| Big Critters |
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| CATTLE (page 1) | |||||
| Ira Wilson & Sons Dairy Building Detroit, MI |
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| The Ira Wilson & Sons Dairy Building features a giant cow head on its roof. The cow was meant to resemble "Elsie" the Borden Cow. The former ice cream stand has been closed for many years but was restored for the filming of "8 Mile" in 2002. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Purple Cow Corral Waynesboro, VA |
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| I believe the Purple Cow Corral was originally an ice cream stand. It was later used as a used car dealership. The place is currently a snack bar. The street it is located on is known as Purple Cow Road. |
| Chatty Belle Neillsville, WI |
Sissy the Cow DeForest, WI |
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Chatty Belle is the world's largest talking cow. She gives dairy lectures for a quarter. She once has a non-talking son, a smaller cow named Bullet, standing next to her. However, by 2003, he was gone. Chatty was part of the 1964 New York World's Fair. The Wisconsin Pavilion that was also at the World's Fair was brought back and reconstructed next to Chatty. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.
Sissy the Cow is another 19' tall, 20' long Holstein made of steel and fiberglass. Sissy is the mascot of Ehlenbach's Cheese Chalet. She has a voicebox but it has been broken for many years. I believe the cow has been here since the late 1960s. For more, see their website. Chatty Belle, Sissy, Kadie (below), and others I describe here in this section were all made from the same mold by Sculptured Advertising (now known as FAST). There are identical cows all over the country and I'm trying to catalogue them all here. For more about these cows, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. |
| Kadie the Cow (and Bebe) Columbus, GA |
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| Kadie the Cow used to stand in front of the Kinnett Dairies that was once located here. When the dairy closed, she was put in storage during the construction of a Best Buy and returned to the hill. In 2003, a 3' tall fiberglass calf mysteriously turned up next to her. Just two weeks later, the calf disappeared and turned up in a dumpster. Best Buy secured the calf with concrete and held a naming contest for it - the winner: "Bebe". For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Giant Cow Savannah, GA |
Jilly the Cow temporarily in Brevort, MI |
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The Savannah Cow stands in front of Keller's Flea Market. It was previously located at a BBQ restaurant. The 15' tall cow wears a hat, a ring on her tail, earrings, a watch, and ankle bracelet. She also has an "I Love Fleas" shopping bag tied around her neck. For more, see their website.
Jilly the Cow stands on a trailer in front of an ice cream stand, advertising for Jilbert's Dairy (see below). The trailer is moved around for local events and parades. |
| Jilbert's Dairy Marquette, MI |
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| In addition to their trailer cow, Jilbert's Dairy has two other giant Jillys: one standing in a garden and one perched on a silo. Jilbert's has been producing and delivering milk since 1937. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. [photos thanks Mark Comstock] |
| Giant Cow Iowa City, IA |
Giant Cow Paducah, KY |
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The Iowa City Cow is another roving bovine. The company has distribution centers in NE, IA, KS and MO. This cow advertises for Roberts Dairy which has headquarters in Lincoln, NE. Roberts has four giant cows (Annabelle, Clarabelle, Roberta and Big Bossie) which they transport from their locations to promotions at local grocery stores and special events throughout the year. This Roberts Cow appeared at the State Fair in Lincoln, NE. For more, see their website.
The Paducah Cow also travels around on a trailer for the Goldenrod Dairy. In this photo, she is parked downtown at Goldenrod's ice cream shop during an annual quilt festival. [photo thanks Mark Comstock] |
| Giant Cow Ashburn, GA |
Giant Cow Black Earth, WI |
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The Ashburn Cow stands at the I-75 exit next to a Dairy Queen and Chevron station. Does anyone know her history?
This Black Earth Cow wears a ball cap and poses in front of the Shoe Box along with three giant boots and a rearing horse. [photo thanks Mark Comstock] |
| Harmilda Harvard, IL |
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Harvard has the reputation of being the Milk Center of the World and a giant cow serves as their mascot. Harmilda was built in 1966 by the Truitt Fiber Glass Company at a cost of $250,000. In 1970, the Harvard Herald had a Name the Cow contest. The name chosen was derived from the town's annual celebration: the words Harvard Milk Days were shortened to Har-mil-da.
In 1977, the original Harmilda was put in storage and a replacement cow was put in her place. The old cow is brought out during Milk Days and taken to other cities for parades. The mural behind her was created by Cindy Synove in 2003. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Salem Sue New Salem, ND |
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| At 38' tall and 50' long, Salem Sue is definitely the world's largest cow (twice the size of the FAST cows). She was built in 1974 at a cost of nearly $40,000. She overlooks I-94 from atop the town's highest hill. A local radio station holds an annual "Breakfast Under the Cow." For more info about Sue, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. |
| FAST Corporation cows Sparta, WI |
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| These FAST Cows are an updated version sans horns. This patriotic cow is ready for shipping to her new home. Meanwhile, this mold rests in the backlot. Every big dairy farm around the Sparta area seems to have a fiberglass cow out front - no doubt all of them from FAST. |
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