newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ERIC MODEL

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

JOURNEYS INTO NEW JERSEY

New Jersey has its obvious legends: The Jersey Devil, Thomas Edison, the Turnpike, the Shore, the Boss.

Some are living legends. Some are not. Then there are legends dead and buried in New Jersey. As Halloween approaches, thoughts turn to haunted houses and goblins. Many also associate this time of year with cemeteries and its spirits.

Back in August, NewJerseyNewsroom.com carried an informative and entertaining piece headlined "Where the Bodies are Buried," about celebrities interred in New Jersey. We here add a couple of additions to the list of celebrities buried in the Garden State – animal legends.

Take Elsie the Cow, the longtime unofficial mascot of the Borden Company, now primarily used to promote the Diary Farmers of America's Borden milk products. Elsie was created in the 1930's by Borden to symbolize their 'Perfect Dairy Product' and made an appearance at the New York World's Fair in 1939. By the time the Fair closed in 1940, "Elsie" had become its #1 attraction.

She also starred in a movie, "Little Men" in 1940. For a time in the mid-1940's when she was voiced by Hope Emerson, she was better known than some human celebrities, and Elsie remains among the most recognizable product logos in the U.S. and Canada.

Elsie was a real cow owned by family farmers in Connecticut. The Borden family approached the farmers, purchased Elsie, and commenced promoting her as their mascot.

Elsie and her calves were featured at Elsie's Boudoir from 1960-63 in beds at the Freedomland U.S.A. in The Bronx. Freedomland, a short-lived theme park stood at what is now the site Co-op City apartment complex, depicted America's history and was shaped in the map of the United States.

A live cow representing Elsie appeared on stage at the Borden's exhibit in the Better Living Pavilion at the 1964-65 World's Fair, in a musical revue with a score by the Broadway composer Kay Swift.

Elsie's husband is Elmer the Bull, later lent to Borden's chemical division as the mascot for Elmer's Glue. Their offspring included Beulah, Beauregard (born 1948), and twins Larabee and Lobelia (born 1957). The first Elsie, "You'll do Lobelia," was a registered Jersey from Elm Hill Farm in Brookfield, Massachusetts.

This animal, among the most recognized and beloved advertising symbols in the world, now rests in New Jersey – buried at Walker-Gordon Farm (now a housing development) in Plainsboro.

Here's how that came to be:

On April 16, 1941, while on her way to Shubert Alley in the Theater District of New York City, Elsie's truck was hit from behind by another truck while stopped at a traffic light on Route 25 in Rahway. She suffered neck and spine injuries and was returned to her home at the Walker-Gordon Farm in Plainsboro. The Veterinarians determined she could not be saved so she was "put to sleep" and buried on the farm. A headstone was erected at the farm's entrance, praising her as "one of the great Elsie's of our time."

Borden quietly christened a new Elsie and the promotional juggernaut moved forward, unaffected.

Years passed into decades, the Walker-Gordon Dairy Farm went out of business, and in June 1999 "Elsie's" headstone was moved further west on Plainsboro Rd. A little gazebo was built next to it, ideal for wedding vows. A plaque was added to the site, praising Elsie as "a celebrated advertising trademark" and claiming that this was her burial site, even though it isn't exactly (Nor was the headstone's former location.). The true grave is lost under a landscape crowded with hundreds of new townhomes – land that once was Elsie's dairy.

These days the Plainsboro Historical Society, whose museum is next to town hall, remembers Elsie. The museum, which is open twice a month, displays some Elsie memorabilia. A modern-day live Elsie can also be seen as part of the town's Founders' Day celebration.

If you want to pay homage to Elsie, here's how to get there (Heron Court, Plainsboro): A few miles northeast of Princeton, exit U.S. 1 (North or South) at Scudder's Mill Road, then turn right at the first light. This road turns into Plainsboro Road. After a small bridge, make the first right into the Walker-Gordon housing development. Take the first two rights (the second is onto Heron Court). A commemorative headstone can be found near the gazebo and the pond.

In addition to Elsie another animal icon of American popular culture is buried in Jersey soil.

Leo the Lion is a world famous mascot for the Hollywood film studio Metro Goldwyn-Mayer and one of its predecessors, Goldwyn Pictures, featured in the studio's production logo, which was created by the Paramount Studios art director Lionel S. Reiss.

In 1916, Goldwyn Pictures was looking for a trademark for their new company. Their offices overlooked the New York Public Library. They chose a profile view of a lion, which they named Leo.