So I picked up the phone and called Dad (Jim Williams). After all, AF Shannon Margie 924 had made his original 1986 list of the top 10 cows in the breed when we first launched our Shorthorn operation. He was the one who encouraged me to reach out to Robert Alden of Alden Farms — and what a treasure that conversation turned out to be.

Robert shared stories I had never heard — and that, to my knowledge, aren’t well-documented anywhere else.

Shorthorn Time Machine

Back in the 1970s, cattleman Dick Judy of Beef Genetics Research in Mankato, Kansas, traveled to Ireland in search of Simmental cattle. But while there, he discovered a group of full Irish Shorthorns from a herd that used “Shannon” as their prefix. Among them was a female named Shannon Margie. He imported Margie and several other Shannon heifers to the United States.

At a sale Judy held in Platte City, Missouri, none of the Shannon females received a bid. But afterward, the Aldens visited his place and struck a deal. They only wanted one: Shannon Margie. But Judy insisted they take the entire group — so the Aldens brought home 10 Shorthorn females for $1,000 each.

At the time, the cattle couldn’t be registered. But as Mr. Alden told me, “We thought they were so good, we had to have them.”

Around that same time, the Aldens had purchased two Irish bulls from Judy — Dividend and Deerpark Improver — both of whom went on to become some of the most famous Shorthorn herd sires in breed history. Eventually, when the herdbook opened, the Aldens paid $2,500 per female and $5,000 per bull to enter them into the registry.

“What made us,” Robert Alden said, “was that we were some of the only ones who bred the Irish cows back to Irish bulls. When people figured out how good those cattle really were, we had the only available ones.”

One of those heifers, Shannon Margie, became the dam of AF Shannon Margie 924, born on U.S. soil at the Alden family’s farm in Hamilton, Missouri. 

Born in 1979, 924 would go on to build one of the most dominant cow families the breed has ever seen. According to Robert, she’s responsible for millions of dollars in offspring value for breeders across the country — a financial impact arguably unmatched by any other Shorthorn female.

And while AF Shannon Margie 924 is the most famous, the Irish cattle bred by the Aldens produced many stars. Mr. Alden shared the story of a bull they raised — AF Improver 145 — sired by Deerpark Improver and out of another Shannon female, Shannon Blitz. 

As he explained: “Most people will never know this, but we raised a bull — AF Improver 145 — out of Deerpark Improver and Shannon Blitz. The original Heat Seeker bull was out of a Shorthorn cow by 145. Of course, Heat Seeker sired Heat Wave, then Monopoly, and on down the line — now Here I Am. All of the dominant club calf steer sires go back to AF Improver 145.”

He described 145 as a “unicorn,” thick and hairy with legs like fence posts — a true outlier. And though many in the club calf world may not know it, their programs are rooted in the strength of the Irish Shorthorns bred in Hamilton, Missouri.

Hearing all of this made my day. I told Mr. Alden, “I have to share this story.” For history. For our breed. And for our family.

Margie’s Legacy in Today’s Show Ring

The Aldens are legendary Shorthorn breeders. Their name is woven into the fabric of the breed. Their old ads in Shorthorn Country are still a source of inspiration for me as we create content at V8 — their marketing was top-notch and ahead of its time.

If you’d asked me a year ago, I would have told you the Margie cow family was a piece of Shorthorn breed history — powerful in the past, but maybe less prominent today. But I’ve quickly realized: the Margies never went away. Many of the best U.S. Shorthorn cattle in the show ring today trace directly back to AF Shannon Margie 924 — even if they don’t carry her name.

Mr. Alden explained that the “Lady Crystals” are Dream Lady descendants — and Dream Lady was a daughter of Margie 924. So while they may not carry “Margie” in their names, they’re Margies through and through. If you know, you know.

I found heifers like CF Crystal Lucy 230, one of the winningest heifers of 2023-2024, owned by the Wickard family. CF CSF Crystals Swan 015, owned by the Feree family, who won Louisville and Junior Nationals. The 2021 Louisville Champion Female, CF Crystal’s Lucy 073. And CF Crystal Lucy 384, Champion at both Junior Nationals and Cattlemen’s Congress this past year for the Wickards. They all go back to 924. And those are just the ones I found with a quick search — Margies by another name.

I like to picture the Alden family that day — standing at an auction where the cattle got no bids — and still making the bold decision to go all in on those Irish cattle. In the grand scheme of things, Hamilton, Missouri, is a small town most folks wouldn’t know. But in the Shorthorn world, it’s a famous place. Central. Steeped in legacy. Many roads lead there — and all of them run through the Alden name.

CF CSF Crystals Swan 015, owned by the Feree family, who won Louisville and Junior Nationals.

CF Crystal Lucy 384, Champion at both Junior Nationals and Cattlemen’s Congress this past year for the Wickards.

Irish roots, Global Impact

And yet, the story didn’t stop in Hamilton. As I studied our Margie’s pedigree — I saw the names and places that moved this cow family forward. I picture breeders in Indiana, in Canada, in Texas — standing over semen tanks, studying phenotypes and pedigrees, and making their own bold decisions to keep this maternal line alive and strong. Cattlemen and women who saw the value in the Margies and carried the torch. Because of them, and because of that one quiet decision in Missouri decades ago, a little red heifer stands in our barn today. And her story is still being written.

With a cow family this old, the story of AF Shannon Margie 924 no longer belongs to just one farm. It began with the Aldens, yes—but today, it lives in countless pastures, pedigrees, and purple banners—some of them new and bright, and some of them old and faded. It belongs to every Shorthorn breeder who has unknowingly—or very knowingly—carried her influence forward. That’s the magic of cattle breeding. It’s not a single signature on a masterpiece. It’s a living, breathing work of art, painted one decision at a time. And across generations, each breeder holds the brush for a moment—adding their own stroke to a legacy bigger than any one of us.

Robert Alden is humble—quick to credit others, and never one to claim the success of these cattle as solely his own. “We got lucky,” he told me. “We got Margie.” He’s the kind of cattleman who would rather brag on a cow than himself, and who jokes that every time he got ahead, he “just went and bought another cow,” still waiting on his ship to come in. But he’s right about one thing: none of this happens without taking a chance.

And while the Aldens will forever be linked to the Margie cow family, they weren’t the only ones who believed in the Irish cattle. As Robert said, “There were several other breeders who saw the value and quality in those cattle—too many to name—but those forward-thinking breeders helped change the direction of the breed when it was most needed.” That’s what makes this story so powerful. It’s not just one family’s legacy. It’s a shared one — built on courage, cattle, and a little bit of luck.

One Decision Can Echo Through Generations

Why do I share this story?

Because we, as a breed, have a history worth remembering — and a future worth building. It’s not just about cattle. It’s about people. Families. Decisions made in sale barns and over semen tanks. If we don’t write these stories down, they’ll fade. And I believe the Shorthorn breed of cattle is too rich in heritage — and too full of heart — to let that happen.

And while all of that history is remarkable — the legacy, the breeders, the impact — it hits even deeper for us. 

For me, it’s more personal. More sentimental.

The origin story of the Aldens and the original Shannon Margie changed my life — and my son’s life. Our Margie is more than just a heifer to him. She’s a living chapter in a much larger story. These Shorthorn cattle — and the people who raise them — mean the world to me. And in a small, quiet, humble way, I’m honored to carry on even a sliver of that story through the eyes of a 7-year-old boy and the cow who made him fall in love with Shorthorns.

We are proud that the foundation female for this generation of our operation is a Margie — and we carry deep respect for all the proud history behind her. From Hamilton, Missouri, to Boling, Texas, and many other stops around the Shorthorn world in between, her story is now a part of ours. Just one more brushstroke on the masterpiece that is the Margie legacy — a living canvas shaped by generations of breeders, each adding their own touch. 

As Dad always says, “The magic is in the cows.”