Notable Animals: Elm Farm Ollie
Elm Farm Ollie, her name said it all...she was destined to live life on a farm. She lived in Missouri and probably did things most ordinary cows do: Moo, munch on grass, look with wise yet glassy eyes at those who passed her by.
Maybe sometimes people would pass by Elm Farm Ollie as she peered over the fence of her pasture. She probably liked the edge of the pasture because it gave her the opportunity to look out at the part of the world she was unable to reach. A person passing her by may have picked Elm Farm Ollie some scrumptious pieces of juicy grass just out of reach. She would circle her jaw and mash her flat teeth into the grass with appreciation. Maybe after eating the grass she would lean her head forward to receive some head scratches. She would watch as the person walked away from her fence, into a part of the world she would never see.
She could have been curious. She could have been itching for adventure. Her wildest dreams may have finally come true when she was chosen for the grandest adventure a cow had ever had: flight!
It wasn't actually a twinkle of mischief in Elm Farm Ollie's eye that led her to be the chosen cow. She had a special talent that probably didn't feel so special to her and her sore utters. She was able to produce far more than the average amount of milk a cow usually produces. Elm Farm Ollie, with her abundance of milk, was milked up to three times a day!
If Ollie wasn't the one with a twinkle in her eye, then certainly the scientists and the the stunt creators who came up with the idea of putting a cow on a plane had a twinkle in their eye. Scientists wanted to study what altitude did to a cow being milked. But the attention seekers also reveled in the idea of such an elaborate publicity stunt.
On February 18th, 1930, Elm Farm Ollie took flight. I imagine her wearing goggles and an Amelia Earhart scarf that flapped in the wind behind her as she sped through the air. I imagine she opened her mouth and tried to swallow bits of clouds as the plane zipped through them. I imagine her looking down and seeing what her pasture looks like from way up high. Maybe she'd see cows she recognized and she'd think 'There's Bessie! And look over there! There's Daisy May!'
While she flew, she was milked. She produced 24 quarts of milk up there in the sky. They were put into cartons and attached to tiny parachutes. They were dropped from the plane where they glided down to thirsty novelty seekers below. It was alleged that famous aeronaut Charles Lindbergh himself had a sip of Elm Farm Ollie's milk. Maybe he took a sip and it tasted familiar. It tasted like that thrill of flight, that joy of adventure.
After Elm Farm Ollie landed, she was no longer known as Elm Farm Ollie. She had a new name: Sky Queen! And she wore the title proudly.
Maybe sometimes people would pass by Elm Farm Ollie as she peered over the fence of her pasture. She probably liked the edge of the pasture because it gave her the opportunity to look out at the part of the world she was unable to reach. A person passing her by may have picked Elm Farm Ollie some scrumptious pieces of juicy grass just out of reach. She would circle her jaw and mash her flat teeth into the grass with appreciation. Maybe after eating the grass she would lean her head forward to receive some head scratches. She would watch as the person walked away from her fence, into a part of the world she would never see.
She could have been curious. She could have been itching for adventure. Her wildest dreams may have finally come true when she was chosen for the grandest adventure a cow had ever had: flight!
It wasn't actually a twinkle of mischief in Elm Farm Ollie's eye that led her to be the chosen cow. She had a special talent that probably didn't feel so special to her and her sore utters. She was able to produce far more than the average amount of milk a cow usually produces. Elm Farm Ollie, with her abundance of milk, was milked up to three times a day!
If Ollie wasn't the one with a twinkle in her eye, then certainly the scientists and the the stunt creators who came up with the idea of putting a cow on a plane had a twinkle in their eye. Scientists wanted to study what altitude did to a cow being milked. But the attention seekers also reveled in the idea of such an elaborate publicity stunt.
On February 18th, 1930, Elm Farm Ollie took flight. I imagine her wearing goggles and an Amelia Earhart scarf that flapped in the wind behind her as she sped through the air. I imagine she opened her mouth and tried to swallow bits of clouds as the plane zipped through them. I imagine her looking down and seeing what her pasture looks like from way up high. Maybe she'd see cows she recognized and she'd think 'There's Bessie! And look over there! There's Daisy May!'
While she flew, she was milked. She produced 24 quarts of milk up there in the sky. They were put into cartons and attached to tiny parachutes. They were dropped from the plane where they glided down to thirsty novelty seekers below. It was alleged that famous aeronaut Charles Lindbergh himself had a sip of Elm Farm Ollie's milk. Maybe he took a sip and it tasted familiar. It tasted like that thrill of flight, that joy of adventure.
After Elm Farm Ollie landed, she was no longer known as Elm Farm Ollie. She had a new name: Sky Queen! And she wore the title proudly.