Cowabunga!

From our current affairs editor, Lemuel Stuart III:

“Lum may yer lang reek!” That’s the official greeting for Cow Appreciation Day – and the true and correct Cow Appreciation Day is July 15th.  Don’t be fooled by specious attempts by some fast food chain to change the date in order to sell more chicken! 
 
The history of CAD – established as July 15th by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) – can be found HERE.

Cow Appreciation Day is co-sponsored by the American Library Association, and following the day's annual Parade of the Librarians, libraries across the United States provide cow rides for children of all ages throughout the day!

Above left:  A librarian on the grounds of the Yale University Library provides children cow rides on Cow Appreciation Day.  Above right:  The ALA Cow Training Center on the grounds of the national headquarters of the American Library Association.

Below left:  "The pedigree of prairies," one of Emmett Lee Dickinson's many poems about cows.  Below right:  Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem, "The pedigree of honey."

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
 
The pedigree of prairies
Does not concern the cow;
A clover, any time, to her
Is heavenly and how.
​

By Emily Dickinson:
 
The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
​

Earlier this month, members of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts (DOPE) traveled to Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland, one of Emmett Lee Dickinson's favorite places.  Our travelogue, "Say Cheese," is HERE.   

As part of our trip, we met with Ms. Ada Bricklebank-Grainger, the Secretary of Tourism and Agricultural Affairs for the state of Wisconsin.  Ms. Bricklebank-Grainger obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in the hospitality industry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin, and she went on to earn a master's degree in Tourism Analytics and Revenue Management at the Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. 

Pictured at the right:  Ada Bricklebank-Grainger, the Secretary of Tourism and Agricultural Affairs for the state of Wisconsin. 

In our discussions with Ms. Bricklebank-Grainger, we discussed the noticeable – and alarming -- lack of cows in our travels through the state.  She noted that the dearth of bovines, known as the Great Cow Shortage of the Twenty-Teens, was due to the immigration and resettlement of many cows in the Milk Belt of Europe.
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“The consumption of milk has declined drastically in the United States and all of North America,” said Ms. Bricklebank-Grainger.  “Children now drink more and more juice pouches, thanks to the Lactose Intolerance Scare of the 90’s and Twenty-Aughts.”

On July 15th, be sure to raise a glass -- a glass of milk -- to toast the cows of America on Cow Appreciation Day!

Below:  Beatrice the Cow, mascot at the University of Wisconsin's Memorial Library in Madison.