CHARLIE HAMILTON & “CHEERY” - Swiss Valley Farms

BUTTER SCULPTURES
to commemorate Iowa State Fair’s anniversary
page 8
Norma “Duffy” Lyon (1929 - )
Years at State Fair 1959 to present
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visit www.thebuttercowlady.com
“
Even if it’s to the point
where I sit and wrap up in a blanket
and watch and tell them what to do,”
Lyon said. “I can’t explain how good I
feel about doing this.
Duffy working on this year’s butter sculpture of
golf superstar Tiger Woods.
To help recognize the Iowa
State Fair’s 150th birthday,
Iowa’s renowned Butter Cow
Lady, Norma “Duffy” Lyon, exhibited a
hand-sculpted birthday cake and two
additional pieces made from approximately
1,000 pounds of butter.
An estimated one million fairgoers
converged on the State Fairgrounds
in Des Moines August 12 to 22 to bask
in the history, tradition and excitement
the Iowa State Fair offers. Much
of that enthusiasm stems from Duffy
Lyon’s butter creations: a cake, Jersey
cow, barn sculpture and golfer Tiger
Woods.
This Fair also marks Duffy’s 45th
year in which she has supported dairy
promotion and the Iowa State Fair.
“The butter cow sculpture continues
to be a favorite among fairgoers,” said
Kevin Stiles, Vice President of Marketing
and Corporate Communications
for Midwest Dairy Association. “Duffy’s
talent portrays our industry and dairy
products in a fun, yet positive light. We
strongly value Duffy’s continuing support
of the dairy checkoff.”
Duffy’s butter masterpieces reflect
dairy farmers and the dairy industry
because of the time, care and love put
into their creation. “We dairy farmers
know what it takes to create quality
products,” said Duffy. “It takes passion,
time and dedication to create the
best products, and butter sculptures
are no different. We love our cows and
take pride in producing quality dairy
products.”
The Fair and Duffy have more in
common than Iowa prestige; both
have achieved national publicity. USA
Weekend magazine, a publication distributed
to 600 newspapers nationwide,
ranked the Iowa Fair #2 on the
list of “Top 10 Places America Goes to
Have Fun.” Iowa’s ten-day event finished
second to Las Vegas, but beat
Times Square, Cedar Point Amusement
Park and Disneyland. Esquire
magazine also rated Iowa’s State Fair
the “Best State Fair” in a July 1st article
entitled “Fifteen Superlative Things to
Experience Before Labor Day.”
Duffy and her butter masterpieces
have been featured in TIME, People
and LIFE magazine. She has also made
appearances on the Today Show, the
Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the
Late Show with David Letterman.
Duffy’s talents have helped create extraordinary
media exposure for both
the Iowa State Fair and the dairy industry.
Duffy’s butter cow preparations
begin in mid-July with help from family
and friends. She hopes this year’s
sculptures will sufficiently commemorate
the 150th birthday of the fair,
while adequately representing the
pride and dedication of Iowa’s dairy
farmers.
“Duffy” Lyon with her second solo butter cow. Duffy assisted Frank
Dutt in 1959 before taking over in 1960.
SWISS VALLEY FARMS DAIRYMAN