By Larry Kleiner
Using the Holstein Association’s December 2014 Red Book list of bulls that have the highest percent of genes in common with today’s “Available Proven Bulls” as a reference. Illinois leads that list with three of the top 25 High Impact Bulls. Four other States have each put two bulls on the list.
Walkway Chief Mark, O-Bee Manfred Justice, and Glendell Arlinda Chief, are all Illinois bred bulls on this highly influential list and were all marketed by Select Sires, a company with strong Illinois roots. Two of these bulls were brought to Select by Illinois native, Charlie Will.
It would suffice to say that few people would guess that Illinois Holstein breeders could lead a list like this. Certainly several other States have much larger populations of Registered Holsteins and breeders than Illinois. That being said, Illinois Holstein Breeders lead the list. Let’s take a look at these great bulls, their Breeders, their stories, and their impact.
The oldest bull on this list of Illinois bred bulls is Glendell Arlinda Chief. Glendell, born on Nov 19, 1968, was bred by Kenneth and Joann Hartman of Waterloo, in southern Illinois. Most will remember that years later Joann would become the first female President of the Holstein Association Board of Directors. Glendell’s dam was a herd favorite. Sired by a top bull from the local Southern Illinois Breeders Association or SIBA, Skokie Ned Boy. Ned Boy was bred at the great Illinois breeding establishment, Elmwood Farms, as was his paternal grandsire, Skokie Glamour Boy a star of the former Northern Illinois Breeding Coop or NIBCO.
In 1965 just a few years before Glendell’s birth, SIBA, NIBCO and two other small A.I. Coops had started a semen sharing relationship under the name Select Sires Inc. Glendell’s dam was photographed around noon one day and around 4 PM she was found dead with no apparent cause. Glendell Ned Boy Adorn had dropped a Pawnee Arlinda Chief son a few months before her untimely demise and the Hartmans thought so much of Adorn that they decided to keep the bull calf and use him. In the fall of 1973, Ray Hess, manager of Prairie State Select Sires and Phil Jayne, sales coordinator from Select Sires were traveling through southern Illinois. The local Select Sires technician told them that they should stop at Glendell Farms and look at the milking daughters of their herd bull. They were so impressed with the young cows that Ron Long from Select Sires soon showed up, followed shortly by John Hecker. At that time Select had no proven sons of Arlinda Chief in their lineup. So in spite of the fact that his dam had no complete record or classification and that there were but a few milking daughters in only a couple herds, Glendell Arlinda Chief went to Select Sires and today is a major breed contributor. Glendell’s influence was spread through his son Ronnybrook Prelude who would sire MTOTO and Outside. Mtoto sired the great Picston Shottle. Emprise Bell Elton was from a Gendell dam. Elton sired Durham as well as the dam of O Man. Planet and BW Marshall also have Glendell in their lineage.
Walkway Chief Mark was born June 13, 1978 at Foster Walk’s Walkway Farm, Neoga, also in southern Illinois. Mark was the last son of Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief to be sampled in AI. Arlinda Chief would have been 16 years old when Mark was born and his maternal grand sire, Fond Matt would have been 18 years old. Mark’s older brother, Walkway Chief Monroe had gone to Select Sires to be sampled, but shortly after his semen was sent out for sampling he died. Just a couple months before Monroe’s death, his dam Walkway Matt Mamie had dropped another Arlinda Chief son named Walkway Chief Mark. A young sire analyst, by the name of Charlie Will who had grown up in the same neighborhood, decided to gamble on the younger full brother and bring him to Select also. If Monroe had not passed away, the Holstein breed would have missed out, not just on Mark, but the incomparable Goldwyn who has 3 crosses to Mark, Regancrest Elton Durham, from a Mark dam, Atwood who crosses five times to Mark, and many, many other great cattle.
O-Bee Manfred Justice, born March 8, 1998 and bred by Obert Brothers, Dakota, Illinois is the third in this trio of highly influential Illinois bred bulls. Fittingly O Man crossed two times to above mentioned Glendell and once to Mark. Two cows on the bottom side of O Man’s pedigree have changed ownership through the long running state sale series, the Illini Golden Opportunity Sale. His third dam was bred by a father/son team who both served as Presidents of the Illinois Holstein Association, Wilmer and Jerry Smith of Clearfield Farm. They sold Clearfield Mark Jokoba in the Golden Opportunity Sale to nearby Meier Meadows Farm. Jokaba had a Melwood daughter and Meier’s sold her choice from an Elton flush in the Golden Opportunity Sale. Elton carried the Blad gene, so when the calves were born they were tested. There were two clean calves and two carriers. After examining the calves, the Obert Brothers were so impressed with Meier-Meadows Elton Jezabell, later EX-92, that they took her, Blad gene and all. Neighbor Bob Miller researched Jezabel’s pedigree when she was honored by Holstein International in 2009. Bob found that there were only 18 dams in the 109 years between Jezabel and her imported ancestor that came to the US in 1885. The average age that each ancestor calved with the next generation was over six years and most would have lived considerable longer yet. O Man's health trait foot print most certainly helped change the course of Holstein breed progress.
The Impact of Silver Glen Farm, St Charles, Illinois.
We would be remiss if we did not mention the influence of Silver Glen Farm of St Charles, IL. on the Holstein Breed. According to an article by Wm. A Prescott in the March 21, 1931 issue of the Holstein World, Silver Glen Farm near St Charles, IL. Was called “The beauty spot of the Fox River Valley”. Mr Prescott stated that this farm slogan “applied not only to the artificial beauty of the attractively landscaped grounds and the architectural beauty of the efficiently planned model barns but also to the long rows of producing show Holsteins”. Silver Glen was owned by Edward J. Baker. Mr. Baker was an influential business man in the St. Charles area and owned several farms that housed herds of Holsteins, Jerseys, and Guernsey’s, as well as a famous Thoroughbred stable. According to a young man who grew up in the area, Harry Weir, the Pheasant Run Resort that is the site of the 2015 National Holstein Convention was once Mr. Baker’s Airport Farm and was home to his Guernsey herd. Mr. Baker’s Silver Glen Farm was home to the Holstein Herd and was located just a few miles from present day Pheasant Run. Mr. Prescott’s 1931 World article covered the “Foundation Females” in the Silver Glen Holstein herd at the time. One cow mentioned was Bell Farm Rosalind. In the Silver Glen dispersal of 1932, Bell Farm Rosalind was purchased by Glen Householder, Farm Supervisor for the Wisconsin Board of Control. Rosalind became the dam of Wisconsin Admiral Burke Lad, one of the most influential bulls in breed history. Rosalind and her son appear 72 times in the pedigree of Picston Shottle and would now appear in almost every Registered Holstein linage in North America.
It will be interesting to see which 2015 National Sale Consignment carries the most crosses to this great breed Matron that once called Silver Glen home.