Janesville, Wisconsin: Bessie the Cow

My wife grew up visiting Bessie when traveling thru Janesville, and we still stop when we're in the area. The giant cow has been moved from The Oasis to a location in a shopping center.

Janesville, Wisconsin's Bessie the Cow and her additional trim work...

I am a resident of Janesville, and have seen Bessie nearly every day for 25 years. Recently, a friend of mine who does metal work created a milking can for Bessie (to scale -- it is nearly three feet tall!), and most recently, someone added a scale size milking stool. So, Bessie is always changing. Quite a sight, even for someone who's seen her so often.

I passed through Janesville on my walk from Chicago to La Crosse, and Bessie is out and looking fine. She's on a large cement landing across the street from the K-Mart plaza and there are no fences or barriers to impede you from getting up-close and personal with the large, brown heifer.

The Oasis restaurant is now nothing but a field of dirt, and Bessie is nowhere in sight. The proud townsfolk at the gas station next door patiently explained to me that she is being restored and after that will "be returned to her former location, of course!"