Chapter 1: History of the Oldest Registered Highland Fold in the US
"Is she going to hurt us?"
Vermont Heritage Highlands: The History of Shat Acres Highland Cattle By Janet Steward
The year was 1963. Eddie Richardson had just proposed to his girlfriend, Audrey, as they walked the back pasture at Trout Brook Farm. Turning, Audrey realized they were not alone. As they meandered, they were being followed by a long-haired, long-horned animal. Audrey had grown up north of Boston. "All I ever had was a dog. That cow was pretty spectacular."
Scottie, as she was called, followed Eddie everywhere. But she did not follow just Eddie. As Eddie puts it, "We always had a lot of people kicking around the farm, and Scottie loved people. No one wanted to look at our Herefords or dairy cows. They only wanted to look at Scottie." What Eddie remembers most about Scottie is her friendliness. You could walk right up to her anywhere and put your arms around her neck. She was halter trained, but as Eddie said, "Why would you need a halter? Scottie would come when she was called and follow you wherever you wanted her to go."
The Trout Brook Farm barn where Scottie lived with the Richardson family had been expanded and refurbished in 1902. Eddie's father, Charlie, had purchased the Sheffield, Vermont, farm from J.D. Silver in 1923. According to Eddie, Charlie Richardson, born in 1896, was a typical farmer from that era. He diversified, not because it he learned it from a book, but out of necessity. On the farm, they raised chickens, eggs, milk, and grains for bread. They logged and made maple syrup. "We didn't have to go to the store to buy much, and we ate pretty well."
When asked how Scottie came to live in Sheffield, Vermont, Eddie answered, "Dad always wanted something different, whether it was an unusual variety of vegetables or a different kind of cow." Somehow Charlie had learned that there was a different kind of cow for sale in New Hampshire, and he couldn't resist. That strange bovine had arrived in New York on a railroad car, with several other Highlands from the same fold. The Highland travelers soon went separate ways; Scottie, who was Brindle colored, had ended up in New Hampshire. Shortly after the new owner acquired the unusual cow, he got burned in a vat of acid at the pulp mill. Charlie traveled to New Hampshire where there were several cows for sale. Only one left with Charlie Richardson. The long-haired, long-horned Highland cow was loaded onto Charlie's truck and off they went to Trout Brook Farm in Sheffield, Vermont.
"I remember when Scottie was here. She was a huge animal but not that tall. She was not a brand-new animal and already had big horns. She did not have a real heavy coat but was better than the Herefords at withstanding the cold," according to Eddie, adding, "Scottie was so quiet. I don't remember her ever mooing."
It was surmised that Scottie was around three or four years old when Charlie brought her from New Hampshire to Vermont. Her horns were approximately thirty-six inches when she arrived in Sheffield. Charlie and Eddie had worked with animals all their lives. Eddie started milking cows when he was five and never found Scottie to be intimidating, even with her horns.
"Dad took the horns off all the other animals. He never took them off Scottie. She was so gentle we never had to worry about her horns," Eddie shared, adding, "My Dad and Carroll Shatney were so good with animals. Animals are intuitive. They can tell if you are friendly."
In 1915 Arthur Shatney purchased a farm in North Greensboro near Long Pond and began milking cows, naming his farm Shat Acres. Arthur married Winona Orcutt, a Native American from the Abnaki nation. The story is that the couple had to travel to Canada to wed, as this was not permitted in the United States at that time. Arthur and Winona had five children, Carroll being one of those five. In the 1940s Carroll Shatney purchased the farm from his father, continuing to dairy, raise chickens and eggs, make maple syrup, and trap for pelts and logs. Carroll then purchased several adjacent parcels on Long Pond, accumulating over four hundred acres.
Charlie's sister, Jeanette, lived up the road from Carroll Shatney's dairy and diversified farm in North Greensboro, Vermont. Jeanette introduced Charlie to Carroll, who became fast friends. One day, Carroll's wife Leona-- whom everyone knew as Polly complained that she never got any mail. She began writing to Charlie's wife, Anita, in the early 1940s and soon letters began appearing in each other's mailboxes. After Charlie's wife passed away, Charlie would bring his children, Marilyn, Elaine, and Eddie, to the Shatney farm on Friday nights for a "Kitchen Junket." Ray Shatney remembers the red and green Chef Boyardee Pizza Kit box that would come out of the cupboard for special occasions-like a visit from Charlie Richardson and his family. Polly would make pizza for everyone. Those were fond memories for both Eddie and Ray.
In 1966 Charlie had a heart attack and could not take care of his cattle in the wintertime. Carroll bought Charlie's cows. There were a few Herefords, a few Hereford/Highland crosses, and one Highland. Carroll gave Charlie $50.00 for Scottie, which Carroll joked was more than she was worth at the time. Carroll and Charlie made a deal-Scottie would live with Carroll in the wintertime but had to be returned to Charlie to put out to summer pasture to keep his pastures clean and for his family to enjoy. Charlie had gotten Scottie in the late 1950s, when Eddie was thirteen years old. Scottie moved to Shat Acres in North Greensboro in 1966.
At Shat Acres, Scottie moved in with the Ayrshire dairy herd. She could put her forty-eight-inch horn spread into a stanchion quicker than any of the milking cows. As at Trout Brook Farm, Scottie was a novelty at the North Greensboro farm. One regular visitor to the farm, Melvin Mandigo, the Ayrshire artificial inseminator, took a particular interest in this furry beast standing amongst the slick red and white milkers. Not only did Scottie have long hair and long homs, she had a large double "XX" hot-branded on her side and a tattoo in her ear. Melvin began to do some sleuthing. If she was branded and tattooed, perhaps there was a way to learn more about
who she was and where she came from. Melvin took it as a personal challenge to learn more about this unique animal.
It turned out that the cow everyone had known as Scottie was actually XX EL DONN'S LASSIE. Lassie had been bred and previously owned by Baxter Berry of Belvidere, South Dakota. Born April 29, 1956, XX El Donn's Lassie was registered with the American Scotch Highland Breeders' Association and descended from the first registered Highland bull imported to the United States from Scotland. The American Scotch Highland Breeders Association sent the duplicate registration of XX EI Donn's Lassie to Carroll Shatney in Greensboro, Vermont.
Scottie continued to produce offspring until she was twenty-one. After that calf was weaned, Ray loaded her into the back of the farm truck and delivered her to Trout Brook Farm to enjoy her summer pasture. Perhaps Scottie knew that at twenty-one, the calf remaining behind at Shat Acres would likely be her last. As Ray recalls, instead of relishing her return to Charlie and Eddie's farm, Scottie would not eat and mourn her calf all summer. Ray did not bring Scottie back to Shat Acres that fall. Charlie, Carroll, Eddie, and Ray's beloved first Highland died on the farm she had come to, from Baxter Berry in South Dakota by way of New York and New Hampshire so many years prior.
With his John Deere 420 Bulldozer, Charlie buried Scottie, laying that majestic beast to rest behind the barn at Trout Brook Farm.
"I miss Scottie. I love having animals around. I always miss animals when they are gone," Eddie added wistfully.
Scottie made a lasting impression on everyone who saw her, especially Carroll Shatney. Scottie was the first of Carroll's Shat Acres Highland cows-now the oldest registered Highland fold in the United States--and the beginning of the fifty-five-year love affair between Highland Cattle and Ray Shatney.
Stay tuned for the next chapter in the history of Shat Acres Vermont Heritage Highlands!