On Feb. 22, 1949, a Hereford cow named Grady had just given birth inside a barn at Bill and Alyne Mach's farm in Yukon, according to daughter-in-law Pam Mach.
After the attending veterinarian told Bill Mach to untie her, the 1,200-pound Grady bolted into a feed silo attached to the barn.
The access door had a small opening, only a few feet wide. This didn't stop Grady, who managed to jam herself through the doorway and into the silo.
PROBLEM
For three days, Bill Mach tried to think of ways to get Grady out of the silo, according to an article that was published in the March 7, 1949, issue of Time magazine.
Grady herself didn't help the situation, eating what feed was left in there and getting fatter, Pam Mach said.
"She just helped herself," she said. "The silo wasn't completely full, but she just hung out in there and gorged on the grain."
SOLUTION
Newspapers around the country ran the story, and that's when a Colorado man came up with a plan and put it to work, Mach said.
After arriving at the Oklahoma City airport, Ralph Partridge, Denver Post farm editor, bought 15 pounds of axle grease and headed out to the farm, according to the Time article.
Grady, who had been starved of food for a few days in a silo escape slim-down effort and milked to squeeze every inch off her girth, was given a sedative, lubed up and shoved out. "Joe Wertz
