Tater the steer becomes Harrison County’s beloved mascot

One cold January evening in 2022, a bull was born on Bob and Darrin Young’s cattle farm. The calf, affectionately named Tater, didn’t stand up after birth as he should have. Bob tube-fed him every four hours for six days before his son, Darrin, said it wasn’t worth continuing. He gave his father an ultimatum: if Tater wasn’t better by morning, he would have to be put down.

“I told Tater that night when I left him, ‘Well, old buddy, if you ain’t standing up in the morning, that’s gonna be the end of you,’” Bob said. “The next morning, I got up there, and he was standing. He’s been my boy ever since, and he’ll always be my boy.”

Against all odds, Tater survived. He went on to be shown at the county fair as both a calf and a steer. “Darrin’s nephew wanted to show him at the fair as a steer,” Bob said. “The only thing that bothered me was if he happened to get Grand Champion, I would’ve had to sell him. I told them before they ever took him off the farm, you can take him to the fair, but you can’t sell him.”

Tater competed, finishing third. Bob said he was a “nervous wreck” the whole time and decided Tater wouldn’t compete again. “He’ll be here till me or him dies,” he said.

At the fair, Tater caught the attention of many children—and of Harrison County Sheriff Mark Touville.

“I was already looking for something of our own,” Touville said. “He came into this world with adversities. He’s a real example of overcoming trials. The kids at the fair loved him. They would come up to say hi and wave at him. It just kind of blossomed from there.”

Since then, Tater has become the center of attention at school safety events and could soon serve as a mascot for county government offices.

Turning Tater into a mascot has been a community effort made possible by Touville, the Youngs, and Harrison Central High School art student Jaiden Pelegreen, who designed a cartoon version of Tater. Her service learning teacher, Sam Macintosh, said Pelegreen has big plans for Tater’s cartoon counterpart.

The Youngs have been raising cattle since 2018, after years of raising horses. Darrin said seeing Tater become the sheriff’s office mascot has been humbling. “It’s actually pretty honoring,” he said. “I’m very proud to be the owner of Tater.”

Tater lives a comfortable life on the Young farm, with no plans for that to change anytime soon. “No matter where I’m at on the farm, he’s there,” Bob said. “You don’t see too many cows like that. He’s a very special animal.”

Tater may appear from time to time at future county events. Keep an eye out for a 2,000-pound steer next time you’re out and about.