GAIL STROCK
Mifflin Co. Correspondent
REEDSVILLE (Mifflin Co.) -
“The trip to the bam is long
enough,” said dairyman James
0. Reed of Reed Gap Farms
nearby. “You’d better have
something nice there.”
The fifth generation to farm
near the town that bears his
family names, Reed is proud of
his family heritage, his son’s
achievements in national judg
ing competitions, and his herd's
pedigree, nearly 95 percent of
his 35-cow herd comes form two
cow lines, Winterthur and
Dunloggin.
Reed’s Winterthur line
branches from his purchase of
Winterthur Kid Ivanhoe. She
later scored Excellent.
Reed’s line of Dunloggin
Holsteins originates from his
1963 purchase of Wisbee
Contender Sallee at the First
Golden Harvest Sale in
Harrisburg. Contender Sallee is
a daughter of Curtiss Candy
Sally Curtiss, a New York fat
champion and daughter of
Curtiss Candy Proud Sally (VG).
Proud Sally placed first as an
aged cow at the Minnesota State
fair, was first on the 1952
national honor list with her 7-
year-old production record, was
an Illinois fat champion twice,
and a cover-cow for Holstein
World magazine.
James 0. Reed’s “Contender
Sallee” had seven bulls and six
heifers. Her oldest daughter
(VG-87) had twins by Reed Gap
Witnerthur HF. The Twins
scored VG-87 and 2E-91. 2E
91’s daughter became 2E-92.
Contender Sallee also had two
other daughters. By 1989, Reed
was milking six head that had
Dunloggin Elenora as their sev
enth dam.
Overall, the Winterthur and
Dunloggin cross has proved
valuable to Reed. In fact, his
son Andy’s six superior show
animals are Dunloggin.
The Dunloggin line began in
Wisconsin in 1928. Horace
Backus published a two-volume
history of the Dunloggms in
1990. What follows has been
taken from these two volumes.
A Brief Dunloggin History
In 1926, lumberman Joseph
W. Natwick purchased a farm
just outside of Baltimore for its
valuable stand of white oak. He
cleared the timber then tried to
sell the farm. Two years later he
decided to dairy farm. He
named the farm Dunloggin sim
ply because he was “done log
gin!”
Although his first cattle were
James 0. Reed looks over his history book about Dunloggin
Holsteins.
Dunloggin Lives On In Reedsville Herd
grades, he started his registered
herd by privately purchasing
several Holsteins from W. L.
Baird and the Waukesha County
Holstein Breeders’ Association
in his home state of Wisconsin.
Further purchases in late 1928
included “four great paternal
sisters from one small farmer
breeder herd (the Wittig broth
ers).” Three of these contributed
greatly to the outstanding
Dunloggin bloodline, as did a
herd sire from a famous Pabst
Farms first All-American win
ner.
Farm Manager Paul B.
Misner joined Natwick in
December 1928 as farm manag
er and stayed until complete
herd dispersal in 1943. He
respected his employer’s deep
involvement in and working
knowledge of the dairy animal
and is credited for saying, “The
most important fertilizer on any
farm is the footstep of the
owner.”
Reed Gap Farms
Sitting in the comfortable
front room of his home, James
0. Reed replays his family histo
ry. His youngest son Andy lis
tens patiently again to the
familiar story.
“In 1751, James Reed and his
half-brother Judge Brown went
from Cecil County, Maryland, to
as far north as Williamsport.
The following year, they decided
to locate here in Mifflin County.
James Reed married an Ogleby
from the Carlisle area, that’s
where the ‘o’ comes from. They
had 12 children. Their youngest
son Abner built some of the first
houses in Reedsville.
“My grandfather, Ogleby
(Obe) James was born in 1835 to
Abner’s second family. In 1856,
a freeze in June destroyed the
wheat crop. Obe headed out
west with the ‘49’ers. Later, his
two brothers went out and
brought him back. He married
in 1886 and had ,my father,
James Andrew Reed, the
youngest of four children. Obe
had a brother Andrew who stud
ied at Dartmouth as an attorney.
That’s who Andy is named for.
“My father was a general
farmer. He sold milk to the
cheese factory. I started farming
in 1951 with four cows and lost
each one. I bought some grades
from Tioga County and learned
a lot about cows. I purchased a
few registered cows then joined
the Holstein Association in
1954.
James 0. and his wife Mary
have four children,. Jim, 35;
Sandy, 33; Lori, 30; and Andy,
19. The oldest three have cho-
Locally, the Reed family history dates back as far as 1751. James 0. stands beside his
father’s tiger maple desk. His wife Mary is active in the Mifflin County Historical Society.
Andy, left, and his brother Jim hold the halters of Andy’s award-winning cows. Andy’s
cow on the left won grand champion three years in a row at the Mifflin County Youth Fairy in
Reedsville. It also won best bred and owned at the 1997 District 4-H Show. Andy’s cow on
the right was reserve grand champion at the 1997 Mifflin County Youth Fair and grand cham
pion at the 1997 District 4-H Show.
(Photo by Sandy McGinnis)
sen other careers. Andy is a
freshman at Penn State major
ing in dairy science.
The Reed’s live on a farm
along the Back Mountain Road
between Barrville and
Reedsville. A 1780 log farm
house owned by the Reed’s sits
two miles away above the gush
ing spring that feeds Coffee
Run. As the story goes, that’s
where James O’s ancestor
named Brown saw the reflection
of an Indian while drinking from
the stream. It turned out to be
Chief Logan, a long-time friend
of the white man who camped at
Logan Springs on Tea Creek
near Reedsville.
AH American Status
When it comes to dairy cattle,
Andy Reed does a pretty good
job. So good, in fact, that Andy
placed 23rd overall (fourth in
reasons) in dairy judging at the
1997 National 4-H Contest in
Madison, Wis.
Andy helped this year’
Pennsylvania team place second
overall in the nation and first in
reasons
In 1995, Andy’s Mifflin
County Dairy Judging Team
placed first in Pennsylvania.
Teammate Mike Kline went to
Madison tfiat year, followed by
Mike Yoder in 1996. This year,
Andy placed first place and went
to Madison.
Andy’s trophies may need carted home in another show box!
(Photo by Sandy McGinnis)
Andy first joined county-wide Carolyn Loucks and, most
4-H dairy judging teams under recently, Sue Sellers,
the leadership of Darv Yoder, to mq)