By Norman Nabholz
Heaven Hill
Most young people have idols and I was no different. Mine came in the form of “cow people” I would read about in magazines. These were the guys that cared for the great cows, traveled with them and prepared them for the best of competition. Living close to Waterloo and not being bashful at all I was able to meet my idols and quiz them about these great cows of whom I had read so much about and how they were taken care of. I would like to tell you about one special group.
Max Gordon was a one-of-a-kind gentleman, businessman and cowman beyond compare. Mention Max’s name to Peter Heffering and you will hear admiration from the “Master” about an icon in our business.
Max Gordon and the beloved Klussendorf award.
Max was born and raised in Indiana and came to national prominence when his cow Wonderful Dreaming Givia was named All American Grand Champion and then sold the following day in the Sale of Stars for a record $21,000 in 1946 to Loch Lee Jerseys, Mr. and Mrs. George Waite, Williamsville, New York. Just for reference, $21,000 in 1946 has the same buying power as $242,573.00 in 2009 dollars. Remember, that was cash also. The word terms were not in the cattle marketing dictionary in them days.
Wonderful Dreaming Givia
Max parlayed “Givia” into farms, banks, nursing homes as well as a great herd of Jerseys and show winning Simmentals. Upon the passing of both Mr. & Mrs. Waite, Givia would sell in the Loch Lee dispersal in 1953 to Max Gordon and return to Indiana at near eleven years of age.
AJersey Journal Cover with Wonderful Dreaming Givia
Max Gordon winning the 1947 All American Dairy Herd.
Along the way Max became advisor to Mr. Henry Uihlein owner of Heaven Hill Farm in Lake Placid, New York.
Max Gordon and the winning best three females at World Dairy Expo 1989
Max enjoys a little rest after the show at the Indiana State Fair
Mr. Uihlein was a member of the Jos. Schlitz company family and a relative of the Papst family as well. Together Max and the Uihlein family created a team not to be duplicated in modern times. Max had an eye for a great one and was in the fertile grounds to find them in Indiana, which to this day is a breeding turf for the best the Jersey breed has to offer.
Max would fly to Lake Placid several times a year from Lynn, Indiana, meet with Mr. and Mrs. Uihlein and the men at the barn, make suggestions, and return home and let the men do their work.
In later years Mr. Uihlein purchased an adjoining farm to Max Gordon’s in Indiana and many of the Heaven Hill cows made their home in Indiana. If a cow was spotted in the country or at a sale, Mr. Uihlein attended most of the sales himself, it was Max that would give the final OK as to her purchase. Every cow that came to Heaven Hill had a purpose and to this day many of the great cows of the breed in some way, somehow, go back to a great Heaven Hill cow. LLoyln Jude Grffen of Budjon/Vail fame has ties to Heaven Hill cows through her sire Master C Tops, and she would have been “Max’s kind.”
Lloyn Jude Griffen
The names of the great cows that Max discovered and how and where he discovered them could fill several books. Max was the consummate showman, cowman, and competitor and last but not least a gentleman with more class than anybody I have ever met.
The Heaven Hill show string
The Heaven Hill show circuit started with the New York State Fair ….to be continued.