T. Shelton and Company, distributor of Sunbury Cooperative Creamery Butter, is credited with turning in the first butter cow and calf. Additional themes have been added in ensuing years. The American Dairy Association Mideast picks something that is nonpolitical and noncontroversial, optimistic, and with broad audience appeal. The five-member technical sculptor team includes lead sculptors Paul Brooke and Alex Balz of Cincinnati, Tammy Buerk of West Chester, Erin Swearingen of Columbus, and Matt Davidson, a Sidney dairy farmer. The mural in the display is painted by Cincinnatibased artist Ted Hendricks. Brooke and Balz spend a week planning the display and building the wood and steel frames or armatures to support the butter’s weight. The team spends 400 hours sculpting in Columbus, roughly a week before the fair opens. They go through nearly 2,200 pounds of butter in the process. The beloved butter cow and calf are always part of the display. Other butter sculptures have honored astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn, aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright, and Ohio’s top sports teams. The sculptors slice the butter, which comes in 55-pound blocks, into manageable loaves and layer it onto support frames. They wear gloves and multiple layers of clothing while they work in a large, 46-degree cooler. “It hardens on the frames like a stick of butter straight out of the refrigerator,” Brooke says. “At that point, it’s like working with clay, although we really have to exaggerate the detail because butter tends to be more translucent and doesn’t reflect light like other materials.” There is no waste — the butter used in the process is already past its expiration date, and once the fair is over, it’s recycled and refined into an ingredient used for animal feed, tires, and cosmetics, among other things. Sculptures are on display in the Dairy Products Building at the state fair from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Aug. 4. Ohio State Fair butter sculptors work diligently to finish their creations before the opening of the fair.
COOPERATIVE CALENDAR PHOTO CONTEST Ohio Cooperative Living magazine is looking for photos from Ohio and West Virginia electric cooperative members to use in its 2020 cooperative calendar. We’re interested in seasonal scenes from each month of the year. If your images are chosen for publication, amateur co-op photographers could earn $100 or more.
RULES • One photo entry per member. • High-resolution, color, digital images only. • No prints, slides, or proof sheets — no snail mail! Send submissions by email attachment only to photo@ohioec.org. • Photo format must be horizontal and capable of filling an 8 x 11inch image area. • Include an explanation of the photo — the where, what, when — as well as who took the shot. • Include your name, address, phone number, and the name of your co-op. • Shots featuring people who can be identified within the photo must be accompanied by a signed publication release.
Deadline for submission: Aug. 16 photo@ohioec.org
AUGUST 2019 • OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING 29