Miss Kathy's Plum Crazy Wine

Doreen Shumpert - 04/15/2008
by Doreen Shumpert

Throughout the ages, girls of all species have been considered "weaker" in many ways. In the old days, many horsemen didn't have much use for a mare—until it was discovered a lot of the performance ability actually comes from mom. Cows were good for milk, or hopefully to produce some good bull calves. Women were good for raising babies and doing dishes, not that they weren't smart or anything like that, but the workin' world was a man's world and in many areas it was believed—and still is—that a woman wouldn't be tough enough to survive.
But one has to look only to the stories and photos of the women who helped settle the West to see plenty of evidence to the contrary. They sure did raise kids and handle domestic duties, but they also ran outfits, broke horses, built cabins and branded cows. Most had grit, determination, guts, work ethic, toughness, spirit, negotiating skills, good aim and plenty of business savvy.
Ironically, this is also an accurate description of two factions that Muriel and Sandie Bonsall of Bonsall Bucking Bulls in Kansas know very well; first, their herd of lady "buckers" called the "Dream Girlz" (registered ABBI cows carrying top genetics of PBR bucking bulls), and second, the actual women each are named after.
To date, after only being in business a few years, Bonsall's have raised a few pro caliber bulls (via the Dream Girlz) that are bucking on pro circuits. The most famous so far is 761 Mud Flap, who bucks on the big-time Built Ford Tough PBR circuit (Professional Bull Riders) and can be seen regularly on VERSUS TV.
To produce such power, you gotta be tough, and the "Dream Girlz" are definitely that. Bonsalls select each one for supreme athleticism, proven pedigrees and tough personalities—traits needed in any successful bucking bull. Then, Muriel names each cow after somebody special. In many realms, it may not seem particularly complimentary to be the namesake of a bovine, but once you understand the reasoning behind it, you find that the actual namesakes consider it "an honor."
Consider: Miss Kathy's Plum Crazy Wine. She's a daughter of Miss Mudd Puddle – a full sister to 761 MudFlap.
But who's "Miss Kathy"?
The 2007 heifer calf that was granted the name shares the same birthday with Kathy Matejovsky, a good friend of Muriel's, and the heifer and Kathy turned out to have more than a birthday in common.
They're both tough, independent, fearless and able to hold their own in a "bull's" world. While some may perceive such qualities as being "difficult," they're actually key ingredients to survival—and success—in any bucking "herd."
Miss Kathy's Plum Crazy Wine is out of a cow named Miss Mudd Puddle, "the worst cow of the herd with a really, really bad attitude" that once flipped Muriel over a six-foot fence, right out of her cowboy boots.
"Thankfully angels protected me," Muriel shared, "because I wasn't hurt. I was alone doing chores about two years ago and she had a baby with her. She stomped my leg, too!"
Bonsalls knew the heifer calf out of her would have a similar attitude. In a good way, that reminded Muriel of a co-worker she has in an extremely male-dominated, intimidating industry. "Miss Kathy" and Muriel Bonsall are part of the meager 10 percent (or less) of women employed as USDA meat graders. As Muriel explains, a woman has to be her own version of "mean" in a positive way to stand by her decisions and endure in that industry at all. From the "Dream Girlz" she had learned to spot a no-nonsense attitude rather quickly, and she had also learned to respect it. She noticed the human version right away in Miss Kathy.
"She is very black and white, stubborn, no compromise, and so on. I told myself I would like her! We became friends...she is so cool!" Muriel shared.
Kathy's childhood unknowingly prepared her to stand tough in a man's world, as she was raised the oldest of five kids on a ranch in Wolf Point, Montana.
"From the very beginning, I was with my dad checking cows, riding horses, out in the field or in the garage fixing something," she explained. "I loved the animals. We raised registered Herefords, had a couple of horses, but also had feeder pigs, sheep, chickens and a milk cow at various times. The chickens were quite an event; I'd pestered dad for chickens thinking they'd be fun to have, and he got me 225 of them! I learned not to ask dad for anything like that ever again," she laughed. "We sold eggs to friends, the grocery store, and we ate our fair share!"
After passing out cold watching one of their cows have a C-section, Kathy decided vet school was not in the future. Nor was ranching, as it's a hard life and way to make money for a woman. Little did she know she'd ironically take the same path in that regard, just in a different industry.
After attending several colleges, Kathy earned her master's degree in animal science, with an emphasis on ruminant nutrition, from the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Her first job was for IBP in Madison, Nebraska... a "hog plant." Learning as much as she could, Kathy wanted the opportunity to make more money and have the opportunity for promotions, so she applied to the USDA and got hired for the Dodge City, Kansas duty station with 2 packing plants in January 2000—the same city where female co-worker, Muriel Bonsall, was employed.
"It's been an interesting road I've chosen as a career. I never dreamed I'd work in packing houses for a living," Kathy admitted. "Growing up in Montana, we raised the cattle and sent them off to the feed yards out of state. The jobs I've had were never jobs I've planned on; they just happened along the way. My job as a grader has allowed me to work in a situation where a person is responsible for their own work, you develop a strong personality, and are an independent of sorts out there in the cooler.
"Our jobs require us to make accurate decisions that have large monetary impacts on every carcass we grade," she continued. "I'm still learning at my job. Every carcass is different and a challenge to be graded. I may continue as a USDA grader, however I may take it up a step to supervision or try for another USDA job like Market News. There are challenges at every turn, and wherever the road goes I'll take it," she added.
USDA meat grading is not for the faint of heart, female or male. As Muriel explains, it's enormous pressure; big money decisions are made at high speeds (averaging 380 to 480 carcasses an hour) to decide USDA Prime, Choice or Select. Naturally, the more quality it's deemed, the more money it's worth, hence the pressure. Time wise, there's about eight seconds or less to make quick and accurate calls.
"This industry is male-dominated and not female friendly," Muriel said. "Only with the good Lord's help can I smile at the ugly talk or cursing for the last 30-plus years. I was one of the first females hired in 1976. Many women quit. It's a difficult industry to work in, and it can bring out your negative strong traits that you use to survive. It's actually just a way to cope, but people often perceive it as being negative. I laugh now, and tell people they can get more with honey than vinegar!"
Kathy remembers that she and Muriel didn't overlap much at the Dodge City plants to start with, and at the time, Bonsalls were just starting their bucking bull program. But when they did cross paths, Kathy gained a mutual respect for Muriel.
"What I liked best about working with her is we could talk for hours and not talk about work," she said. "Muriel's been to Russia, England, France, and Belgium, she was Mrs. Kansas America, a barrel racer—I'd laugh my butt off at her stories. All some people can talk about or have in common is work, but we talked about anything but!"
And, she agrees wholeheartedly about the challenges of working in a man's industry.
"The packer will try to get you to change your mind and upgrade your decision. You have to stand your ground, zip your decisions off. Believe me, I've had my days of bawling," she continued. "It's a man's world, and if you can't hold your own and know when to zip your lip, you're toast," she added. "They know which guys they can mess with—and they do. But they'll mess with all of the women—just little things, like standing closer to you, trying to pressure you and things like that. To survive, you can't let them see inside you. They can know only so much of your personal life, and they can't know your inner workings. I've had a lot of co-workers that simply didn't want a woman there. You have to hit the beef carcass, forget it, and stand by your call, be able to give a clear concise answer about why you made that call, and stick to your guns. And, you also have to admit when you get one wrong, apologize, and change it," she said.
Doug Wilmeth, a former co-worker of Kathy's, was not among those who wished Kathy would get lost and leave the boys alone. In fact, he's quite impressed.
"Working in an industry like a manufacturing plant is hard enough, but for a female it can be even more difficult. The meat packing industry can be quite difficult as far as conditions; lots of knives, saws, extreme temperatures, slick floors, raw meat, blood, feces—not to mention the multitude of different smells that permeate the plant. The plants are usually over 90 percent male and in most departments not much English is spoken.
"Considering these conditions, a female must develop very tough skin and character to work in and handle these conditions," Wilmeth continued. "The male-dominated work force is often not kind, polite, or sympathetic to females in this environment. They are not given any special treatment whatsoever. Kathy developed exceptional character strengths in handling all situations. She had a strong degree of professionalism, fairness, work ethic, and most importantly she demonstrated over and over her ability to do a competent job, willingness to take on other duties, and to help out other co-workers wherever it was needed," he explained. "Not many in any industry carry these work attributes as well. Her personality and humor was a joy to be around, and quite unique."
If Miss Kathy's Plum Crazy Wine could understand any of that and get past the word "carcass," she'd be as honored to be named after Kathy as Kathy is to be her namesake.
"Their bull business fascinates me," Kathy said of Bonsall's operation. "Muriel is what I loved as a kid; what's ironic is she didn't grow up that way as I did. Those females of hers will put you over the fence; don't get in the pen with them!" she laughed. "It's so funny, because if my dad would have ever had one of those she went down the road. But that's what they [Bonsalls] want!
"It's very cool to have one named after me, especially if she goes on to be great. She has the right lineage so knock on wood, she will!"
It's not only the "Miss Kathy" part that pays homage to Muriel's friend...so does "Plum Crazy Wine." And no, not for obvious reasons of being plum crazy or having a fancy for wine. True to Muriel's style, it's much more fun-loving and inventive than that.
"I love Purple," Kathy said. "Back around 1969, Dodge Chrysler had a car color that was bright purple called Plum Crazy. To this day, I drive a Minnesota Viking's color purple Ford Probe that I've had for almost 14 years. They only made that color for about six months," she said, and she also has a purple leather chair and ottoman in her house. As for "Wine" the heifer is named after her sire, Plum Wine. He is a son of the legendary PBR superstar, Blueberry Wine.
Recently, Kathy and her kitten Willy moved to Washington, and she took a grading job at a plant up there to be closer to the family in Montana. For now, she'll keep the USDA job and work toward advancement and retirement. In her spare time, she's quite the "Betty Crocker" and loves to cook exquisite baked goods for her friends and family—sometimes several boxes of cookies at a time—such as about 200,000 cookies total.
"I bought an upright freezer just for my Christmas baking," she said. "If you're my dentist, doctor, friend or somebody I work with, you're in like Flynn!" she laughed. She also enjoys arts and crafts, such as creating unique mosaic bowling balls.
"I fill the holes with cut glass and cover the ball with it, glue, grout and seal them like gazing balls. Some of them weigh up to 25 pounds when I'm done," she shared.
Somewhere up the trail, she'd love to ranch again, but doesn't know if it will ever happen.
"I love animals, I was raised on the Indian Reservation, but ranching depends too much on the government and the weather," she said. "Also, I'm not married any more, and it's hard to find somebody to do the chores and house sit when you are away. I wouldn't give up the way I was raised for anything—it's just not feasible right now."
But what keeps her determined to stay in such a male-dominated industry? As usual, her answer—like her work ethic—is simple and no-nonsense.
"It's hard to get $50,000-plus jobs as a woman (even a man these days), wear jeans and a t-shirt to work, get three-to-five weeks of paid vacation each year, earn sick leave, be left to my own thoughts and rather independent actions on the chain and to be wholly accountable for what I did while grading," she explained.
Therefore, she remains as decisive and able to stand her ground as her bovine counterpart. And, remember co-worker Doug Wilmeth? It seems he was best able to sum Miss Kathy up in one sentence.
"As they say, a lot of different ingredients go into a bowl of soup, but oh, it tastes so good. Miss Kathy was that extra spice in life's bowl of soup."
For more information and similar stories on the namesakes of the Dream Girlz, visit www.bonsallbuckingbulls.com.

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