814-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 5, 2000
Melinda Reveals
Championship Secrets
GAY BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
BRUCFTON MILLS (W. Va.)
“There are no secrets, just a
lot of hard work," Melinda
Thomas tells persons interested
in how the cows she is showing
are kept so clean.
“1 don’t leave them lay in ma
nure," she says. “1 pitch the
stalls twice a day." Thus, no in
delible manure stains stick to the
hide.
It’s been a good career for the
20-year-old, 4-H’er who is show
ing her final year. She isn’t com
plaining about having owned
three grand champions during
that time.
Besides numerous trophies,
purple, blue, and red ribbons
seemingly hundreds representing
11 years of dairy projects dom
inate a large portion of the interi
or walls of Lowell and Phyllis
Thomas’s house. The testimoni
als overflowing from their
daughter's bedroom also deco
rate hall ways and the home of
fice. They are lined up on shelves
and according to size, occupy
floor space, too.
Before she was old enough to
show, Thomas used to envy Jeff
and Greg, her now-married elder
brothers and cousins who al
ready were showing animals. In
1990, her turn came.
“I started with a little March
calf and it just grew out of that,”
she says.
Mayday, an 89-point cow
bought to flush, in 1993 took
grand champion honors at the
Garrett County Holstein Show,
McHenry, Md.; the West Virgin
ia Black and White Show at
Jackson Mills; reserve champion
at the Somerset District Holstein
Show, and reserve champion at
the West Virginia State Fair in
Lewisburg.
Out of the five good eggs
flushed from Mayday one of the
heifer calves Mel-T Astre-
Mayday-ET was junior cham
pion at Garrett, Somerset, Jack
son Mills, and Lewisburg, in
1996.
Then, on to Harrisburg’s All-
American Junior Show where
the same animal took first place
and was named junior champi
on. “She did well. Everywhere
we went she excelled and won,”
In the office of Lowell and Phyllis Thomas is a sam
pling of ribbons and trophies won by their daughter, Me
linda since she started showing dairy animals in 1990.
Thomas said. “We decided to go
big-time."
So it was off to Louisville, Ky.
for the North American Interna
tional Livestock Exposition. The
heifer placed sixth in the open
show and third in the junior
show.
“The only thing 1 regret is we
didn’t take her to Madison to the
World Dairy Expo,” Thomas
says, retrospectively.
“It was the feeling of “I didn’t
buy her, she was bred and raised
here on the farm,”’ added Thom
as.
Tracy, a 91-point Foothill
daughter was 1994 grand cham
pion at Somerset District Hol
stein Show and Pansy, a 93-point
cow, in 1996, was grand champi
on at Garrett County; grand at
the West Virginia Black and
White Show and grand at Som
erset. Again, in 1997, Pansy was
grand champion at Garrett
County and Jackson Mills.
Thomas describes the traits
that generally characterize a
champion. “You have to have a
good tall, stylish cow with a good
high, wide rear udder and
smooth fore-udder placement
and good teat placement.
“You like them high and wide
because they can carry more
milk in their udder. More milk
means more money in your
pocket,” she says.
“1 have over SO-head of my
own,” Thomas says of Mel-T
Holsteins, the business name for
the registered herd she built from
flushing.
Meanwhile, the immediate
Thomas clan is cloistered on the
fringe of town, surrounded by
lush green acreage known to be
the Ward Thomas and Sons
Dairy. Ward Thomas is her
grandfather. About 1,000 acres
provide a vista of healthy stalks
of corn and other grains that
support about 191 head of milk
ing Holsteins.
At one time, Ward Thomas
and Sons owned and operated
the Grantsville Livestock Auc
tion, Grantsville, Md.
She says that Ezra “Mose”
Yoder, herdsman for the farm
has been a great help. “Mose
would find good cows and dad
and mom always supported me,”
she said gratefully, adding that
Ron Kling does the flushing.
Melinda Thomas is pictured with Trojan, the dairy animal the reserve junior champi
on at the Somerset District Holstein Show 2000 and grand champion at Garrett Coun
ty (Md.) Holstein Show, 2000.
Tanned to a light golden
brown from hours spent working
in the sunshine, from her side of
the white wrought-iron table on
the enclosed porch, Thomas
talked about what’s next as an il
lustrations career in 4-H closes.
She says one day she, herself,
may become a 4-H leader, but
not immediately. During sum
mer, she joins the farm’s work
force.
The extensive lawns, for in
stance, are hers to mow every
week, weed, operate field equip
ment and run errands, all of
which are significant contribu
tions to the overall picture. Cow
care, however, is her specialty.
“These cows are my hobby,”
she says, adding there also are
two horses kept for pleasure rid
ing.
Melinda Thomas loves to go pleasure riding on “Granny,” a Paint, left and “Sandy,” a
Morgan, at her home in Bruceton Mills, W. Va.
“Blue,” the Australian blue
heeler and constant companion
to Thomas goes everywhere she
goes including on the four-wheel
er.
The West Virginia University
junior has two years under her
belt in the way of an animal and
veterinary science major, how
ever, six more years of study are
required before the lover of ani
mals can expect to be a doctor of
veterinary medicine.
It is a lofty goal, but she says
the most disliked subjects are
now behind her.
She is able to maintain a high
grade point average that, repeat
edly, finds her name on the
Dean’s list and this fall term of
classes will benefit from the
awarding of two separate schol
arships.
Strongly drawn to the sport of
womens’ softball, Thomas joined
a league. She has played high
school fast pitch, and when a
senior, attended the World Series
of fast pitch softball, she said.
Rarely does Thomas fall prey
to discouragement the only
thing that dampens her usually
bright spirits, is a bad grade on a
college exam. She also treasures
solitude.
The important things Thomas
says are getting through school
and one day getting married.
In that case Thomas may re
quire the services of a maid. She
says, afterall “It’s hard for me to
do anything in the house. I pre
fer the outdoors.”