Harold Larkin Beecher ^{1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13}

   FamilySearch ID: L6B9-XZW.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Census in 1930 in Bethlehem Twp., Cass, IN. ⁵ The 1930 census recorded Clinton E. Beecher, 45, living with wife Grace H., 40; Merrill, 18; Elaine, 17; Everett, 16; Marion, 13; Maxine, 11; Carr, 8; Harriett, 6; Harold Larkin, 2; and Alma Jean, 0. Everyone was born in Indiana.

2. Census in 1940 in Twelve Mile, Cass, IN. ¹⁵ The 1940 census recorded Clinton E. Beecher, farmer, 55, living with wife Grace H., 50; Carl E., farm hand, 18; Harriett L., 16; H. Larkin, 12; and Jean A. 10. Everyone was born in Indiana and lived in the same place in 1935.

3. Occupation: farmer on 29 Jan 1948 in Peru, Miami, IN.

4. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: Divorce of Charlene L. Beecher against Harold L. Beecher, 2 Aug 1949, Logansport, Cass, IN. ³ Suit for divorce has been filed, in Miami circuit court here by Charlene L. Beecher, of Jefferson township, against Harold L. Beecher. They were married January 24, 1948. The plaintiff seeks custody of a son, support allowance of $15 a week, ownership of the household goods and $100 attorney fees.

5. Census in 1950 in Adams Twp., Cass, IN. ¹⁶ The 1950 census recorded Clinton E Beecher, farmer, 65, living with wife Grace H., 60, and son Larkin H., shipping clerk for furniture company, 22. Everyone was born in Indiana.

6. Residence: on 27 Jul 1954 in Macy, Miami, IN. ¹²

7. Residence: on 13 Nov 1954 in Dayton, Tippecanoe, IN. ¹⁷

8. Occupation: Harold and Norma Jean raised prize-winning Holstein milk cows in 1960 in , Cass, IN. ¹

9. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: Beecher Family Meets for Reunion, 12 Aug 1981, Logansport, Cass, IN. ¹⁸ The Clinton E. and Grace H. Condon Beecher family reunion was held at Riverside Park recently.
Those attending from Logansport were: Mr. and Mrs. Jack Morris, Fred Klepinger and family and Maxine Johnson and Randy.
Others attending were: Carr Beecher, president; Dorthann Beecher, secretary, of Denver, and granddaughters of Butte, Mont.; Rich Robbins and family, Denver; Maxine Beecher, Indianapolis; Laverne Beecher and family, Elwood; Fred Beecher and family and Terry Beecher and family, LaCrosse.
Also, Bruce Beecher and family, Eugene Beecher and family and Everett Beecher and family, Wanatah; John Doll and family, Mary Doll and Jackie Culver and John Jr., Union Mills; Randy Pickering and family, Valparaiso; Jim Morris and family, Bryan, Ohio; Frank Brown and family, Mr. and Mrs. Larkin Beecher and Sherry and Shirley, Rochester; and Mr. and Mrs. Merrill Grable, Twelve Mile.

10. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: photo and story about Harold Beecher's cow, Beecher Arlinda Ellen, 7 Mar 1983, Logansport, Cass, IN. ¹⁹ (PHOTO) Owner Harold Beecher with Beecher Arlinda Ellen
Rochester Holstein Queen Of Dairy Cows Comes Home
ROCHESTER - Beecher Arlinda Ellen, queen of the dairy cows, has come home. Born and raised in a Quonset barn on the Harold Beecher farm southeast of Rochester, Ellen skyrocketed to fame in 1975 when she produced a record 50,314 pounds of milk in a 305 day period and a total of 55,660 pounds in a 365-day period. Subsequently, the Holstein earned a place in the 1979 Guinness Book of World Records, and the Beecher farm has not been the same since. Thousands of visitors have journeyed to the farm to view Ellen, queen of the bovines, who is now is semi-retirement. For the past year and a half, Ellen has participated in an embryo-transfer program at the American Embryos facility in Midville, Mich. Researchers hoped she could produce a female offspring with her mother's milk-giving capacity. Embryo-transfer is employed to produce "litters" in cows, and obtain progeny from valuable but infertile cows. It involves the process of removing a fertilized egg from a genetically superior donor cow and transplanting it in the uterus of a recipient, a less expensive virgin heifer, who need not be of superior genus. In Ellen's case, the first step of the process has been successful. One pregnancy has resulted. With her mission accomplished, Ellen is back home and the recipient cow who carries Ellen's calf is receiving attentive care at the Beecher farm in anticipation of the expected birth about January 14. Dr. Brad Krehl, veterinarian, of Corunna, who participated in Ellen's embryo-transfer program, is tending the expectant mother. Norman and Harold Beecher and their eight children embraced Ellen on her return home as though she were a long-lost member of the family. "It's nice to have her back," Beecher said. "When she was away, we weren't sure how she was being treated, Now she's here, we know how she's being taken care of." Ellen's diet now differs drastically from that which she enjoyed six years ago at the age of six. She still has the insatiable appetite to which her record lactation has been attributed, but because of her age she is now allotted about one-seventh the amount of food she gorged in her prime. Whereas, previously, she consumed as much as 60 pounds of protein grain plus an additional 70 pounds of alfalfa hay daily, she is now allotted only eight pounds of grain and 10 pounds of hay, "to keep the weight off her legs," Beecher explained. Ellen now has a select stall in the new 42-foot by 260-foot metal barn which connects with a 42-foot by 96-foot building which houses a milk bulk tank and a modern paneled office. "We're going on four years here," Beecher laughed, gesturing toward the new facility. Our friends call it the house that Ellen built. In order to keep milking stalls full, the Beechers maintain 160 head of cattle, so there is a replacement for each of the 80 milkers. Will Ellen's new-born calf be a bull or a heifer? "Either way," Beecher said, "we won't be disappointed." One can feel an aura of excitement around the Beecher farm as the time draws near. Bull or heifer, one thing is certain. At 12 years of age, as of Feb. 26, Ellen has lived up to her royal status. She will leave a heritage to be carried on with the hope that someday another might equal Queen Ellen's claim to fame.

11. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: Beecher Family Reunion Held At Riverside Park, 14 Jul 1983, Logansport, Cass, IN. ²⁰ Members of the Clinton E. Beecher family met for a reunion at Riverside Park.
Those attending the event Sunday included Mr. and Mrs. Jack Morris, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Klepinger and Jim and Eric, and Maxine Johnson and Randy, all of Logansport; Mr. and Mrs. Carr Beecher, Paula Wiltshire, Jane Robins and Kim Robins, all of Denver; and Shirley Beecher and Sherry Beecher, West Lafayette.
Others attending were Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Shafer, Royal Center; Mr. and Mrs. Merrill Grable, Twelve Mile; Mr. and Mrs. Harold Beecher and Pat, Rochester; Mr. and Mrs. Laverne Beecher and Deanna, Elwood; Maxine Beecher, Indianapolis; and Mr. and Mrs. Everett Beecher and Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Beecher and Tonya, Wanatah.

12. Residence: on 14 Jul 1983 in Rochester, Fulton, IN. ²⁰

13. Newspaper: Pharos-Triibune: photo Harold Beecher: Harold Beecher, Fulton County dairy farmer, can generate enough electric power with this 35kw generator to keep his large operation going in the event of a blackout., 15 May 1985, Logansport, Cass, IN. ²¹

14. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: Harold L. Beecher's Supercow, 14 Oct 1987, Logansport, Cass, IN. ²² Fulton County Cow Owners Say 'Outstanding Individual' Best Term For Super Milk Producer

ROCHESTER, Ind. (UPI) - Harold L. Beecher says he didn't feed anything special to Beecher Arlinda Ellen to make the Holstein cow produce more milk than any cow in the world.

But she did help herself to a dietary supplement - all the sour green apples she could reach on a tree in the Beechers' farmyard.

Ellen broke the 50,000 pound a year barrier when she produced a record 55,660 pounds of milk in 1975 on the Beechers' 350-acre dairy farm in north central Indiana.

She has kept the title of world's champion milk producer every year since then, as verified by milk yield tests performed by the Dairy Herd Improvement Association.

Purdue University agricultural extension agents measure the yields and determine the butterfat and protein contents. The yearly yield average is extrapolated from this.

To prevent fakery, the Holstein-Friesian Association of America sends out surprise checkers to make sure nobody fudges on the records.

Ellen, who is registered with the association, was tested 12 times by extension agents and nine times by the association's checkers before she was awarded the title, Beecher said.

Beecher, 53, his wife, Norma Jean, and their eight children regard Ellen as an "outstanding individual." They dislike the terms "perfect cow" and "supercow," which many have used to describe her capacity to produce three times the usual yield of milk.

"She is an individual," Beecher said. "There's no other way to describe her because there never was one like her before."

"Genetically, she had the makeup to be a real fine milk cow. But why she's three times better than most is still a mystery," Beecher said.

He credits Ellen with winning the title herself, maintaining he gave her no exotic feed.

"We didn't feed her anything but the basic stuff," Beecher said. "She had to do a lot of it on her own."

Unless, of course, those sour green apples were part of the magic.

Ellen's fame has drawn thousands of visitors to the Beechers' farm near Rochester.

The Beechers have shared meals with many an unexpected visitor, and even booked a bus for one.

They still keep a guest book for visitors to sign, but stopped counting a long time ago. Beecher estimated 8,000 people have made the trek to see Ellen.

"We've had people from 50 different countries and it hasn't slowed down much. Every year, we're amazed at how many people come to the farm and call about her," he said.

Agricultural delegations from Russia and Poland, dairy farmers from all over, vacationing extension agents and agricultural trainees from other countries still come.

Beecher said many agricultural trainees "get.in an old jalopy and travel around the country looking at cows. Most are Japanese. We can't communicate very well with some of them."

Many are disappointed when they learn Ellen isn't home.

After her victory, Ellen was removed from an old barn into a newer one, complete with her own box stall. But since April of 1979, she has been at American Embryos Inc., in Middleville, Mich. The Beechers placed her there because she hasn't borne any offspring since 1977.

Workers at American Embryos have been implanting her fertilized eggs in several other cows,. through a process commonly called "super ovulation." Beecher said one of the recipients is expected to calve in January.

Of her eight offspring, four bulls are "in service" at an artificial insemination plant, trying to reproduce more cows just like mama.

Beecher is upset with the arguments of writers like Mark Kramer, whose book "Three Farms: Making Milk, Meat and Money from the American soil," argues that dairy breed improvements put poorer fanners out of business.

Kramer's book argues such improvement "forces all farmers, regardless of Inclination, to participate in a mad race to keep up with the Beechers."

"I don't think any dairy farmer went out of business here," Beecher said. "It's easy to blame someone else for your own failure." Ellen has been a money maker. In 1975 she earned a net of $3,500, and she has made a lot of money for the Beechers ever since.

But she means more than fame and fortune to the Beechers, who regard her as one of the family.

They visited Ellen in August, and even after a, year's absence, Beecher said, Ellen was "affectionate" and seemed to recognize the family.

15. Residence: in 1988 in Rochester, Fulton, IN. ⁴

16. Residence: on 3 Apr 1969 in Rochester, Fulton, IN. ²³

17. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: Beecher Reunion, 22 Sep 1994, Logansport, Cass, IN. ²⁴ Those attending the Beecher reunion, held June 28, at the home of Fred and Jean Klepinger, 715 Davis Road, were: Maxine and Randy Johnson, Harriett and Jack Morris, Fred, Jean, Jim and Eric Klepinger, all of Logansport; Esther Beecher, Elaine Shafer, Ken, Connie, Jacob and Amy Phillips, all of Royal Center; George Beecher, Donna and Tammy Antonides, all of Warsaw; W. V. and Rosemarie Beecher, Vincennes; Carr and Ann Beecher, Jane and Rich Robbins, all of Denver; Merrill and Jean Grable, and Larkin and Norma Jean Beecher, all of Twelve Mile; LaVern Beecher, Indianapolis; Fred and Pat Beecher, Russ, Julia, Terra and Cathilyn Domermuth and Jenna Beecher, all of LaCrosse; Helen Hull, Edwardsburg, Mich.; Bruce, Kathy, Olivia and Alan Beecher, all of Wanatah; and Stanley Beecher, Fort Wayne.

18. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: Anniversaries: Beecher 45th, 2 Jul 1995, Logansport, Cass, IN. ⁹ (Photo of Harold and Norma Beecher)
Beecher 45th
Harold and Norma Beecher, 8751 Ind. 16E, Twelve Mile, will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary with an open house. It will be held from 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday, July 9, at Corinth Brethren Church, two miles south of Ind. 16, on 900E. They will repeat their wedding vows at 3 p.m.
Harold Larkin Beecher and Norma Jean Knauff were married July 9, 1950, in the home of the bride's parents in Perrysburg. Officiating at the private ceremony was the Rev. G.L. Maus.
He is a retired dairy man.
They have eight children, Stanley, Steven and Paul, all of Twelve Mile, Susan, Indianapolis, Sherry Brunden, Cleveland, Ohio, Scott, Howe, Shirley Ott, Logansport, and Patricia Webb, Valparaiso, and two grandchildren.
The couple request that gifts be omitted.

19. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: Beecher 45th, 2 Jul 1995, Logansport, Cass, IN. ²⁵ (photo of Harold and Norma Beecher)
Harold and Norma Beecher, 8751 Ind. 16E, Twelve Mile, will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary with an open house. It will be held from 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday, July 9, at Corinth Brethren Church, two miles south of Ind. 16, Sn 900E. They will repeat their wedding vows at 3 p.m. Harold Larkin Beecher and Norma Jean Knauff were married July 9,1950, in the home of the bride's parents in Perrysburg. Officiating at the private ceremony was the Rev. G.L. Maus. He is a retired dairy man. They have eight children, Stanley, Steven and Paul, all of Twelve Mile, Susan, Indianapolis, Sherry Brunden, Cleveland, Ohio, Scott, Howe, Shirley Ott, Logansport, and Patricia Webb, Valparaiso, and two grandchildren. The couple request that gifts be omitted.

20. Newspaper: Pharos-Tribune: Beecher Family Reunion, 20 Jul 1997, Logansport, Cass, IN. ²⁶ The Beecher Reunion was held June 29, at the home of Fred and Jean Klepinger, 715 Davis Road.
Attending were Jack and Harriet Morris, Randy and Maxine Johnson, Fred, Jean, Eric and Jim Klepinger, all of Logansport; George Beecher, Donna and Tammy Antonides, all of Warsaw; Laverne and Becky Beecher, Indianapolis; Elaine Shafer and Esther Beecher, Royal Center; Carr and Ann Beecher, Denver; Larkin and Norma Jean Beecher, Jean and Merrill Grable, all of Twelve Mile; Robert and Helen Hull, Edwardsburg, Mich; Fred and Pat Beecher, La Crosse; Terry Pickering, Valparaiso; and Everett and Lillie Beecher, Wanatah.

21. Residence: on 22 Sep 1998 in Twelve Mile, Cass, IN. ²⁴

22. Obituary: Pharos-Tribune: obituary of Harold Larkin Beecher on 14 Feb 2012 in Logansport, Cass, IN. ¹⁴ LOGANSPORT - Harold Larkin Beecher, 84, Logansport, and formerly of Twelve Mile and Rochester, passed away at 11 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, at Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne.

Born May 2, 1927, in Cass County, he was the son of the late Clinton E. and Grace Condon Beecher. On July 9, 1940, in Perrysburg, he was married to Norma Jean Knauff, and she preceded him in death on May 1, 2006.

He was a member of Corinth Brethren Church, near Twelve Mile. He graduated from Twelve Mile High School in 1945. He was a longtime dairy farmer in Fulton County and was best known as the breeder of Beecher Arlinda Ellen who was the world milk production champion in 1975 and held that record for the next 19 years. He was a longtime active member of the Indiana State Holstein Association.

Survivors include eight children, Stanley Beecher and his wife, Barb, Fort Wayne, Steven Beecher and his wife, Libby, Brattleboro, Vt., Susan Beecher, Indianapolis, Sherry Brunden and her husband, Kurt, Media, Pa., Scott Beecher and his wife, Lisa, Howe, Shirley Ott and her husband, Eric, Logansport, Paul Beecher and his wife, Joyce, Craigville, and Patricia Webb and her husband, Warren, Valparaiso; eight grandchildren, Casey and Tori Ott, Terry and Jon Boggs, Larkin Webb, Nils Brunden, and Keegan and Ridley Beecher; one great-granddaughter, Adelyn Grace Ott; five stepgrandchildren; and eight stepgreat-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Corinth Brethren Church with Pastor Ben Pippen officiating. Burial will follow in Corinth Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday at McClain Funeral Home, Denver.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Corinth Brethren Church, American Heart Association, or Salvation Army.

Harold married Norma Jean Knauff, daughter of Harry Elvin Knauff and Audra Viola Grandstaff, on 9 Jul 1950 in Perrysburg, Miami, IN.^{1 2} (Norma Jean Knauff was born on 1 Mar 1929 in Perrysburg, Miami, IN,^{1 2 7 27 28} died on 1 May 2006 in Logansport, Cass, IN ^{2 27} and was buried on 5 May 2006 in Twelve Mile: Corinth Brethren Church, Cass, IN ^{2 27}.)

Harold next married Charlene L. Sheets, daughter of Harry Sheets and Esther M. Snodgrass, on 24 Jan 1948 in Peru, Miami, IN.³ The marriage ended in divorce in Sep 1949. (Charlene L. Sheets was born on 5 Feb 1929 in Rochester, Fulton, IN,^{29 30} died on 18 Jan 2009 in Orange Beach, Baldwin, AL ^{29 30} and was buried on 26 Jan 2009 in Peru: Mount Hope Cemetery, Miami, IN ²⁹.)