Wisconsin native, Harold Magnussen, Osseo attended River Falls Normal, a school concentrating on agriculture. From money he earned as a milk tester, he purchase two Reg. Brown Swiss calves in 1925 from Hibbard & Stoneman, Madison for his younger brothers Norman and Victor Magnussen. Norm and Vic later formed Norvic Farms, Lake Mills in January 1946. Harold answered an ad in the Hoard’s Dairyman and was hired in 1925 as herd manager of Walhalla Farm, NY. For 35 years, he “snapped on the lights and turned off the switches”, until the dispersal in 1962. From Walhalla he moved to Shelburne Farm, VT. Both Norman, before going to Judd’s Bridge, and Victor, after being at Carnation, WA, spent time at Walhalla. February 16, 1928 Jane of Vernon 29496 is born. She was bred by Orbec Sherry, Viroqua. There is not a Brown Swiss in the USA without her DNA!
May , 1929 fluid milk price is $2.95($/cwt) 3.5% fat. Milwaukee Cooperative
1929 Haeger’s Brown Swiss National Sale advertised as the “First Consignment Sale of High Class Swiss” held May 22, at the Waukesha Sale Pavilion. Managed by Robt. E. Haeger, Algonquin, IL. An over flow crowd reported of near 1000 attended. The average on 81 head including 17 bulls was $387.50 on today’s money equal to $5321.00. Sale force included, Fred Klussendorf, Vernon Hull, J.E. Mack. The Voegeli Bros. sell high cow at $1525 to Walhalla Farm, NY. High seller was a son of Swiss Valley Girl 10th 7887, World record holder with 12y 365 27,613m 1,106f. Purchased by Carl E. Lee, Gridley Dairy Company, Milwaukee. The bull was sent to his farm in Valley City, ND at $2000. The Gridley Co. produced 4 million lbs. of sweet butter in 1927. Two-thirds of which is used locally with the balance shipped in carload lots to New York, Philadelphia and other eastern cities. Mr. Lee served as President of the WI association.
1932 Ave. milk price $0.89 ($/cwt)
1932-34 Jane of Vernon 29496, owned by Orbec D. Sherry, Viroqua, is declared National Show Champion by winning the Dairy Cattle Congress, Waterloo, IA, as no National Dairy show was held those years.
1936 Jane of Vernon is National Show Champion at the Texas Centennial Expedition, Dallas, TX. She also owns a Class Leader 4 Yr. record of 1,075 pounds of fat. Her first of two 1,000f records. Mr. Sherry sold Jane to Judd’s Bridge Farm, CT. in 1936. One of the stipulations of her sale was that she only be milked by hand, and she was! Jane of Vernon is buried at Judd’s Bridge Farm, New Milford, CT on May 11, 1945.
1937 Illini Nellie 26578, bred by Ira Inman, Beloit is National Milk & Fat Production Champion. 8-4 356d 3x 29,590m 4.1 1,200f
May 1937 Brown Swiss Association opens shop at 800 Pleasant St, Beloit.
1938
Geranium’s Dora Beauty 49791, owned by George Cooke & Son, Racine, is National Show Champion.
May 21, 1938 1st Wisconsin Parish Show held at Swiss Town Farm, Beloit owned by Will Heath. Eleven breeders exhibited 35 head. Later that year Oliver Bower, IL suggested changing the name from Parish to Canton Shows. There were originally 10 cantons in the state. There are plans being made for WI Canton Shows in 2016!
1938 John Oster Sr. chooses Brown Swiss to develop on his farm in Burlington. Mr. Oster owned the Oster Manufacturing Company that began making manually powered hair clippers in 1924. He purchased Stevens Electric Co. in 1946 and produced the Osterizer blender and Oster clippers. In 1960 Oster sold his company to Sunbeam Co. who then made the Sunbeam cow clippers. Mr. Oster passed in 1963 and part of his Ostval herd was sold in Elkhorn Dec. 1, 1964. Cattle went as far as Alaska, Montana and New Jersey. The final dispersal was held on the farm March 29, 1969 for owners John Oster Jr. & Robert Oster. High seller was J.J. Ideal’s Mynda along with her heifer calf at $1835 to Earnest St. John, AZ. Mynda is the dam of ES Punch Ray, he is the sire of Ventures ESP Babaray(W). Ostval herd manager starting in 1950 was Goodwin Jacobson, father of Joyce Uglow, Watertown. Mr. Oster served as WI President. Ostland Farm was owned by John Oster Jr.
1939
Orbec Sherry and the Four Jane’s, full sisters and daughters of Jane of Vernon travel by rail to the National Show at The Cow Palace, Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA along with several herds from across the country. The “Four Jane’s”, all milking, won 6 group classes with Jane V first 3 yr. The Swiss Capade made display stops in Billings, MT; Portland, OR; Treasure Island and Ogden, UT to promote the “Yodel Cow” on the west coast. In 1940 the “Four Janes “ were sold for $10,000 to Lee’s Hill Farm, NJ who already owned their maternal brother Jane’s Royal of Vernon.
1926 - 1939 5