Purple Cow: State fair people pleasers

MONROE -- For some people, it's just not the fair without a Purple Cow.

If you want one, though, you have to walk back toward the animal barns and into the heart of the Evergreen State Fair.

The Snohomish County Dairy Women have been serving Purple Cow ice cream floats at the fair for 50 years.

Mike Sanders, 34, of Lakes Stevens, and Peter Stitt, 52, of Snohomish, plunked down $4 each Thursday for their annual Purple Cow fix.

The Purple Cow, a delectable combination of blackberry ice cream, blackberry syrup and lemon-lime pop, comes with special promise.

Every 13th Purple Cow ordered is free.

The ringing of a large bell announces your free treat to all who stand in line at what is arguably the fair's favorite local food booth.

Sanders and his family cheered when they hit the lucky 13 the other day. Stitt maintains he's happy to pay for the special drink.

"In a word, it's unique," said Stitt, foam dripping from his upper lip.

Jaden Reilly, 16, of Gold Bar, drank his first Purple Cow last week, at the urging of his grandmother.

"I've been coming to the fair since I was a boy. I can't believe I never had one before," Jaden said. "It's actually pretty good."

Despite the rain on the first morning of this year's fair, Purple Cow and blackberry milkshake orders kept the Lakewood High School cheerleaders busy. The teen girls scooped ice cream in exchange for a little help to buy their cheer uniforms.

The girls also sold 50 small ice cream cones at 25 cents each. The 1960s-era price for a one-scoop cone is offered from 10 to 11 each morning during the fair in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Purple Cow.

In 1959, Monroe area dairy farmer Jack Lane helped the dairy wives set up an old kitchen fridge inside the Monroe Kiwanis firecracker stand at the fairgrounds so the women could sell fresh milk to fair-goers.

The next year, the dairy women, including Lane's wife, Mary Lou, wanted to attract a bigger crowd. Their first booth was just an 8-by-12-foot plywood structure, said Jack Lane, now 81.

Mary Lou Lane, who died in 2007, was a young woman with a business degree from the University of Washington when she and several other dairy wives concocted their version of the Purple Cow and named their booth for the ice cream float.

"The story goes that Mary Lou, Marion Stocker and Gladys McGuire just about made themselves sick trying out different combinations of soda and ice cream," said Pat Manning, a member of the Dairy Women.

The Purple Cow was an immediate hit, and Mary Lou used her marketing skills to come up with the "every 13th one is free" motto, Lane said.

Over the past 50 years, proceeds from the Purple Cow booth have funded the county's dairy princess-ambassador program, scholarships, donations to food banks and other charitable giving.

The Dairy Women added hot dogs and chili to the menu early on, primarily to keep the 4-H kids and the Future Farmers of America fed and out of trouble at the carnival.

"The rule for many years was that the kids were not allowed past the Purple Cow," Manning said. "In the same spot for pert-near since it started, the Purple Cow also was the meeting place for lots of farm families."

The number of dairy farms in Snohomish County has declined, but the enthusiasm for the industry is still there.

Carrie Neff, whose family sold their last cows just a year ago, has managed the Purple Cow for the past five years or so.

"We're making toasted cheese sandwiches on rainy days this year," Neff said. "Real cheddar, real butter."

Neff, whose daughter Emily is the Snohomish County Dairy Ambassador this year, said it's hard to fathom the 50th anniversary of the Dairy Women's fundraiser.

"Yep, 50 years. That's a lot of Purple Cows," Neff said "We have people who buy one the first day of the fair and one the last day. They gotta have just one more Purple Cow before next year's fair."

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.