Butter Cow Facts

June 27, 2011
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This week’s Butter Cow facts will be in honor of Norma Duffield Stong Lyon, known by many as “Duffy.” The beloved “butter cow lady” passed this weekend. Our thoughts are with the family.

Duffy graduated from Iowa State College with a degree in animal science where she also met her husband, Joe Lyon. They settled in Toledo, Iowa, where they raised their nine children.

Duffy Lyon was the fourth out of five Butter Cow sculptors for the Iowa State Fair. Out of the 100 years of the Butter Cow, Duffy made 46 of them. She began sculpting for the Fair in 1960 and retired in 2006, passing the torch on to Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines.

Trista

Duffy Lyon's first Iowa State Fair Butter Cow 1960