SHREWSBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – A trip to Shrewsbury, population 1,096, might include a stop at a famous country store. The historic Pierce\u2019s store first opened in 1865 and is now a co-op and local gathering spot. As our Darren Perron reports in this Vermont\u2019s Own, it\u2019s the heart of a town that still embraces a wild, two-and-a-half-month relationship that doubled the population daily decades ago.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to see why Bennie Carrara loves where he lives. He\u2019s just down the road from his family\u2019s former farm on a hillside nicknamed Carrara Mountain.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the best place in the world,\u201d Carrara said. <\/p>\n
Shrewsbury has terrific views and not much traffic, but that wasn\u2019t always the case. Forty years ago this month, Shrewsbury was put on the world map when a bull moose made his way into a meadow and made his move on a cute Hereford cow named Jessica.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a good-looking female cow. She was beautiful in his eyes, she was special,\u201d Carrara said. <\/p>\n
The two became inseparable and the courtship caught the attention of WCAX and news agencies everywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great story. It\u2019s unbelievable that would happen. When does a moose walk out of the woods and start courting a cow? When does that happen?\u201d Shrewsbury\u2019s Larry Abelman said laughing. <\/p>\n
At the time, Abelman lived across the country in California, and the passionate pair made headlines there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe front page was a picture of the moose standing behind the cow. Then I looked at Reno, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco and every paper had that picture on the front, so it was national news,\u201d Abelman said. <\/p>\n
All that attention turned a silent Shrewsbury street into a packed parkway. <\/p>\n
Herb Carrara takes care of the cemetery now, but he was the road foreman at the time of the moose-cow tryst. Traffic was so heavy, he said, that Northam Road was nearly impassable at times.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople came from all over to see it. It was a one lane road for a mile here,\u201d Herb Carrara said. <\/p>\n
Bennie Carrara, 68, was 27 at the time and took a break from his job to help park cars and tour buses. About 1,000 people a day showed up to catch a glimpse of the quirky couple.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a strange love affair,\u201d Bennie Carrara said. <\/p>\n
The strange love affair led to a country record and made Bennie\u2019s parents famous for a while. Bennie\u2019s dad, Larry, was so busy with interviews, selling swag and managing an estimated 75,000 visitors at the farm, he gave up his job at General Electric.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had to be home, you know what I mean? He had to be there,\u201d Bennie Carrara said about his father.<\/p>\n
They even wrote a book. For 76 days the moose, originally called Bullwinkle, kept wooing his bovine beauty. A copyright issue led to a name change and soon it was Josh and Jessica, cuddling among the other cows. Until Josh dropped an antler and, according to Bennie Carrara, everything changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he was embarrassed he lost his antler,\u201d Carrara said.<\/p>\n
Some say Jessica the cow gave bull moose Josh the cold shoulder after that too, but she was well-loved by the family for another 23 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my dad\u2019s favorite cow,\u201d Bennie Carrara said. <\/p>\n
The bull moose Josh went back to where he came from, never to be seen again, but left behind a piece of himself and a story with heart that still has legs 40 years later.<\/p>\n
The family still gets calls about the moose that was head over hooves for the cow. People are fascinated by the love affair.<\/p>\n
And just maybe Josh\u2019s offspring are still in the area. Bennie\u2019s sister-in-law Kathy captured video of a moose near the family farm.<\/p>\n
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