Bl2<LancMter Farming, Saturday, January 29, 2000 York Countain Donates JAYNE SEBRIGHT Lancaster Farming Staff GLEN ROCK (York Co.) When Russell Shopp of Glen Rock and his father went to a dispersal sale in 1943, he had no idea that the catalog he received would someday be used to help students pay for college. For 57 years, 82-year-old Shopp has treasured the Dun loggin dispersal catalog he re ceived that day. But this year he gave up his treasure when he do nated the catalog to the Pennsyl vania Holstein Association to auction off during the annual Holstein Convention in Carlisle. Many Holstein breeders in Pennsylvania and throughout the world remember the Dun loggin farm, which was a 500- acre farm in Ellicott City, Md., owned by Joe Natwick. Natwick originally bought the farm for timber, but after he mined all the timber off the farm, he de cided to start a dairy herd. Since he was done logging the farm, he used the prefix “Dunloggin” for his cattle. According to Shopp, the Dun loggin breeding stock was spread out all over Pennsylvania and Maryland. It can still be traced to some of the prominent herds today. But few people any more can say that they actually attended the sale where more than 200 dairy animals from the Dunloggin herd were sold for prices unheard of in that day. Russell ShoDD can. “1 didn’t realize at the time that I was rubbing shoulders with many of Dunloggin Catalog the great breeders during that time,” said Shopp. He recalls that half interest in a bull from the Dunloggin herd was sold to the Backus family for $13,000. Dunloggin Farm owned a Vi interest in the bull named “Lochinbar” that came from Mt. Victoria Farms in Canada. The other half was owned by Osborn Dale Farm in Connecticut, probably most well known for their “Ivanhoe” bull. Horace Backus of the Backus family has written a history on the Dunloggin herd, which en compasses two volumes and more than 1,000 pages. Only after reading that history did Shopp realize how precious his catalog was. “Ellicott City was the place to be during that sale,” said Shopp. “Holstein enthusiasts from around the country were there.” Shopp remembers full-page ads in The Holstein World that kept everyone informed of the Dunloggin show winnings and production records. Shopp hopes the catalog brings a high amount at the auc tion because he thinks that the Scholarship Foundation is a very worthy cause. In fact, he has even contacted local busi nesses about supporting the Foundation. Recently another copy of the Dunloggin dispersal catalog was sold during the 1999 Eastern National Sale. It brought $7OO. Shopp has been very interest in the Holstein breed ever since he was a little boy. “My father instilled in me a love for good cattle,” said Shopp. His father purchased Shopp’s first three animals for him. Shopp’s first dairy animal was purchased for $52. Throughout the 1940 s and early 19505, Shopp milked 30 cows and had a total of 60 dairy animals on his farm. Growing up near Mechanicsburg, he started farming in 1940 on his father’s farm but then moved to West York to milk in a stall barn. Unlike most farmers, Shopp decided that bigger wasn’t better and got out of the dairy business when prices were pushing him to expand. However, even now Shopp keeps up with the latest news in the Holstein breed and can talk for hours about some of the greatest Holstein breeders of all-time. After retiring from the dairy business, Shopp purchased a 50- acre farm in Glen Rock, where he enjoyed raising horses. He still lives there today. As far as his attendance at the Conven tion, he still isn’t certain as to whether he will make it. “I would like to see the cattle be sold,” said Shopp. “Everyone who is interested in cattle should realize that every good pedigree had to start with good breeding stock.” And Shopp feels honored to have seen some of the best breeding stock of the 1940 s when he and his father went to the Dunloggin dispersal sale.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers