The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
What is in a name?
A name is only a combination of 26 letter options and yet can carry with it a history and a destiny. A name is a special gift that may have been handed down for generations or created just for you. I know that is not much consolation if your name is Mildred or Dweezle…but at least no one will forget the unique person with the unique name. (Dweezle is rocker Frank Zappa’s son) I am named after my dad’s second cousin’s daughter. I have never met my namesake but have seen pictures of a mature and sophisticated woman. I can only hope I age as gracefully.
It is unusual for me to run into another Natalie. I am almost surprised and shocked to think someone else has “my” name. Do Mark’s and Katie’s have the same strange feeling of meeting someone else with “their” name? Do our personalities grow into our names or do our names shape our personalities? You know some names are just meant for some people. I know Jim and James and neither shall be called the other’s name. Then there is Michael. There just seems to be a certain personality that fits this name. But how do we get it right when they are babies and try to pick the perfect name that will be with them for the rest of their lives?
Naming cattle on our farm is a much easier task, but taken just as seriously as selecting a child’s name. The name must fit the animal and her family. Naming calves is an adventure for Mark, Katie and I. We sit down at the table with sheets of collected ideas for names and a dictionary that is three inches thick! I know some people use a baby book of names for ideas and others just invent a word to start with a specific letter for their cow family.
When the children were in elementary school, the teachers were surprised at their vocabulary and how well they understood what action verbs and adjectives were. Well, those were the words on the cow barn signs they were “reading” every night at milking time. Katie and Austin would practice writing the names of all the cows in the barn on brown paper milking towels. Who says school is only from 8:30 to 3:00?
Since we have registered Holsteins, every animal on the farm is named including cats, rabbits and the dog. Some names can be clever and cute. Hugs, Tickle, Giggles, and Snickers. Swish, Swat, Twist and Twirl or twins Rifle and Revolver from Trigger. Of course there is First, Second and Third as well.
When a cow has one calf a year, it can be pretty easy to pick the perfect name and even easier when they only have bull calves. Because we do embryo transfer work, we end up with several animals to name at once from the same cow. Talk about a scramble to find a combination of words with a common letter or theme. Last year during an August storm, a heifer calf was born. Katie was inspired by the timing and named the calf and her ET sisters: Cyclone, Commotion, Chaos, Confusion, Chapel and Church. Four were born near or during the storm, while the others were born in the quiet lull before the storm. It appears that some of them are aptly named as they dart about the pens with a wild stormy look in their eyes.
Finding the perfect name for our children or our cattle is challenging, yet rewarding. When we hear their names called as a Princess Kay finalist, a high school graduate or a Grand Champion we are filled with such emotions that we let out a yelp of joy at their accomplishments. The sound of their names being called assures us we found the right combination of letters to send them off on future to create a name for themselves.
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As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark are starting a new adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.
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