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.