Heifer International celebrates 75 years of shipments in 2019

Even though the Heifer Project was birthed in 1942, Heifer International has for decades celebrated its anniversaries according to the date of their first shipment, July 14, 1944. Plans are in the works for celebrating their 75th anniversary this year. In honor of this anniversary, I’ll be sharing Heifer Project stories with you throughout the year along with seagoing cowboy stories.

Dan West, 1960. Photo by Kermon Thommason, courtesy of Brethren Historical Library and Archives.

For starters, I offer a challenge to all of you creatives out there! Coming off the holiday season is an appropriate time to share a delightful effort spearheaded by Heifer’s founder Dan West for Heifer’s 24th year. As I was researching his files at the Brethren Historical Library and Archives this past October, I came across a draft for words to a song Dan called “Twenty-four Years of Heifers” – to be sung to the tune of “Twelve Days of Christmas.”

At the end, Dan issued this challenge: “If you want to help this folksong to develop, you are welcome to try.”

So, dear creative readers! If you want to help this folksong (or any other) develop for Heifer’s 75th anniversary, you are welcome to try! I’d love to see what you come up with.

Here’s Dan’s draft:

TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF HEIFERS – a musical conversation

Several – maybe many authors
Tune: “Twelve Days of Christmas”

1. Four Solos: a. Puerto Rican, b. Japanese, c. (duet) Korean, d. Egyptian, e. Ecuadorean

   a. In the first year of heifers Somebody gave to me
       A healthy calf – and new responsibility
   b. In the third year of heifers Somebody gave to me
       A healthy doe – and new responsibility
   c. In the fifth year of heifers Somebody gave to me
       Plane loads of eggs – they hatched into chicks
       That laid a million eggs – and a new responsibility
   d. In the sixth year of heifers Somebody gave to me
       15 healthy chicks – and a new responsibility
   e. In the ? Year of heifers Somebody gave to me
       A healthy gilt – and a new responsibility.

2. Four ignorant persons (singly at first)

      a. What is a heifer?
      b. What is a dough?*
      c. What is a guilt?*
      d. Why did they give?

(then together): What new responsibility?

3. The six “foreigners” together

      “PASS ON THE GIFT”
      This is what they said When they gave to us
      Living gifts of love – with that new responsibility

4. All together

      We have seen in Heifer Project
      – a way of building health
      – source of animal protein
      – “Complete amino acids” (Prof. Anton Carlson, University of Chicago)
      – “Source of love and laughter” (St. Francis of Assisi)
      – “Help them help themselves” (Sir John Orr, FAO Director General)
      – Restore their self-respect
      – “Democracy in Action” (Douglas Henderson, U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia)

* misspelled intentionally

That’s where he stopped. In my next post, I’ll share the musical score for Dan and Company’s creation.