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By Your Host, Cowboy Charlie
Although THE PURPLE COW is the mascot of Williams College in the Massachusetts, and the name of a delightful Ice Cream Café in Orland Park, Illinois, and the name given to a "Milka" scrumptious chocolate bar found only during the Christmas Holidays in and around Germany, our Purple Cow came from the imagination and dreams of Chip and his dad, Charlie.
Charlie, having a degree in Dairy Science, and had been working as a Dairy Specialist, left the farm to help his ailing dad in a Construction Business and a Hardware/Lumberyard in Oakhurst, California. After 18 years in the building industry, and watching Oakhurst grow, it was time for a change. The old saying about not being able to take the farm out of a farm boy, became true again. About this same time, son Chip, who wanted to become a dairy Vet, found out that he was now allergic to cows, even though cows had been a part of his life from birth. Now that Dad wanted a change and Son couldn't be around real cows, they put their heads together and decided that the only way either was going to have or be associated with cows was to create a fictional cow.
And, you guessed it, something catchy, something easy to remember, something colorful, and something cow. . . THE PURPLE COW! It was their idea to have this colorful bovine reign over a shop that promoted fine handcrafted gifts and decorating accents. What a crafty and mooooving idea! THE PURPLE COW was born of pen, paper, and signboard and was delivered by our resident "Vet" and his able "assistant" Shelly (now Mrs. Chip) in the summer of 1991. In the Fall of that year, THE PURPLE COW graced the front of THE PURPLE COW MALL.
It was a case of two derailed dreams, involving cows, finally coming true. It is proof that dreams, even derailed ones, high goals, and lots of perseverance can make great things happen, even if it's a wonderful little shop set in the Yosemite foothills called THE PURPLE COW.
And that's how it all began in the Fall of 1991!
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