distinctively charleston

The Coburg Dairy Mascot Spins in Circles to Get Attention

Bessie is almost 50 and looks as good today as she did in her youth maybe even better. After all, back then she was hanging from a pole. Now she runs circles around the rest of us, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. She does stop temporarily in the event of a hurricane, but other than that, her life is "better than it has to be." And she's even been given special recognition by the city of Charleston, which means she doesn't have to follow the same rules that her neighbors do.

In case you haven't guessed, Bessie is the Coburg Cow.

But her name isn't really Bessie. People make up their own names for her and "Bessie" is just one popular moniker, according to Frank Hanckel, the owner of Coburg Dairy. And there are actually two models of the cow the traditional Holstein and the eggnog model with red and green spots. Frank's son Johnny says the cow has a wardrobe to suit every major holiday and even one for the bridge run and the wildlife expo. "If I can think of a costume for it, we'll do it," Johnny says. He relies on Roberts Sign Company to maintain the cow and to take her down in case of an emergency.

"We had a ton of phone calls after Hurricane Hugo from people wanting to know if she blew away. We had taken her down ahead of time, so she was safe," Johnny explains. When she was put back up on her pedestal a week or so later, commuters welcomed her return with honking and yelling as they drove by. Even though the rest of the sign was mangled from the storm and there was no electricity to make her turn, the cow's reappearance seemed to symbolize the hope for normalcy.

"If she's gone, the phone starts ringing," Johnny says. "The most frequent comment I hear about her is that people use her to give driving directions."

Her neighbors on Savannah Highway can attest to that. Leah Rudloff, owner of Blanche Darby Florist, says, "We love the cow. All we have to say to people who call for directions to our shop is 'Do you know where the cow is?'" Her husband Jack adds: "For years, our ad in the yellow pages said, 'We are across from the Coburg Cow.'" Once a woman called and asked how she would spot the cow. When Rudloff told her it is on a platform up in the air, she wanted to know, "Well, then, how do they feed it?"

But the Coburg Cow is not only important when locating places; she is an integral part of the neighborhood. It was the community who petitioned the city to have her designated as a historic landmark. Kristen Gaylard says her 18-month-old daughter Emma loves the cow and points it out every day. "I grew up West of the Ashley, and it was nice knowing it was always there. Now Emma will grow up with Bessie, too."

The cow has also announced important events in the Hanckel family: a pink calf or a blue calf is displayed when there is a new baby, and a "groom" was added when a family wedding took place. The bovine couple wore appropriate attire.

Some students have celebrated life's important milestones by riding her. In the 1980s, Citadel cadets traditionally would take a spin after receiving their class rings. But she was so badly damaged after the 1991 celebration that Coburg decided to put her out to pasture. The cadets rallied and donated money to a local charity as restitution, and the cow was repaired. There was an unveiling ceremony with the Citadel bagpipes and honor guard attending, and passersby stopped for milk and ice cream.

On another occasion, a girl from Ashley Hall School wanted to have her picture for the yearbook taken riding the cow. It seemed like a good idea at the time until the police showed up. Frank Hanckel's wife happened by and saw the commotion. It turns out the girl was their daughter.

This cow is the third generation at this location. The first was erected in the 1930s and hung by chains from a horizontal pole kind of like a shingle. It was flat with neon flashing lights outlining it and was a big hit with the public due to its state-of-the-art technology. The second cow went up in the early 1950s and was three-dimensional but stood motionless on an elevated platform. This cow came along in 1959. No plans are in the works to change her appearance, even with the adjacent St. Andrew's Shopping Center's upcoming facelift. One of the perks of Bessie's designation as a historic landmark is not having to follow height and sign rules. She also has her own power source and receives her own utility bill.

Although the dairy has moved its headquarters to North Charleston, the family still lives at the property at the end of Coburg Road. And the creek which runs behind their property is known as Coburg Creek. But it's really the cow that people think of when they hear the name Coburg.

And milk, of course.