Cowchip Bingo Marks End of Heritage Days

PHILIPSBURG - The annual Cowchip Bingo saw the end of Philipsburg's Heritage days continued with a few hitches, but came to a successful end.
“We would just like to thank everyone for a successful fund raiser,” said Miss Helsel, the Philipsburg Oceola High School Girl's Basketball coach.

The fundraiser was given up by the former operators, the football team, this year. Helsel and Evelyn Witters both expressed gratitude to Jim Pollock who offered the girl's basketball team the opportunity to run the event this year. Over twenty-five people sold tickets over the Heritage Days week for five dollars a ticket. After expenses it was hoped to give the year a good start with $700 earned.

The motivational factor for buying a ticket would be the prize, a thousand dollars with no second or third place.

In order to win Cowchip Bingo one needs luck and patience. Overall the rules are simple. On the local football field a grid of 22 by 22 squares were chalked out to allow for the 475 slots not Xed off for a lead cow to wander over. Eventually, ideally, the cow will do what comes naturally to most animals and defecate on one of the squares. The judges will match the square on the field to a key to see who is the lucky winner.

The lucky winner was Susan Mondock of Osceola Mills with ticket number 13. It was checked several times of the traditionally unlucky 13 was the winning number. A result that should have been expected, perhaps, for an event plagued with Murphy's Law.

“We gave a nice little crowd here,” said Helsel early into the event with over a dozen people present.

The star of the giant bingo match was Champ, a steer, owned by Jeremy Mock of Mock Farms near Williamsburg, Pa. Jeremy was accompanied by his father Jack Mock as they tried their best to make the bashful Champ comfortable enough to do his business in front of the crowd. After being bathed in cool water, feed, given the cow equivalent of “Gatorade” and allowed to rest in his own trailer Champ became somewhat more accommodating forty-five minutes into the bingo match. Finally picking a winner after an attempt to flee the game area.

Mock said that the reason for Champ's reluctance was most likely a combination of heat and exhaustion. Casually commenting to the watchers that Champ probably walked more today in a single go than he has in all his life.

Champ was a last minute substitute that was found with help of friends of Evelyn Witters, president of the Booster Club, from Tyrone. The original pick had passed away on July 4 from a combination of milk fever and calf paralysis.

“I think they worked out all the kinks this year,” said Helsel.

As for Champ, his next plans are to head to the Pennsylvania State Fair to compete for the first and last time. According to his owner, Jeremy Mock, Champ will be sold off at the fair.

Cowchip Bingo is expected to make a return appearance next year.

In general those present seemed to enjoy the spectacle.

“I think its fun. Very fun. Very country,” said Elle Horvatch from New Egypt, New Jersey.

Horvatch came to watch with Ron Smith. She described herself as coming from horse country, not cow, and wondered about the plausibility of horse bingo.