Cream of the showmanship crop

MARSHFIELD, Wis. — The year was 1950. Harry Truman was in the White House, North Korea invaded South Korea and McCarthyism began. The Peanuts comic strip first appeared in newspapers and Silly Putty landed on store shelves. In central Wisconsin, three brothers achieved a feat yet unmatched — August, Ron and Roger Heeg all topped their individual showmanship classes in competition at the Central Wisconsin State Fair.

“We were competitive; it was our life, and if we were going to do something, we wanted to do it well,” said August, the eldest brother. “But we didn’t work to try and beat each other. You can’t be competitive against your brothers.”

In those days, the Heegs said there were three showmanship classes at their local fair: a junior class for showmen under 12 years of age; a senior class for those over 12; and an additional class for previous winners.

At the fair 75 years ago, August topped the senior division and Roger took first prize in the junior class. Ron won the division created for those who had previously won the other divisions.

“I’m highly motivated by winning,” Ron said. “That was my favorite part of the fair. I had this attitude that I wasn’t going to get beat, especially in showmanship — that was really my thing.”

Ron said he never felt he did anything special while competing in showmanship; it was just a natural aptitude.

“I was able to stay calm, I didn’t get nervous or tense,” Ron said. “Dairy showmanship was easy for me. I also did sheep and pigs at the same time; those showmanship contests were harder for me. I just kept watching and learning, seeing what the best showmen did. I eventually won those contests, too. Showmanship was just something I had a knack for, no matter what the animal was.”

August recalled the honor of his skills being appreciated by the judge of the 1950 fair.

“The judge that year was Harvey Schwartz who was a nationally accredited judge,” August said. “He judged the show in Waterloo, (Iowa) and here he was, in Marshfield, Wisconsin, picking us to win showmanship. That made it special for me.”

All three brothers agreed that showing dairy cattle has changed since their 4-H days.

“Oh, the tremendous changes with the hairdos on the animals,” Roger said. “We had our way of doing it — we were the best clipper men at that time. Mind you, we got hired for all the sales around. We clipped the animals and did the best we could — and I couldn’t think of clipping them like this.”

One thing that has not changed in the past 75 years is the work that has to be put in ahead of the fair, the brothers said.

“We led them, up and down the road,” Ron said. “We were on a town road; they got lots of exercise and walking them (on) that helped keep their feet in good shape.”

The brothers said they competed at the fair that year with registered Holsteins.

“That was maybe our second or third year that we had registered cattle and came to the fair,” Roger said. “We weren’t great, by any means, but it turned out we won — one, two, three. The newspaper took our picture, back in those days that was big news; they put everything in the paper.”

The photo featured the animals they had won with and the three brothers sporting matching T-shirts reading, “Holsteins — the breed of the future.”

This year, the three brothers recreated the photo at the Wisconsin Holstein Association District 4 Holstein Show in Neillsville. New shirts were printed and the three men posed with heifers being exhibited by August’s grandchildren.

“It was lucky, kind of unique,” Ron said. “It probably isn’t going to be repeated, so we can be halfway proud of it.”

The trio all remember their family’s first prized registered Holstein that was part of the original photo.

“Augie is leading that first animal that Pa bought at a sale by Auburndale,” Roger said. “Her name was Mapleburn. We never forget Mapleburn. She was a really good one. She went to the state fair. I don’t remember the name of the heifer I had; I think she was homebred.”

With their roots firmly established in dairy farming, all three brothers launched dairy farming careers of their own after their father sold his herd in the mid-1950s.

Roger and Ron began farming together on a small farm across the road from the home farm, where they had room in the barn for 22 cows. The pair worked together until the mid-1960s, when they split their assets and ventured off on their own farms. Ron milked a herd of 200 cows and Roger’s family developed a 70-cow herd of registered Holsteins, which was dispersed in 1994.

August and his wife, Joanne, launched their dairy farming career on a small farm in the Wood County township of Richfield. They then moved to a farm near the Clark County village of Unity, where they would build their own herd of registered Holsteins.

“My dad was a good cattleman, and I married a woman whose dad was a cattle dealer,” August said. “It was in the cards to keep breeding and raising good cows.”

Unbeknownst to August and Joanne, they would fight the ravages of stray voltage for more than 20 years on their Clark County farm before discovering what lay at the cause of many of their struggles. Eventually August and his sons merged their individual farms in Marathon County, near Colby, where they now milk 1,400 cows.

All three remain active helping to operate the farms where they made their livelihoods, and the fair has remained a part of Heeg family traditions. Roger served as a long-time dairy cattle superintendent and now they all enjoy watching as the next generation of Heegs continue that passion.

“My granddaughter and grandson are showing now and doing well,” August said. “They had junior champion of the junior show at the Wisconsin Championship show, which tickled us pink.”

Although time has passed, each of the brothers said they still remember the thrill of competing as 4-H members, like it was yesterday

“We always had that picture of when we won, but we had always thought we looked the same,” Roger said. “When they decided we should reenact it, with the shirts and all, and we got to realizing it was 75 years ago — that doesn’t even seem possible. But that’s because it’s something we loved so much.”