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Sharing Memories With David Gibson

By Marcie Bolton


photo by Marcie Bolton

   People of Scottish decent more than likely will say their ancestors were farmers.  That would certainly be true of David Gibson Jr.  who was born in Ayr, Scotland, (the birthplace of poet Robert Burns) on September 29, 1924.    Ayr is a port town on the south-west coast, the namesake of the cattle which comes from the region. These cattle were such a big part of David Gibson’s life.  

The Gibson family farm in Scotland could not support all the many members of the family so David’s dad brought his own family of three to the states, along with 17 head of Ayrshire cattle.  David arrived in the United States when he was a wee lad of two years. He lived with his mom and dad on a 500 acre farm, where his father became head-herdsman of award winning cattle in Purchase, New York.  David grew up there and developed a lifelong passion for Ayrshire cattle.  Not only did they care for many of the saucer eyed brownish red and white bovines throughout the years, they traveled around the country showing them.

Among some of the places they would go to were Rhinebeck, New York, and then on to the New York state fair in Syracuse.  After those places it was onto Waterloo, Iowa for the national Ayrshire show and to Chicago, Illinois for the international show.  In February they would go to Tampa, Florida.  David Jr. and his father, David Senior would travel on double-decker freight trains.  David and crew would stay on the top level with the feed and the hay while the cows mooed softly below, and the train wielded down the tracks.  Hundreds of mile later, while wearing his dapper whites, David would stand beside the cows on the showing platform.  There the judges would look at the cow’s disposition, heartiness, milk production, udders, legs and feet.  Ayrshire cows are known for easy calving and vigor.  The Ayrshire calves are very viable and trouble-free to raise.  Ayrshires are known for their cheese and butter and the milk of an Ayrshire naturally has a low fat content.   

David loved the big animals one may say he dedicated his life to them.  It is what he knew.
Eventually, David went to Cornell University where he studied Agriculture and there he met his wife Maridon.  Besides the initial attraction to each other, there must have been some strong chemistry because this past October, the two celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.   Sixty years, four children, and many pets later, the Gibson’s still very much enjoy each other’s company.  They are kind to each other and keep it positive.  I mentioned how sometimes marriage can have its hard times and Maridon quite assuredly said that there were no hard times, and that it is your attitude.  If you look at life with a positive demeanor you will enjoy it.    

Maridon and David had four children, with solidly Scottish names; Scott, Glen, Craig and Polly.    Maridon remembers being quite pregnant with their third child and she decided to go for a ride on the tractor.  The bumpy fields and the bouncy tractor sent her into labor and since David’s dad was up for a visit at the time and he noticed a funny look on Maridon’s face as the tractor traversed over the green Vermont fields.  He had just said goodbye to his son, who left in his car and so he took off running after David to catch him.  He did and they made it to the hospital in the nick of time for the baby to be born.   

All of the kids went to college in Vermont.  One studied at Middlebury College and the other three studied at University of Vermont.  They all still in the New England region in various occupations.

The Gibson family moved to Brandon, Vermont in 1957 after David was elected the person to head up the National Ayrshire Breeders Association (currently located in Ohio). David believes Vermont to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.  He feels lucky to live here.  David is a forefather in the Ayrshire industry in the United States, and while not that many people follow in the footprints of their ancestors’ livelihoods, David did with an ember burning bright.  When he speaks of his history, his eyes light up and he seems to go to a happy place, one filled with a deep satisfaction.   If he could give advice to kids today it would be to stick with it whatever you choose.  Commit to something.  There is great satisfaction in knowing something deeply and building upon the knowledge you have.  The other piece would be to have respect for everybody.     
Today, David lives mainly at the nursing home and occasionally on holidays he goes home where his children and grandchildren and their many dogs gather to be together cooking and being around one another and catching up.  He is excited to have his favorite food, Scottish trifle; a traditional Scottish dessert made with sherry, whipped cream, raspberries and strawberries.  Thank you David Gibson, for giving us a glimpse of your life and sharing a memory or two.  Maridon Gibson was kind enough to share David’s
favorite dessert recipe for Sherry Trifle, a family
favorite straight from Edinburgh, Scotland:

Ingredients

•    1 package cake mix (recommended: make a
             golden cake a day ahead)
•    ½ a pint of strawberry jam
•    1/3 cups dry sherry
•    1 box vanilla custard or pudding
•    1/2 cup granulated sugar
•    1 cup whipping cream
•    1 small package of strawberry Jell-O
•    3 (12-ounce) packages frozen sweetened rasp
             berries, thawed
•    Whipped cream, for garnish, optional

Directions

Prepare the cake according to package directions.  When baked, let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cake should be slightly stale.   Cut the cake into large chunks, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Line deep glass bowl with the cake cubes.  Spread jam all around on top of the cake cubes.  Pour sherry over gently and soak into cake pieces.  Make the pudding.  Whip the cream with the sugar. Take half of the whipped cream and add it to the cooled custard, stirring well. Make Jell-O –when slightly set, beat until frothy and thick.  Pour ½  of slightly set Jell-O recipe over the custard and smooth to make an even surface.  Then put whipped cream on top and decorate with almond flakes or toasted slivered almonds. 

 

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