IW HD 08 SM
Cut # 7

« SOT - - 00:00
Last Video - FIRST COM MUSIC
Out Q..."VL-073Q Track 12" »
« SOT - - 00:00
Last Video - FIRST COM MUSIC
Out Q..."GAL074 Track 16" »
«
Cowpoke music
  »
«
cute kids in cowboy hat and boots
  »
Even the youngest members of the Rowe family get “all duded up” on one special day each spring.

« Greg Rowe
                                  RT - 00:08
 
"3;09:21:04-3:09:26:20
Some of my earliest memories are coming up here 3, 4, 5 years old/
" »

The very LARGE extended Rowe family, headed by Dave and Cindy,
come together this time of year for an unusual family gathering.

And family is what it’s all about.

« Dave

                                  RT - 00:05
TC in - 2 
"2:14:43:10-2:14:47:00
It seems to get bigger and bigger every year" »

«
close up cow bellers
  »
They call it the Cattle Crossing and it’s like nothing you’ll see anywhere else in Wisconsin.
«
Lower Third - CG#: $$$$
Dave Rowe

 »

« Dave
                                  RT - 00:04
TC in - 28 
"2;06:43:02-2:06:46;04
Not many people cross cattle our way that's for sure.
" »

«
guys rushing around
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«
semi arrives unloads
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The Rowe family--brothers and sisters--aunts and uncles- all lend a hand to ferry beef cattle across a narrow stretch of water to a grassy island they own.  The island straddles the Marquette and Green Lake County line.  

The family rents this rich summer pastureland to a beef rancher who trucks about 100 of his animals from the Stevens Point area--an hour and a half away.

Sunny Marquard, the cattle owner says the long drive has become necessary.
«
Lower Third - CG#: $$$$
Sunny Marquard
 Cattle Owner

 »

« Sonny
                                  RT - 00:07
TC in - 14:27 
"4:07:14:10-4:07:20:29   SYNC
Where we come from pasture land is hard to come by.  There's not a lot of it available/ 

" »
« Sunny
                                  RT - 00:08
 
"There is a lot of land around but most of it doesn't have fences and in order to fence it it would be extremely expensive for a lot of this ground so 
4:08:15:10-4:08:22:23
and then good crop land is used for crop land so nobody's going to use that for pasture." »

«
load calves on barge
  »
They send the calves over on the barge first.  That way their mothers are eager to follow.

They used to just let the cattle swim across to the island but the last time they did that they had a problem.  

The cattle figured out that they could get off the island the same way they got on.

« Dave
                                  RT - 00:05
 
"2:18:44:11-2:18:49:16
They ended up in our neighbor's farm, eating his corn out of his crib
" »

The barge itself is an invention dreamed up and hand-creafted by the Rowe family.

« Dave
                                  RT - 00:10
 
"2:09:39:00-2:09:48:19
We designed it ourselves.  It's got 54, 55-gallon drums under it.  I think we have it figured out that it can actually hold 45 thousand pounds." »

On this day they can only carry 7 cows at a time because the wind and the current make the barge hard to maneuver.  

It's the job of the athletic younger cousins on top of the barge to haul on the overhead cable.
«
Lower Third - CG#: $$$$
Casey Eggleston 

 »

« Casey Eggleston
                                  RT - 00:15
 
"3:10:20:11-3:10:34:03
HEAD TURNED AWAY FROM CAM
Basically we got to keep the barge straight.  
TURNS TO CAM AND AWAY
We're getting pushed by the current it was very very windy while we were up there too and it's always trying to push the barge downstream)
ON CAM
we got to keep it so it keeps less tension on that end and keeps it straight between the corrals" »

While it may look like it. The guys on top aren't actually pulling the barge across the water all on their own.  But they used to.

« Dave
                                  RT - 00:14
TC in - 02 
"2:27:44:26-2:28:03:00
When we first started this we used to manually pull that barge all across the river,
(omit: unload it, manually bring it back.)  
And a friend who lives in the area said, "Hey, how bout if I just push you guys across with a boat.   Light bulb goes on yah, sound pretty good."
" »

Even with a motor boat it's hard work for the guys on top.  Greg Rowe explains why he keeps coming back.
«
girls in rubber boots sit on fence talking
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«
grandparents hold baby
  »

«
Lower Third - CG#: $$$$
Greg Rowe

 »
« Greg Rowe
                                  RT - 00:14
 
"3:13:08:26-3:13:20:16
PAN FROM OTHER GUY SO OFF CAM AT HEAD
It's really been good for the family 
ON CAM 
like the island is really the thing that keeps our family kind of close, every weekend all summer and then cattle move weekend is kind of, it's just our fun, specially really weird activity that we do together/
" »

There are17 cousins in the Rowe family, some travel up to 5 hours to help out with the cattle crossing.   

Some even go to extremes . . .
«
Lower Third - CG#: $$$$
 Danielle Rowe

 »

«  Danielle Rowe in graduation gown and cap
                                  RT - 00:10
 
"1:27:16:02-1:27:25:10
They said my name, I walked across the stage, I kept walking til I got to my car and I got to the island as fast as I could.
WHY?
Because it's my family,  I love this (laughs).
" »

After many many trips to the island all the mothers are re-united with their calves.

Then they open the gate of the holding corral and the cattle head for high pasture.

It’s been another successful Rowe family Cattle Crossing. 

«  Casey Eggleston 
                                  RT - 00:06
 
"3:16:14:17-3:16:20:20
We love doing it every year and coming up to the island.  It's a really special place for our entire family.  We love coming up here.
" »