"The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore, and dark-color’d sea-rocks, and of hay in the barn;"

Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman

Sam and John on January 5, 2005
Sam and John on October 4, 2004. This was their second day in a yoke

I purchased Sam and John in October, 2004, from one of the best ox drovers in America, Howie VanOrd, of Russell Pennsylvania. Sam and John are registered American Milking Devon steers. Devons are the oldest known British breeds in America. In 1623, two heifers and a bull from north Devonshire, England, were received by a member of the Plimoth Colony. They were the first importation of cattle from Britain, although the Spanish had introduced cattle in the south. Devons were then and still are prized for their intelligence and quickness of foot.

I immediately found good support not only from Howie, but also from the folks in the Mid-West Ox Drovers Association.

Currently Sam and John are " in class" nearly every day and I am looking forward to taking them "on the road." The plan is to utilize them in living history programs and in teaching students to appreciate the role of oxen in the making of America.

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If you have any questions about oxen or how a novice trains oxen, please contact me. I may not know the answer, but will likely know someone who does.

Here we are at:
"Lore of the Laughery" in August, 2005
and
Friendship Fall shoot, September 2005

Here is info about the "Lore"
and
Koh-Koh-Mah Living History

Here are some pictures of Devon cattle taken at M.J. Knight's farm at the 2005 fall meeting of the American Milking Devon Association, ( Sam and John were born on the farm)