web1_AP_979763375591.jpg

Another emotional senior day up next for Nittany Lions

Our Opinion: Cash crisis looming in Luzerne County shouldn’t have been kept secret

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; She is bearing down on her 50th birthday and looking as good now as she did the day she was delivered.</p><p>&#8220;Three-O-Nina,&#8221; that huge brown and white Guernsey that thousands of motorists pass every day, is 48 years young.</p><p>Known more commonly as &#8220;The Big Cow,&#8221; Three-O-Nina has never produced milk but she sure has given a lot of enjoyment to all who have seen her.</p><p>According to the Krugel brothers &#8212; Joe Jr. and Kevin &#8212; the cow has meant an awful lot to hundreds of thousands of people over the years.</p><p>The Krugels own and operate Krugel&#8217;s Georgetown Deli &amp; Beer, located next to Three-O-Nina. Their dad, Joe Sr., started his career working at Gorman&#8217;s Dairy, which was located at the same site.</p><p>Back in 1966, Joe Sr. saw an advertisement about a giant cow that had been purchased by a dairy somewhere. He thought it was a great idea.</p><p>Joe Sr. checked into it and learned the price tag was $4,000 &#8212; about the cost of a new Cadillac at the time. Mrs. Peg Gorman, owner of the dairy, wasn&#8217;t thrilled with the price.</p><p>One day, the people from Sculpture Advertising in Wisconsin called to say they were delivering a giant cow to a dairy in Connecticut and would pass through Wilkes-Barre. They would have the driver stop and show Mrs. Gorman the cow.</p><p>When the truck pulled into Gorman&#8217;s parking lot in January 1967, the story goes there was a massive traffic jam on Route 309. People stopped their vehicles to get a glimpse of the giant cow. When Mrs. Gorman saw the reaction, she knew she wanted a giant cow in front of her dairy.</p><p>Joe Sr. placed the order. The big cow was delivered &#8212; without horns &#8212; in January 1967. The horns had to be taken off the cow to avoid hitting underpasses on the turnpike.</p><p>Once the big cow was set in place, Mrs. Gorman and Joe Sr. conducted a contest to name her. Hundreds of names were submitted before &#8220;Three-O-Nina&#8221; was chosen. The winner of the naming contest received a color TV &#8212; a big deal in 1967.</p><p>Joe Jr. told me one of the other suggested names was &#8220;Morgan,&#8221; which was considered because Morgan has all the same letters as Gorman, the name of the dairy at the time.</p><p>And so it was that Three-O-Nina came to be. In the 48 years since, this big-boned bovine beauty has served all well. She has stood in the same spot, looking down on all who pass.</p><p>Joe Jr. and Kevin have improved Three-O-Nina&#8217;s area as well &#8212; she stands in beautiful green grass in the event she wants to graze. There are parking spots in front of the farm-like fence, allowing visitors to park their vehicles, get out and walk around to admire and photograph the 14-by-17 foot, 2000-pound &#8220;udderly&#8221; magnificent cow.</p><p>I talked to Jill Schroeder, office manager at FAST Corp., the business once called Sculpture Advertising, in Sparta, Wisconsin. FAST stands for Fiberglass Animal Shapes and Trademarks.</p><p>Jill said a cow like Three-O-Nina costs about $25,565 today, which probably wouldn&#8217;t buy a new Cadillac.</p><p>Jill said the company now makes all sorts of fiberglass statues, some multi-dimensional like water slides and other kid-related attractions.</p><p>FAST Corp. has made and sold a 28-foot tall cowboy for a car dealership in Missouri, a 300-foot-wingspan eagle in Red Lake, Minnesota; a 145-foot muskie at the Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin; and a 30-foot eyeball for an artist in Chicago.</p><p>All those sculptures have one thing in common &#8212; they draw people.</p><p>As does Three-O-Nina, who has been doing just that for 48 years. How many times have people referred to &#8220;the big cow&#8221; when giving directions or attempting to locate a business?</p><p>In 2010, Parade Magazine selected the top roadside attraction in all 50 states &#8212; Three-O-Nina was selected for Pennsylvania.</p><p>I&#8217;d like to see the Krugels market Three-O-Nina more &#8212; sweatshirts, hats, tee shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads with &#8220;the big cow&#8221; on them and more, more, more.</p><p>We haven&#8217;t gotten enough of Three-O-Nina.</p><p>Joe Jr. and Kevin are already planning a 50th birthday bash for 2017. It&#8217;s a surprise, so don&#8217;t talk about it around Three-O-Nina.</p><p>Celebrate her every day. Enjoy &#8220;the big cow.&#8221; Tell your friends.</p><p>Let&#8217;s milk this as long as we can.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111715InFocusBigCow12.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kevin and Joe Krugel are co-owners and keepers of &#8216;Three-O-Nina&#8217; &#8212; the big cow that stands alongside Krugel&#8217;s Deli &amp; Beer on Route 309. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111715InFocusBigCow12.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kevin and Joe Krugel are co-owners and keepers of &#8216;Three-O-Nina&#8217; &#8212; the big cow that stands alongside Krugel&#8217;s Deli &amp; Beer on Route 309. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-9.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In Focus Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-9.jpg</photo1><caption1>In Focus Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111415bigcow2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Three-O-Nina, the well-known big cow in front of Krugel&#8217;s Georgetown Deli &amp; Beer, stands along Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL111415bigcow2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Three-O-Nina, the well-known big cow in front of Krugel&#8217;s Georgetown Deli &amp; Beer, stands along Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township. </caption2><photoCredit2>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>She&#8217;s a Route 309 landmark</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Cowabunga! ‘Three-O-Nina’ is pushing 50