"For Dairy Farmers! For Indiana!"
Those words—spoken in the form of a milk toast—rolled off the tongues of dairy farmers, dignitaries and guests attending the Elkhart County Bicentennial Torch Relay Kickoff Celebration Tuesday at Mybrook Farm in Middlebury.
Organized by the Northern Indiana Dairy Trail, the event served as a send-off for the torch on its 52-mile journey through Elkhart County.
Before the torch was lit and the milk was served, speakers touted the role of agriculture in Indiana.
Ted McKinney, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said from a historical perspective, the bicentennial is a rare event, occurring once every 200 years.
He called agriculture the "wonderful backbone of our state." He added, "I just think it's so appropriate that milk and dairy be celebrated here."
McKinney also pointed out that the bicentennial torch is powered by ethanol, a renewable fuel that comes from Indiana corn farms.
County commissioner Mike Yoder, whose profession is dairy farming, agreed that it was appropriate to start the torch relay at a working dairy farm.
"This has special significance to me," Yoder said, "as dairy farming has been such an important part of northern Indiana's history and continues to be a vibrant part of our local economies today."
Two Elkhart County dairy farmers were involved in Tuesday's torch relay. Truman Weaver, a retired Guernsey breeder, carried the torch on the first leg, riding in a horse-drawn milk wagon. He handed the torch to Craig Blough, a dairy farmer and product manager for a major dairy equipment company. Blough rode into Middlebury aboard a modern milk tanker.
The torch lighting ceremony itself involved four torch bearers, including Weaver, Deborah Washington, Sylvia Diaz and Mark Mikel, all holding the torch as they dipped it into the cauldron to be lit.
Then, Yoder instructed the audience to grab a pint of milk "to wish our torch bearers a safe journey and our state 200 more years of success."
After the torch departed, guests were invited to tour Mybrook Farm, which is owned by Mike and Judy Oesch and their family.