Chapter 22
“Big Daddy”
David Younger was born September 23, 1917 in Arlington, Nebraska.
Times were tough on the farm as Younger reached adulthood. So in the early
1930’s when David’s father was offered a job with Ralph L. Smith in Missouri,
the offer was accepted and David went along to work for thirty dollars a month
plus room and board. Ralph L. Smith was a leading breeder of Percheron Horses,
Jersey Cattle and Duroc hogs. Younger’s job would be to work with the Percherons. Dave developed a talent of preparing the horses for an extended show circuit
traveling throughout the Mid-West by box car from Fargo, North Dakota, to Kansas City, Missouri and every state fair in between. Younger would leave the farm
in July and several years would not see his home bed again until after the Chicago
International.
It was at Chicago that Younger was spotted by the owner of Madrey Farms
in New York and offered an opportunity was offered for the young fellow from Nebraska to head east to New York. The empire state and Dave Younger would never
be the same. Dave arrived in New York December 7th, 1941 (Pearl Harbor Day).
It has been said “make plans and watch god laugh”. So showing was curtailed for
Madrey Farms. While only at Madrey a short while the farm was visited by Mr. Eli
Lily who was interested in fine show horses. Although Younger had hidden his best
group of mares, Lily discovered the horses and made a huge offer for them. Dave
would accompany the horses by rail to their new home in Indiana. Madrey Farms
then made a switch to Guernsey cattle in the late 1940’s and Dave would start a
Guernsey herd from scratch for them. In 1945 the farm was visited by Mr. Henry
Chrystal of Yorktown Heights who was also starting a Guernsey herd. Younger and
Chrystal hit it off from the start and Dave and his new bride Rose were offered a job
as the manager of Chrystal’s fledgling Hanover Hill Guernsey Farm in Yorktown
Heights, New York a suburb of New York City. Chrystal was making a fortune in
Radio advertising and wanted to develop his farm into a show place stocked with
the best Guernsey’s in the world. The partnership would last for thirty five years
until Henry Chrystals passing in 1975. Younger would stay with the farm for near
thirty years after Henry’s death. It was at Hanover Hill Guernsey’s that Younger
would become a fixture on the show circuit competing with McDonalds, and Woodacres (Woodacres owner Artherton Hobler was also in Radio advertising) in New
York and then knocking heads with Curtiss Candy and the Illinois group in the MidWest.
1955 Herdsmanship
Bernhardt Hellbusch, Ray Dugard, Dave Younger, Gene Nelson,
Allen Drake, Lyle Wappler & Jack Lang
Younger made friends wherever he went and was not only seen at the strap
of his Hanover Hill Cattle but could be seen showing Brown Swiss for his good
friend Vernon Hull and Holsteins for several of his pals he met along the road. The
Hanover Hill show circuit would start at one of the toughest County Fairs in the
world, The Dutchess County Fair at Reinbeck, New York which would see more
than 300 Guernsey’s at a county fair. From Reinbeck the herd would travel to Syracuse for the State Fair, Eastern States, Waterloo and then Chicago. Younger would
judge Guernsey’s at Waterloo in 1957 and be the first to make the famed Senecaside
Meryl the Grand Champion cow.
Senecaside Meryl
1957Grand Champion, Waterloo
A Hanover Hill string was always impressive and never a straw out of line.
When competing with the world’s finest herdsmen Younger would add several
herdsmen awards to his collection including “Waterloo”. David would be honored
with his Klussendorf in 1987 two years after his best friend Pete Heffering and a
year after another one of his close friends, Wayne Sliker.
3 Klussendorf winners at the halters of a winning McDonalds Dairy Herd.
Dave Younger, Henry Thomas and Vernon Hul
Upon Mr. Crystals passing the farm was sold to five bond brokers from New
York City for which the name Hilltop Hanover Holsteins was coined. Younger
would manage the farm for these partners for the next 25 years. Hilltop Hanover
would follow a very limited show circuit with champions at the New York State
Fair, New York Spring Holstein Show, Eastern States and World Dairy Expo. The
farm would run one of the most successful merchandising programs ever seen with
herd sales held every three to four years.
Dave & Rose Younger
While competing at the New York State Fair, David would become acquainted with a young fellow by the name of Peter Heffering and the two would
revolutionize the Holstein business with their partnership Hanover Hill Sales.
The sales company managed high profile sales during the investment era
in the Holstein breed. The company’s signature sales were the Designer Fashion
sales held at the state fairgrounds and the classic, which was held in Madison
Square Garden in 1983. The sale would average over $150,000 on 62 head and to
this day is considered the greatest Holstein Cattle sale ever.
Some notes about the Madison Square Garden Sale from David Younger:
Catering Bill was $160,000
At one time in his hotel room Younger had three phones ringing with
investors giving him more than 5 million dollars to spend.
When the sale was over every dime was collected within 2 weeks of the sale.
No person in the industry worked harder, had a better eye for a cow and could
handle clients any better than David Younger. As a salesmen he has no equal, as
a cowman, few were ever in his league and as a caretaker he set the bar high for
anybody that would follow. I have never met anyone like him and I know I never
will. From his colorful language, to his great lust for life and his tell it like it is
philosophy David Younger is definitely one of a kind.
David Younger
1987 KLussendorf Winner