When Linda Keene Hodorff '77 joined the Cornell Dairy Science Club shortly after its founding in 1973, she could count all her fellow members on one hand and was thrilled to travel to far-flung destinations like Pennsylvania and Virginia for farm visits and campus exchanges.

"I remember taking a trip to Virginia Tech over spring break. At the time, that was a big deal for us," said Hodorff, a former club president.

Returning to campus Oct. 23, however, she heard how club membership now surpasses 125, and students travel to other countries rather than counties.

Hodorff and dozens of other former CUDS alumni gathered outside the club's annual Harvest Holstein Sale Oct. 23 for their first reunion.

More than 50 people -- including most of the group's founding members -- came from far and wide to attend the event, organized by Roger Thomas '76. They got to interact with former classmates and current undergraduates at the holstein sale and an evening banquet at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course.

Club founder Maggie Murphy '74, who traveled 1,149 miles to participate, said it was worth it.

"I think everyone who attended had even a better time than they had imagined. I sure did," she said.

Murphy was handed an Udder Distance Award at the banquet and was joined on stage by Barbara and Bill Young, who received a Second Generation CUDS Award to recognize the fact that two of their sons and one daughter were active CUDS members.

"It appeared that even the current CUDS members enjoyed hearing our stories and telling a few of their own," Thomas said. "We had several second-generation CUDS members in attendance, and they may have been hearing about some of their parents' fun times for the first time."

Hodorff, who runs a dairy farm in Wisconsin, said she occasionally runs into some of her former classmates at such national events as the World Dairy Expo. But for many, it was the first time they had seen each other since graduation, and their first return to Ithaca in decades.

Peter Hamming '77 said he welcomed the excuse to come back.

"We were just a group of kids who had a common interest and decided to do some fun things together," Hamming said.

That included a lot of singing, and reunion attendees were treated to some of their favorite dairy-doctored tunes during an unannounced closing serenade by The Cowbells, a group of female members that formed in the early years to perform contemporary songs with altered lyrics extolling the virtues of farming and CUDS activities.

But even the fun social gatherings and outings doubled as learning and networking experiences, Hamming said.

Peter Callan '76, who works as an extension specialist in agriculture and natural resources for Virginia Cooperative Extension, said Cornell provided him with opportunities that he never thought he'd have when he was growing up on a dairy-cash crop farm in western New York.

"I'll always be grateful for the education I got here. The breadth of programs offered at Cornell is amazing," Callan said. "I owe so much to the people in the old agricultural economics department."

Callan said his interactions with current CUDS students made him confident that the future of the dairy industry is in good hands.

"These kids are sharp and well-educated. They know what it's going to take to be successful, and they will do it," Callan added.

Stacey Shackford is a staff writer at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.