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New kids at Flat Rock

Shamrock and Shadow are seventh generations of Lillian Sandburg's award winning goat herd.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 13, 2013

Two new Toggenburg doe kids arrived at Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site on April 1.

The three-week old kids, Houyhnhnm Sweet Little Heart and Houyhnhnm Sweet Dancer, nicknamed Shamrock and Shadow, were purchased because they are direct descendants of Mrs. Sandburg's award winning Toggenburg doe, Jennifer II.

 

Each doe is a 7th generation descendant from Jennifer II, who in 1960, produced 5,750 pounds of milk in 10 months which averaged to be 2.5 gallons of milk each day. Her production record was the top all-breed record in the United States and the top Toggenburg record in the world. The does were purchased from a herd owned by June Meacham in St. Johns, Arizona, and was made possible through support from the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara.

June Meacham's Toggenburg herd has been raised as a closed herd for 30 years. The connection with Lillian Sandburg's prize-winning Jennifer II, came when she acquired a Toggenburg herd from Helen Hunt, who had worked for many years directly with Mrs. Sandburg and had purchased goats from her when Carl Sandburg passed away in 1967. The park acquired its first Toggenburg goats from Helen Hunt when it reintroduced goats to the site in the early 1970's. While all the Connemara Farms goats retain a bloodline directly from Mrs. Sandburg's herd, it is exciting when such a close connection can be made and reintroduced to the park. Visitors are welcome to visit with Shamrock and Shadow this spring at the barn.

This program is supported by the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Henderson County Center. Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, was authorized October 17, 1968, and celebrates it's 45th Anniversary this year. The park, three miles south of Hendersonville off U.S. 225 on Little River Road, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.