Tuesday, June 23, 2026
On finding Chatty Belle
Yesterday I was driving through Central Wisconsin and found myself in the town of Neilsville, which you would think might be named after some guy named "Neil," but oddly is named after James O'Neill, an early European settler.
The highlight of the town was Chatty Belle, a talking cow that was part of the Wisconsin pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. The actual pavilion is there, too, and weirdly wonderful in its own way. Chatty Belle's name was suggested by a first-grader, who won 100 pounds of butter for her efforts. One of the things I wanted to ask Chatty Belle about was what a first-grader would do with that much butter.
Chatty Belle is promoted as the "World's Largest Talking Cow," a claim that seems to imply that there are a number of smaller talking cows out there somewhere. You have to pay a quarter to have her talk, and once you do she seems a little narcissistic-- she pretty much just goes on and on about herself. She also doesn't take questions, which was disappointing (I never found out about the butter).
The nearby pavilion looks kind of like a plaster spaceship, and currently houses an adult contemporary radio station (which you can see from the adjacent gift shop).
So, if you are in Neilsville....
