, she was greeted with resounding applause and a standing ovation. Auctioneer Bob Shore set the opening bid at $50,000, and the bidding quickly escalated. In a record-breaking moment for Canada, Charity was sold for $1,450,000 to Romandale Farms Ltd., with Stephen B. Roman casting the winning bid. The primary contender was a syndicate led by Richard Witter, represented by his 14-year-old son, John.
By securing the winning bid, Canada’s premier exhibitors Romandale and Hanover Hill formed a strategic alliance, agreeing to co-own Charity if Romandale prevailed. Romandale’s commitment to acquiring top-tier females to elevate their breeding program spurred them to pursue Charity. Roman’s passion for Charity has ensured his active involvement in her development.
News of Brookview Tony Charity’s sale for over a million dollars quickly captured headlines and stories in major publications, making her name known to both urban and rural communities. Visitors at the Royal and Madison shows frequently inquired about the million-dollar cow.
Charity’s accomplishments in the showring continued throughout the year. She claimed the grand champion title at the Eastern National. She went to Madison, where Judge Fred Foreman praised her extended lactation and named her grand champion. This marked her third win and another Supreme Champion title. In Canada, Judge Lowell Lindsay lauded her as the “greatest cow of the breed,” awarding her grand champion and best udder at the Royal for the third consecutive year. This achievement made her only the sixth cow ever to win the title three times, and her exceptional style, balance, and strong conformation made her a popular choice. Charity also received the Erle Kitchen trophy for her impressive 5-year-old, 3X record of 39,015 lbs. milk. She concluded the year with unanimous All-Canadian and All-American honors.
A Homecoming, Rest, and Unprecedented Triumph: Charity’s Unforgettable Return to the Show Circuit
In 1986, Hanover Hill and Romandale decided to keep Charity at home to undergo an extensive embryo transplant program, resulting in 11 ET calves. Despite ET’s advantages, Stephen Roman and Heffering believed cows should calve naturally. Thus, Charity was bred back and calved easily on March 3, 1987, with a bull calf. When word spread about her excellent condition, many speculated about her return to the show circuit. Heffering noted, “How can you leave a cow home that looks this good and creates the interest she does?”
Charity returned on April 11 at the Stratford Spring Show, securing her third grand championship. By September, she won her third grand champion title at the Eastern National in Harrisburg. At Madison, her impressive show form and dairy character won her titles of grand champion, best udder, and America’s Supreme Champion for the fourth time. Her triumph at the Royal, where she was named grand champion by Judge Jeff Nurse, marked her as the first cow in history to win this honor four times at Canada’s most prestigious show. Closing 1987 with unanimous All-Canadian and All-American mature cow titles, Charity now boasts five All-Canadian and four All-American titles, all achieved unanimously.
Charting the Unrivaled Legacy: Brookview Tony Charity’s Historic Triumphs
Nine times crowned as both All-Canadian and All-American and never once bested in her class, Brookview Tony Charity remains an unparalleled icon in the annals of dairy showring history. Most remarkably, she is the singular female to secure Grand Championship honors at the Royal Winter Fair on four separate occasions, an achievement mirrored by her four-time triumph as Supreme Champion at Madison. Renowned for her exceptional breed characteristics, Charity, a distinguished Holstein owned by Hanover Hill Holsteins and Romandale Farms, clinched the prestigious Supreme Champion title at the World Dairy Expo not just once but in 1982, 1984, 1985, and again in 1987. Since the inception of this accolade in 1970, no other cow has achieved the historic milestone of four Supreme championships, setting Charity apart as an enduring legend in the dairy world.
Charity’s Endearing Elegance and Intelligence
A brilliant Holstein, Charity had undeniable charm. Heffering recalled her demanding that when you opened her box stall door, she would refuse to come out if you didn’t put sand down. She’d stand there and wouldn’t budge. After you had put down the sand, she’d step gracefully into the aisle.
The Bulls of Promise: Innovating Holstein Genetics
Heffering and Roman, Chairman and CEO of Denison Mines Ltd. and Roman Corporation Ltd., were renowned for their business acumen and innovative marketing. In 1986, they explored syndicating six of Charity’s sons through a limited partnership, allowing investors to buy shares in all six bulls as a package. The “Toronto Star” reported, “For the first time in national cow history, Roman and Heffering are enabling Canadian investors to participate in a syndicate marketing the frozen semen of six elite Holstein bulls.” A $3.5 million stock issue was offered at $2500 per share for Charity’s ET sons by “Triple Threat,” “Valiant,” “Starbuck,” and “Tony” through Bay Street underwriters, E.A. Manning Ltd.
Roman declared, “This is definitely a chance to be bullish!” The Charity Genetic Advancement Limited Partnership included a group of investors, Romandale Farms, and Hanover Hill Holsteins, collectively owning shares in these six bulls: Hanoverhill Triple Crown ET, Hanoverhill Hy Class ET, Hanoverhill Challenger ET, Hanoverhill Classic ET, Hanoverhill Hallmark ET, and Hanoverhill Heritage ET. The bulls were housed at St. Jacobs ABC, with worldwide semen distribution to the U.S., England, Japan, and Australia.
The Enduring Legacy of Brookview Tony Charity
Strategic breeding decisions at Hanover Hill highlighted Charity’s genetic prowess and exemplified the farm’s visionary approach to Holstein genetics. She reproduced remarkably well! Her best daughter was Hanover Hill S.W.D. Charity (EX-94-2E-USA), and another standout was Romandale Faith (EX-92-USA) as well as Hanoverhill A Charity (VG), Charity’s Astronaut daughter. But that is not the end of her story. Charity’s legacy is still being written with such descendants as:
Jomargo Goldendreams Cheyenne
Jomargo Goldendreams Cheyenne-RC EX-90 was the 2022 Grand Champion at the Austrian Dairy Grand Prix for Bernard Unterhofer in South Tyrol. ‘Cheyenne came here as a two-year-old and has since improved yearly.’ The Groβpötzl family bred the beautifully balanced Golden Dreams daughter Cheyenne. Her daughter by Sidekick, Jomagro Sidekick Jakarta, was named Junior Champion at that same show. Cheyenne is a Golden Dreams from a Texas-Red then a Kite RC followed by Rubens RC and then Charity.
Sellcrest D Cheeto-Red
Sellcrest D Cheeto-Red, at seven years old, made a notable appearance in Madison in 2022, capturing attention with her quality and late maturity. Owner Trish Brown from East-Colt Dairy, Wisconsin, reflected on her journey: “We didn’t realize Charity’s legacy was so remarkable when we bought Cheeto in 2018.” That year, Cheto won 1st place in Junior Two-Year-Old At the Ohio Spring Show. She would be the Grand Champion of the Mid-East Fall Red & White Show 2020. Also, be the winner of the Six-Year-Old class at the 2022 Wiscon State Red & White Show.
Cheeto, a daughter of She-Ken BW Dunkin, traces her lineage back to Charity through a notable pedigree. Hanover-Hill Raider Char EX-90 laid the foundation for remarkable Charity successes in Europe via Craigcrest Holsteins in Ontario. Martin Rübesam from Wiesenfeld Holsteins in Germany initiated this legacy, though Char, one of his Sale of Stars purchases, could not be imported into Germany. Consequently, she was housed at Craigcrest, leading to the birth of Charity 504 EX-94, later sold to Giessen Holsteins in the Netherlands. Rübesam has maintained Charity descendants for nearly thirty years at Wiesenfeld, including WFD Courtney, the Junior Champion of Grünen Tagen 2022. Reflecting on Charity’s impact, Rübesam recalls, “I have seen Charity several times, for example, in her pen at Hanover Hill. Charity’s confirmation inspires me to this day. There was so much balance! She was certainly not tall compared to other show cows at the time. In that respect, she was even ahead of her time than we often realize.”
Het Uilenreef Charity 16
Charity 16 EX-91 is a proud descendant of the illustrious Brookview Tony Charity EX-97 lineage. This distinguished heritage places her at the core of the Dutch Giessen Charity branch, highlighting her significance. During her first lactation, the three-year-old Charity 16 achieved an impressive maximum score of VG-89 (VG-89 FR & MS), affirming her exceptional quality. Neppelenbroek secured a genuine show-ring dynasty with Charity 16, as she garnered multiple honors in a single day. This Undenied daughter clinched the Intermediate Championship and Best Udder and triumphed over her six-year-old herd-mate Hellen EX-90 to win the Grand Championship at the 2022 Neppelenbroek Holstein Show. She would also go on to win 2nd place in the intermediate class at the 2022 Holland Holstein Show. Charity is Undenied from a VG-86 Jedi, then VG-89 Goldwyn, followed by EX-91 Duplex and a VG-88 Stormatic from an EX-94 Starleader, then EX-90 Raider from an EX-94 Valiant out of Charity.
The Bottom Line
Charity’s rise to fame was due in no small part to the dedication of Peter Heffering and the Hanover Hill team: Willis Conard, herd manager; Ken Trevena, farm manager; Judy Hesse, administrative assistant; and others who devoted countless hours to her care.
Karl and John Havens, her breeders, closely monitored her victories at the Royal and Madison. Karl Havens praised Hanover Hill and Romandale for their stellar promotion of Charity and never regretted selling her. He noted that the move brought attention to the Brookview herd and visitors. Charity was part of Brookview’s All-American Best Three Females in 1984-85, embodying what Havens and others deemed a “super cow.”
Peter Heffering, who has worked with notable cows like Johns Lucky Barb and JPG Standout Kandy, sees Charity as closest to perfect in conformation. He appreciates her head strength, chest width, balance, and power. Her exceptional loin and rear udder width make her a standout in the show ring.
Brookview Tony Charity is cherished and admired by those in the Holstein community. Her achievements have earned her a place as one of the greatest cows of all time. To the dairy world, she remains “Incredible Perfection.”
Key Takeaways:
From Ontario to Ohio: Charity’s early years laid the foundation for her remarkable career, showcasing her potential and fortifying her resilience.
Transformative Decisions: Her move to Hanover Hill was a pivotal moment, catalyzing her rise to prominence within the competitive realm of dairy cattle.
Stellar 1984: Charity’s triumphant return in 1984 underscored her dominance and set new standards in the show circuit.
Exciting 1985: A year filled with anticipation and achievements, cementing her status as a top-tier contender and genetic marvel.
Unforgettable Return: Charity’s homecoming was not just a rest but a resurgence, leading to unprecedented victories and accolades.
Unrivaled Legacy: Her historic triumphs and genetic contributions have left an indelible mark on the Holstein breed.
Endearing Elegance: Charity was celebrated for her elegance and intelligence, traits that set her apart and endeared her to both judges and enthusiasts.
Genetic Innovation: The promise of her progeny, particularly through bulls like Sellcrest D Cheeto-Red, Het Uilenreef Charity 16, and Jomargo Goldendreams Cheyenne, continues to innovate and push the boundaries of Holstein genetics.
Enduring Legacy: Brookview Tony Charity’s impact is profound, with her legacy persisting through the continuous success of her offspring and the admiration of the dairy community.
Summary:
Brookview Tony Charity’s life story is a compelling narrative of exceptional achievements and transformative moments that have etched an indelible mark on the Holstein breed. From her humble beginnings in Ontario to her various resurgences and undeniable dominance in show circles, Charity’s journey is peppered with notable milestones and influential decisions that highlight her significance. Her legacy extends beyond individual accolades, encompassing a profound impact on Holstein genetics and inspiring succeeding generations of bovine excellence. Charity’s elegance, intelligence, and resilience are celebrated through her descendants, such as Sellcrest D Cheeto-Red and Het Uilenreef Charity 16, which continue to embody her remarkable traits. As we reflect on her storied career, it becomes evident that Charity’s influence transcends the annals of dairy history, leaving a lasting heritage that underscores her unparalleled contributions to the field.
By all accounts Jack Stookey came from good stock. His parents were hard working folks that were well respected by the community. Little did they know that their youngest child would have such an illustrious career that would see Jack Stookey go down in the history books as one of the most notorious in the history of the Dairy Industry.
While Jack’s oldest brother, Dr. George Stookey, discovered fluoristan, the substance in toothpaste that prevents cavities and sold his patent to Proctor & Gamble and made a fortune in royalties, Jack was destined for a very different future. As is typical with the youngest child, Jack could do no wrong in his mother Mary Stookey’s eyes. He was the golden boy that, when his first wife didn’t meet up to his mother’s expectations, she urged a divorce and Jack went along with her request.
Fortunately he got it right with his second wife, Darla, and she helped straighten him out. You see it all started out great. Jack had followed a successful career path from the start. He had graduated high school where he was a track and field star and as a result had received a scholarship to Wayland Baptist University, where he set athletic records. However, it’s after university where Jack’s true love for excitement started to show. He began to indulge in his passion for auto racing. Before long he was designing his own cars, building them from scratch and driving them in races. It was here where wife Darla put her foot down and protested his love of racing. So Jack quit the car racing business and went back to the family farm.
Jack’s parents Emra and Mary had started with very little and built their farm into a 1,500-acre show place. The Holstein herd was one of the best in the state and by 1980 there were 31 Excellent and 33 Very Good females. At the urging of son Jack, Emra sold the herd at its peak and the farm auction averaged $4,381.00 on 124 head with a top price of $21,000 for VT-Pond-View Bootmaker Lassi (EX). Six head sold for five figure prices.
Jack’s New Vision
The dispersal was promoted by Jack’s newfound vision. He wanted to start an investment herd. You see the US government had introduced Section 46 of the Internal Revenue Code that allowed for an investment credit which held interest for individuals earning $500,000 a year and upwards. Section 46 created a frenzy of activity the likes of which the industry had never seen before. It introduced an investment purchase credit, a tax write-off which permitted a taxpayer to offset against personal income the costs of investment in certain classes of livestock. A participating individual could purchase a beef or dairy animal by making a nominal down payment and then take a promissory note to pay the balance off over a specified time, usually three years. The tax credits received during that period would cover the cost of the cow. Accountants, lawyers, and other rich individuals were quick to act. Jack Stookey saw this as his opportunity to assemble a group of the best Holsteins that North America had to offer and gave him the opportunity to make a ton of money.
Continental Scarlet-Red EX-95-3E (USA)
The first cow Stookey bought was Georgian Quality Pat EX-96-4E @ 5-09 (USA) who he purchased from Charlie Auger, who was a 3X All-American Nominee in Milking Form. To publicize his purchase Jack began showing at the major shows. Success was almost instant. In 1983 he took home the Premier Exhibitor banner at Central National Show and come very close to doing it at the Eastern and Western Nationals as well. One of the corner stones to his show string was Continental Scarlet-Red (EX) who he had seen the year earlier at the Royal where Scarlet had won her place in the history books as the only cow ever to defeat the greatest show cow in history, Brookview Tony Charity, who was reserve grand to Scarlet’s grand championship. However, Scarlet didn’t beat Charity in class, as Charity was a 4yr old and Scarlet was a 5yr old at the time. Another great red cow that Jack had purchased from David Brown (and only made the first payment on) was Nandette TT Speckle-Red (EX) giving Jack two of the greatest Red and White cows of the 1980’s.
Enter the IRS
Then as is always the case, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) came calling. They didn’t approve of these cattle investment tax shelters and in the early 1980’s they had started doing audits. Clearly in their sights was Jack Stookey. Once you are in their sights life becomes very challenging. They disallowed many of his tax loss claims and asked him to make good on his back taxes. The claim which was in the six figures caused a great problem for Jack as he didn’t have the money and had no prospects of getting it. The flow of investor money was slowing and his herd wasn’t generating much revenue.
Jack had hit the bottom. On a winter’s day in 1985 Jack couldn’t even pay his hired help. Therefore, he instructed them to take all the bull calves to the slaughterhouse in order to get some money. Among them were three sons of Scarlet by Roybrook Telstar, that had been scheduled to be sampled by AI units. Then there was his neighbor Mr. Van Forest and his son. Due to friendships with Jack’s parents, when Jack asked them to take care of 80 bred heifers, he agreed. After a year of feeding, time and trouble all Van Forest received was a worn-out semen tank. He lost his farm over the deal. To make matters even worse, during a blizzard in 1985 a hundred Stookey calf hutches were buried in the snow. They didn’t get the calves dug out in time and they all suffocated. Included were 18 calves by Enhancer from Scarlet.
It was at this time that the rumors really started. Rumors such as that Stookey had purchased a bunch of high priced cattle from Canadian breeders and when they discovered that their checks were no good, they stopped the cattle at the border. Another very tasty rumor was that a disgruntled investor had dynamited the porch off Stookey’s house. That’s when the world really started to cave in for Jack. The IRS filed a lien for back taxes forcing Jack to file bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee took possession of Stookey’s assets and this caused some more legal issues for Jack. Because Jack had only made the first payment on a number of the cattle, the breeders of these cattle were claiming their animals still belonged to them. Even though these breeders had some pretty tightly worded contracts, the bankruptcy trustee decided that this claim came after that of the unpaid vendors’ liens and hence the breeders never saw the rest of their money.
Wasted Potential
Seeing all this happening and deploring the waste of all these superior genetics, Louis Prange of Elm Park Farms, made a deal with the trustee whereby he took a couple of dozen Stookey cows and put them on a flush program. Prange was to receive one-third of the sale revenue from the resulting calves, the trustee was to receive a third, and Stookey the remaining third. This turned out to be a great move as one of the donors was Nandette TT Speckle, whom he flushed to Blackstar, resulting in one of the greatest type-breeding cows in history Stookey Elm Park Blackrose.
Stookey Elm Park Blackrose EX-96 3E GMD DOM • All-Time All-American Jr 2-Yr & Jr 3-Yr-Old Cow • Res All-American 5-Yr-Old Cow 1995 • All-American Jr 3-Yr-Old Cow 1993 • All-American Jr 2-Yr-Old Cow 1992 • Grand Champion, Royal Winter Fair 1995 • Over 30 Excellent Sons and Daughters!
Another would be participant in salvaging what was left was Randy Frasier. You see Jack maintained that he still owned the family farm and he undertook selling it to Randy for his Elmvue herd. Frasier invested $85,000 in fixing the buildings and whatnot and when he was told all was for naught –Frasier was left with nothing for his efforts.
The Bullvine Bottom Line
Jack Stookey’s investor business lasted just about four years between 1980 and 1984, but man was it an eventful time. The investment tax credit was repealed in 1986, but that was not the downfall for Stookey. It was Jack himself that led to his own demise. When Jack was convicted of fraud and embezzlement, the Judge let him serve his sentence on weekends.
However, it didn’t end there. In 20074an article appeared in one of the Indiana farm papers about Jack Stookey’s recent suicide. Then all sorts of rumors started to fly. One such rumor was that Jack was involved with Colombian drug traffickers and was behind in his payments, so they gave him an ultimatum, he could either pull the trigger himself, or they would do it for him. It seems more likely that it was just that, a suicide. You see the IRS had never lost sight of Jack and in 2004, the year he died, they were ready to pounce. They had a tax arrears claim that came to $1.5 million. They ran the man to the earth and then they started their prosecution. It was more than a reasonable man could be expected to take. Though there were many interesting events throughout Jack’s career, this is for sure one of them. Jack Stookey can take credit for the two best animals to come out of the investment era, Stookey Elm Park Blackrose and Stookey Fagin Scarlet, the first red and white cow to make 50,000 lbs of milk. If there was ever to be an action drama movie to be made about the Dairy Industry, Jack Stookey’s life story might be the basis for it.
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The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
