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In keeping with the spirit of the upcoming “Afternoon
at MacMurray Ranch” event scheduled for this November 11th, the
October 2006 Artifact of the Month is a 1950 promotional brochure
from Fred MacMurray’s Twin Valley Farm. Actor Fred MacMurray and
his first wife Lillian bought the former George Porter ranch on
Westside Road in 1941, adding several contiguous properties within a
few years to create a 2,400-acre working farm and cattle ranch in
Healdsburg. Fred MacMurray’s Twin Valley Farm at 9015 Westside Road
is now a vineyard, owned by Gallo of Sonoma, and operated under the
name “MacMurray Ranch.”
The Twin Valley
Farm booklet has a green card stock cover, ten photographs and 18
pages of text, held together by two staples. The 20-page booklet
measures 9” x 5.” This artifact was recently found in the
Healdsburg Museum document collection among other local advertising
brochures. Its donor is unknown. The booklet was printed and
produced by the Healdsburg Tribune in 1950. The title page
reads, “Twin Valley Milking Shorthorns, the Breed That Fills Every
Need.” |
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The
promotional brochure touts the many advantages of
Milking Shorthorns, “a breed of cattle that will
produce both Meat and Milk on a maximum of cheap
roughages and a minimum of costly concentrated
feeds.” Sections are devoted to such topics as:
“Origins of Milking Shorthorns,” “Why Use Milking
Shorthorns?” “Beef Value of Offspring,” “Salvage
Value of Cows.” The booklet includes photographs
of Fred MacMurray showing his prize cattle at the
1949 Grand National Exposition and the 1949 Cow
Palace. Photos also present some of the outstanding
Sires in Service and champion cows.
The
booklet promotes Twin Valley Farm cattle as
excellent examples of Milking Shorthorns and
described the farming operation at Twin Valley in
1948-50. Through the care of Herdsman Don L.
Nelson, the herd of Milking Shorthorns had been
developed to about 160 head. Approximately 50 cows
were being milked in a walk-through parlor and Grade
A milk was being sold through a local co-op.
Fred MacMurray and his family
encouraged prospective breeders to “please feel free
to call upon us at any time. Those traveling by
public conveyance will be gladly met at nearest
rail, air or bus depot.”
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