DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
TEXAS RANCHERS IN THEIR OWN WORDS INTRODUCTION
Kathleen Jo Ryan

It is my last morning to be on a Texas ranch for a while. At sunrise I am waiting for the cowboys to gather cattle and bring them to the pens. The light is just dawning from the East with fine brushstrokes of pink, peach and amber light streaking across a vast blue horizon. I twirl around. As always I am captivated by this singular Texas horizon. Does the West seem bigger with this three-hundred-sixty degree openness or with mountains dotted somewhere on the horizon?

From my perch on a West Texas bluff I imagine seeing forever. Very still, only morning sounds -- the birds are busy. I sigh. It feels familiar yet so foreign. It’s Texas, not Wyoming or Nevada where I am most at home -- this feels desolate but not isolated. Shadows from telephone lines fall across a dirt road. I am suddenly reminded; it is only thirty minutes to a twenty-four hour convenience store. Reality?

Since 1974 I have photographically documented ranching in the American West. As a westerner, born and bred, I have driven over five-hundred thousand miles crisscrossing the western states. From 1986 through 1989, I photographed and produced my second book, Ranching Traditions: Legacy of the American West. In October 1997, Al Micallef, rancher, entrepreneur and restaurateur, approached me with his vision to produce a beautiful celebration of Texas ranching today, the result is Texas Cattle Barons: Their Families, Land and Legacy. This is the companion book.

To produce Texas Cattle Barons, I interviewed ranchers while photographing the thirteen Texas ranches we had selected. The widely acclaimed Texas writer Elmer Kelton agreed to write essays profiling each ranch from the transcripts of these interviews. The results were an abundance of information, much more than could be included in their profiles. We realized that this substantial content warranted a separate book. The interview transcripts were edited and condensed for readability. We have included questions that served as a guide to provoke thought and conversation. To preserve the spontaneous nature of these personal interviews this book retains the question and answer format from the original conversations -- truly Texas ranchers in their own words.

This book is a clear demonstration that substance and truth are more powerful than myth. These ranchers reveal through their own words the depth of their character, the sophistication of their businesses and a devoted commitment to serve as stewards of wildlife, land and livestock. They are the guardians of the remaining open spaces in the American West while providing nutritious food and fiber for society. They are a living link with our past, often an actual part of Texas history. They may inspires us to return to traditional values.

Ranching by its very nature is set in an unpredictable, unforgiving, and sometimes isolated and brutal environment. Competence and courage emerge from the demands and hardship imposed by this life. Today ranchers exemplify these qualities; they embody values we seek, such as self-reliance, morality and decency. These interviews invite the reader beyond the ranch gate and into each home to share in the thoughtful efforts by each rancher offering insights into their lives.

In retrospect this year was a pivotal year to undertake portraying ranching in Texas. First, it was a disastrous year -- smoke blanketed the state from fires in Mexico, statewide drought, extreme temperatures, and severe rains resulting in devastating floods -- threatening all agriculture. Besides the Texas crises were other cultural factors affecting ranchers: cattle prices continued to be ridiculously low; the consumer’s image of beef remained negatively influenced by popular myth; expanding governmental intrusion and regulatory encroachment; and the momentum of growing estrangement between consumers and agriculture.

These influences are attacking the heart of agriculture today, especially ranching -- weakening and eroding its foundation. In spite of hardships, my ranching friends have always voiced an eternal optimism -- a brightness of the future for the current and following generations. This past year, 1998, was different. There was still an attitude "tomorrow will be better" or "next spring it will improve" underlying whatever the crisis. But for the first time I heard generational ranchers discuss concern for their offspring to continue to ranch. For the first time it is no longer assumed that a ranch will pass onto the next generation. No longer is there a sense of obligation that a younger generation will or should automatically follow tradition and carry on as three of four generations before them.

The concern for the future of ranching is now discussed in the context of making economic sense. There is still a longing to carry on the historic tradition of previous generations, but it is tempered with modern realities. Ranchers do not want to saddle their offspring with the burden of tradition if the ranch can not make it financially. Family ranchers today are sending their children off to school encouraging them to sample life away from their ranching traditions. If, after they have tasted life and are committed to ranch they are welcome to continue tradition. If not, they are being encouraged to navigate new paths. This is a critical crossroads for our culture.

Ranching in Texas and throughout the western states forms an infrastructure that holds together the fabric of rural America and the American West. If ranchers are displaced we unravel the heart of the American West -- environmentally, economically and culturally. The implications for our predominantly urban culture should the younger generation decide not to pursue the family ranching tradition are sobering. For starters, the ranch will be sold. Land and water rights being the greatest assets will be sold to the highest bidders, not necessarily the best stewards. Already evident are situations of unconscious or greedy development leaving environmental voids in the heart of our American West. Water rights sold down river never return to their homeland. The loss of tax revenues supporting small rural communities threaten their very existence.

Fortunately so far, these ranchers are continuing their tradition with hopes for a better tomorrow. I invite you to open your mind and heart to these individuals. It is still their earnest desire to continue to improve life not only for themselves and their families, but also for their communities, local and global. May their own words inform and enlighten you. After all these years I continue to be an even more devoted admirer -- they are the most chivalrous and courageous people to grace my life.

On my last night in Texas the sun sets, a fiery amber ball dropping into a sea of brush and mesquite. These ranchers hold our American West in their hands and I pray we encourage them to continue.

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The following are sample questions that I used as a guide and trigger for provoking thoughts and dialog:

How old is your ranch? When was it founded and by whom?

Has it grown through the years, and if so, how, and how much?

What changes has your operation undergone since the earliest days? What has been tried and found to work? What has been tried and found not to work?

What are the factors that make your ranch successful today? What have been the obstacles and how have they been overcome? Any obstacles that have not been overcome?

What is the personal participation of individuals in your daily operation, and in the planning? Husband? Wife? Children? Other relatives? Is the next generation in line to continue the operation?

Do you have extra outside help that participate in the daily operation? How long have they been involved? How do they participate? What is their level of responsibility?

How much has outside income figured into your operation? Minerals? Profession?

Are there peculiarities that pertain to this specific place, specific environment, that have required special adaptations? How have these either favored your operation or challenged it? (climate, topography, vegetation, water, etc.)


What innovations have you introduced to improve your operation? Are any of these innovations applicable to the industry as a whole? What impact do your innovations have on the land, livestock, wildlife?


How is your operation preparing for the new century? If money or labor were not a consideration what vision do you have for your ranch?

What do you see for the future of your ranch operation? What do you see as the future for the ranching industry as a whole?

What legacy do you want to leave for the future generations? How would you like others to view your ranching operation?