Grady the Cow facts for kids

Grady the Cow (born around 1943 – died July 24, 1961) became super famous! She was a huge cow, weighing about 1,200 pounds, who got stuck inside a tall storage building called a silo on a farm in Yukon, Oklahoma, back in 1949.

The Day Grady Got Stuck

On February 22, 1949, a six-year-old Hereford cow named Grady, who belonged to Bill and Alyene Mach, was having a difficult time giving birth. She was in a small shed next to a silo. Bill Mach called a veterinarian, Dr. D.L. Crump, to help. Dr. Crump tied Grady to a post so she would stay still.

When the vet was finished, Grady was untied. Suddenly, she spun around and started chasing Bill! He quickly jumped onto a pile of cottonseed sacks to get away. Grady then charged towards the only light in the shed. This light came from a small opening in the silo. The opening was only 17 inches wide and 25.5 inches high.

Bill Mach and Dr. Crump watched as Grady dove headfirst into the tiny silo opening. They saw a few red hairs stuck to the edge of the heavy steel silo door. Grady was inside the silo! The opening could not be made wider because it was surrounded by strong steel. Bill Mach did not want to tear down the silo because it was very valuable. He also did not want to sell Grady for meat, as she was worth over $1,000.

Asking for Help

Bill Mach asked for help through his local newspaper, and many people responded! Bill and his brother received 5,400 letters and 700 telegrams. These messages came from people in 45 states, Canada, and Germany. Phone calls, telegrams, and letters poured in. Curious people even started showing up at the Mach farm in cars and planes. Grady became a big news story. She was featured in famous magazines like Life and Time, and in newspapers all over the country.

People offered many different ideas to get Grady out of the silo. Some suggestions included using a pole to swing her out the top or digging a tunnel under the silo. One person even suggested bringing a handsome bull to the opening to tempt her out! An Air Force officer said he knew of a helicopter that could lift 1,200 pounds, but it was far away in San Marcos, Texas.

The Rescue Plan

Three days after Grady got stuck, Bill Mach received a call from Ralph Partridge. He was a farming editor for The Denver Post newspaper. Partridge told Mach he was coming to Yukon to help get Grady out of the silo.

Partridge oversaw the building of a ramp inside the silo, leading from the floor up to the opening. He then covered the ramp and the opening with thick axle grease. Partridge also smeared Grady with 10 pounds of axle grease! She was then fitted with two strong halters.

Dr. Crump suggested that Grady be milked before they tried to pull her out. So, J.O. Dickey Jr., a local vocational agriculture teacher, went into the silo and milked her. After Grady had been moved up to the opening, Dr. Crump gave her some medicine to help her relax. While men outside the silo pulled on ropes attached to her halters, Partridge and J.O. Dickey Jr. pushed from inside. Grady slowly slid through the opening! Veterinarians checked her and said she was not hurt during the rescue.

Grady's Famous Life

Grady became a local celebrity for the rest of her life. The March 7, 1949, issue of Life magazine showed a picture of Grady trapped inside the silo, taken from above. The picture's caption said, "Imprisoned by the concrete walls of a silo, an Oklahoma cow eyes the tiny opening ... through which she entered and later escaped."

On April 21, 1949, she marched in the Capitol Hill '89ers Parade in Oklahoma City. Later that year, she was shown at the Oklahoma State Fair. Grady also became a mother many times. She had four female calves (heifers) and two male calves (bulls).

Tourists often came to the Mach farm just to see Grady. She was such a popular attraction that Bill Mach put up a sign on Route 66 to show where she lived. He kept Grady in a special pen right by the road.

Grady the cow died on July 24, 1961. The old silo was taken down in 1997. A regional hospital was later built on the same spot.

Books About Grady

Two children's books have been written about Grady the Cow. The first book, The Cow in the Silo, was published in 1950 by Wonder Book Company. The second book, Grady's In the Silo, won the 2004 Oklahoma Book Award for Children's Literature. The story of Grady has also been used in school lessons for kindergarten through second grade, published by the Oklahoma State University Extension Service.