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Post by jamshundred on May 16, 2016 11:37:06 GMT
I was returning from my trip to the Legacy Preserve in WVa Saturday evening when I passed a field of cattle grazing an estate along Route 7 in Berryville Va. I was admiring them in my dull white-line fever-induced semi-comatose state of boredom when my brain snapped to attention on the lead cow in the pasture, a dark cow with a solid white stripe along the backbone, and I realized I was witnessing first hand a miracle of preservation success.......a portion of the Randall Linebacks located in Virginia. As soon as I could make a U-turn I did so and slowly drove by the herd again. What a delight to witness in person!
It is so important to retain foundation genetics of a breed and not lose unique traits.
If you are located in an area that would make a Sunday outing to Berryville possible it would make a great weekend or day trip. Berryville is a quaint little town as is Purcellville a short distance further up the highway. Turn off at the road that runs by the plant/garden store and you will pass the Dexters of Dog Run farm before you reach the Civil War memoralized Shenandoah River on your historical outing.
judy
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Post by genebo on May 16, 2016 16:12:36 GMT
The Randall Lineback started a comeback after the publicized taste-test that the ALBC held a few years ago. They included beef from many rare breeds, including Dexters. A Hereford and an Angus were included as a comparison.
All the attendees were given small cubes to taste, identified by number, and were asked to vote on their preference.
Every one of the animals were raised on the same farm and ate the same feed. All the beef was cooked by the same hands. It was as equal as they could make it.
In the vote count, only 3 types of beef received any first-place votes and they finished 1, 2, 3 in total votes. They were the Randall Lineback, the old fashioned Galloway (not the belted kind) and the Dexter. Neither Angus nor Hereford got a single first place vote.
The comment was made that most of us would never even see a Randall Lineback, there were so few of them left. It is satisfying to hear that there are herds that are flourishing.
It gives us hope for Legacy and Traditional Dexters.
If you do get to Berryville, be sure and visit North American Breeders. It is a world-class facility for livestock reproduction services.
Thank you, Judy, for alerting us to this.
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Post by karenp on May 22, 2016 2:02:21 GMT
There is a herd of line backs near us as well, just over the line in Maryland.
A non-cow related plug for Berryville, Va is is home to Locke's mill, which belonged to my great grandfather.
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Post by jamshundred on May 22, 2016 17:45:24 GMT
I am going to make it a point to visit Karen. I enjoy all things old. There is a neat old fashioned bookstore in downtown Berryville, and a quaint restaurant near it where my grandson swears he got the best burger he ever ate! Speaking of historical, the drive around the battlefields in Gettysburg is memorable, and some of us swear you can see puffs of smoke from the muskets of the soldiers lyong behind the stone fortifications, and I always stop to marvel the famous Traveler, the horse bred by my 4great grandfather Johnston in what was then the Blue Sulphur area of Virginia is there is statue form with General Lee sitting majestically upon his back. After touring the battlefields drive into Gettysburg and have lunch or dinner at the Dobbin House. It is a stone house built about the time of the Revolutionary War and is a bread&breakfast and holds a museum of civil war time. The Dobbin house was a stop along the Underground Railroad and as you climb the stairs to the second floor you can open the small hidden door in the wood paneling along the wall to see the chamber where escaped slaves were hidden. That too, is a great day or week-end trip.
What about little known interesting historical places to visit where others of you have visited that you can tell us about?
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Post by genebo on May 22, 2016 19:24:32 GMT
Fort Monroe is in Hampton, VA. It is an old moated fort built after the burning of Washington, D.C. It was fortified with heavy brick walls and held some of the most powerful cannons of the time, capable of reaching the shipping channels of the Chesapeake bay and Hampton Roads.
The central parade ground is surrounded by huge cannons shaded by ancient live oak trees. Children of all ages love to climb on the cannons and sit on the spreading tree limbs.
After the civil war, CSA president Jefferson Davis was held there. Edgar Allan Poe served there in the Army.
Besides the expansive views of the harbor, there is one feature that captured my heart: The pet cemetery.
On top of the walls of the fort, military families have been burying their pets since the earliest days. Many gravestones have the date carved into them, along with fond words about the pet. It is a humbling solitary walk around the fort, stopping to read the memorials.
Fort Monroe was recently decommissioned by the Army and control was turned over to the City of Hampton, which is turning it into a park.
Fort Monroe is a two hour drive from Paradise Farm.
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