Van Natta farm as it appears today
William S. Van Natta grave site
Immediately to the east of our farm and bounded by Kentland In. on the north, and Lafayette In. to the south, is an area that at one time was the center of the Hereford business in the U.S. One farm alone advertised 250 bulls for sale at one time and many bulls were shipped west from this area to convert the range herds to white faces. All that remains as a reminder of this era are some rail town names like Raub, Earl Park, Fowler, and Swanington and a big old monument over the gravesite of a bull called Perfection Fairfax. One of the central figures of this Hereford mecca was William S. Van Natta. He started in the Hereford business by managing the Fowler farms and later on established his own registered herd. He was one of the first Hereford breeders to be inducted into the Saddle and Sirloin club and was well respected by his peers in the cattle business. In 1903 he was asked to judge the Shorthorn show at the Chicago International which at that time used a 3 man judging system. When it came time to pick the champion bull, two judges picked one bull and Van Natta had another one in mind. Being out voted Van Natta's bull was placed in reserve and so upset was he with the decision that he refused to sign off on the judges book. The champion bull was shortly forgotten but Van Natta's choice, a bull called Whitehall Sultan became a great breeding bull and his descendants dominated the Shorthorn breed for the next 4 decades both in the ring and the field. And then one last time in the early 70's the old blood was called upon one more time to lead the breed out of the pony style dilemma that had nearly rendered the breed useless. They say history repeats itself, is there another good cattleman judge waiting in the wings ready to buck the crowd and act on his conviction?
