The American Jersey Cattle Association has named Norma Duffield Stong Lyon, known worldwide for her butter sculptures of dairy cows, as an Honorary Member. Norma was honored at the Breeders’ Banquet on June 29, 2007, in Sioux Falls, S.D.
A native of Nashville, Tenn., who grew up in Iowa, Norma Stong became known as “Duffy” (a shortening of her middle name) during her college years at Iowa State University. She wanted to become a veterinarian, but the program did not accept women. She majored in animal science instead, graduating in 1951. While attending Iowa State, her work on two snow sculptures during a winter festival resulted in an invitation from resident campus sculptor Christian Peterson to work with him.
And she met her future husband, G. Joe Lyon. They married after graduating from Iowa State in 1951. The couple returned to Lyon Jersey Farm, a family partnership. Today, the operation includes 1,600 acres of farmland and a top producing herd of 320 Registered Jersey™ cows. They have nine children, 23 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Duffy sculpted her first butter cow at the Iowa State Fair in 1960, working in a 40-degree cooler. Her annual displays of a life-size cow and other unique, life-sized figures created the number one attraction at the Iowa State Fair. Most recently, Duffy created “Jersey Jewel,” a life-size bronze cow for the new Iowa State University Dairy Farm. The sculpture was unveiled in a ceremony last December in Kildee Hall.
She has earned many awards including World Dairy Expo Woman of the Year (1990) and the National Dairy Shrine Pioneer (2002), and has appeared on national television shows such as NBC’s “Today Show”, “Late Night with David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Her sculptures have been featured in LIFE, Time, Newsweek and People Magazine.