R-264 Page 1 of 1
2024
No. R-264. Senate concurrent resolution congratulating Bag Balm on the company’s
125th anniversary.
(S.C.R.11)
By Senators Kitchel, Ingalls, Starr and Westman,
By Representative Pearl of Danville Whereas, a small dairy farm in the Orange County community of Wells River is hardly the typical site for the creation of a revolutionary consumer product, but, in 1899, Bag Balm, originally intended as a moisturizing aid for dry or chapped cow udders, was invented in this rural locale, and Whereas, John Norris of Lyndonville recognized a promising business opportunity,
purchased the marketing rights to Bag Balm’s unique formula, and he commissioned the design of the product’s easily identifiable green tin, which is adorned with cow udders and
a wreath of red clover, the Vermont State Flower, and Whereas, in the early 1900s, Bag Balm introduced a horse tonic, and a hoof softener followed during the 1910s; in the 1930s, Bag Balm’s notoriety spread when Admiral Richard Byrd reportedly brought it with him on his North Pole expedition; during World War II, the legend spread that soldiers employed Bag Balm to protect their rifles from rust and corrosion; and, as a temporary wartime necessity, the packaging was switched from tin to wax paper, and Whereas, in the 1960s, marketing for direct human application started, and the distinctive Jumbo Tin Pail was introduced; in the 1970s, Bag Balm’s tin pails (regardless of size) were converted to plastic; and, in the 1980s, Bag Balm last modified its special formula, and Whereas, in 2024, Bag Balm is sold in bar form, and in pails, samples, sticks, tins
(including a special 125th anniversary gold tin), and tubes; and it can consist of apricot kernel oil, lanolin, shea butter, or vitamin E; and, although the livestock products, except for the original Bag Balm formula, are no longer manufactured, there is a wide choice of
cleansers, lip balms, and soaps, as well as fun promotional merchandise, now therefore be
it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly congratulates Bag Balm on the company’s 125th anniversary, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
Bag Balm President Libby Parent.
VT LEG #376090 v.1