CALF_News_December_2018_January_2019

41 CALF News • October | November 2018 • www.calfnews.net Brute ad .25 / 4C repeat subsequent heirs from meager beginnings to billionaire status and their paths to financial and political power. The Hunt and Murchison families, among other endeavors, are commonly known for their forays into the National Football League, cre- ating the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys franchises, respectively. Roy Cullen established foundations to fund hospi- tals throughout the state. It was Sid Richardson and his heirs who avoided public fanfare, but contributed much to Texas history with the University of Texas, Rice University, Baylor University and Texas Christian University, all bearing his name on campus buildings. Little was written about Sid Richardson, so it is unclear how Frank Dobie, a longtime University of Texas professor and folklorist, teamed up or even met. One thing for certain, in 1939 Dobie wrote one of his best works, The Longhorns at Richardson’s Saint Joseph’s Island ranch house, and the very offshore spot where my wife showed us how to fish. Purebred Longhorn numbers were dwindling due to cross- breeding with Angus and Hereford bulls for better quality beef as well as one of their other inherent strengths, their immune systems, which enabled them to survive while carrying the tick causing Cattle Tick Fever. Since other breeds succumbed to this fever, large-scale destruction of the Longhorn breed took place. Thirty years earlier, their numbers were in the millions, but had nearly reached extinction with maybe just one thou- sand left by the late 1920s. Dobie and Richardson enlisted onetime Texas Ranger Graves Peeler to locate purebred Longhorns in Mexico and bring them back to Texas. From this small handful of bulls, cows and calves gathered and brought back to Texas, registered Texas Longhorn numbers soared to more than a quarter mil- lion by the 1990s, with breeders in all 50 states, Canada and Mexico. Raising Longhorns as a hobby since 1957, Charles Schreiner III, third-generation owner of the YO Ranch, organized the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America “to preserve the lean and lanky cattle,” in 1964. In 1966, Schreiner and the late Ace Reid, creator of The Cowpokes cartoon series, along with upwards of 100 other ranch hands trailed 100 Texas Longhorns from San Antonio to Dodge City, Kan., to com- memorate the cattle drives of the 1880s. Ten years later a similar but shorter drive of Longhorns headed from San Antonio to Lubbock to commemorate the opening of the Ranch Heritage Center on Texas Tech campus. The YO Ranch was featured in the 1989 Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog for a trail ride the next spring. Working alongside the ranch hands, 275 purchasers spent several days on the ranch. Having settled back into my professional life and routine, I finished my reading assignments from the Port Aransas friends. Reflecting on another Texas road trip, the Texas Longhorn is not only the state’s unofficial symbol, but unknowingly may have been my travel guide.    Improved chute design to improve your cattle performance  Safe, efficient and strong – The Brute Way! BruTe DouBle & SIngle WIDe Alleys • Tubs • loAdouTs “Turning your dreams into reality ... it’s what we do.” Dodge, Neb. 68633 402.693.2221 Cattle Friendly – Performance Driven. Brute Cattle equipment celeBraTIng 50 yearS In BuSIneSS! FolloW uS on: www.dodgemfg.com Vitalix Rises From the Ashes After a devastating fire, the Vitalix production facility is up and running in a new location! New LocatioN! Vitalix Production Facility 3278 Road 101E • Sidney, NE 69162 Vitalix Headquarters 1820 10th Ave. • Sidney, NE 69162 1-800-423-TUBS (8827) www.Vitalix.com