Foy Proctor Memorial Cowman's Award of Honor Recipients

Thirty miles west of Snyder, Texas was the childhood home of our next recipient. Mike Stephens came took his first breath of dry West Texas dusty air in Snyder on June 9, 1945. He lived with his parents Allen and Opal Stephens on the Rocker Ranch owned by the Clayton Family of Borden County. His…

Horses have always played a big part in Johnny’s appreciation for the work of ranching. He said the job just would not be as enjoyable. His grandkids claim he is “old school”, which he freely admits, but the truth also is that one of the reasons he continues ranching is because of working cattle horseback with good cowboys. He has done it that way all his life and knows no other way.

James says that this cow culture will stay grounded in an ever changing world.  This culture will always appreciate what hard work will accomplish. His worst fears are winter storms and a poor cattle market.  His greatest pleasure is enjoying good health and his ability to be involved daily at age 90.

Craig says his greatest pleasures come from cowboying and family.  His biggest worries after weather include the current direction of our country and the questionable direction of American agriculture and the loss of the old cowboy ways.  His concerns include high taxes, with Nebraska having the third highest in the country. His hope is in his family and seeing them fulfill their dreams.

Joe believes the rancher was the first environmentalist.  If land is not taken care of it won’t take care of you.  His goal is to leave his land in better shape than he found it, and to teach is descendants to do the same.  With fewer and fewer people in the ranching business multi-generational ranches are more important now than they ever have been.  This history and heritage has to be recognized and understood by future generations.

Warren Davis hopes that he honors those who have gone before him in making the CS Ranch a success. The future of our way of life is tough and you have to love it.

Shannon believes his greatest pleasures in life come from being able to saddle his horse, see the sun rise, enjoying God’s creations and simply being a cowboy.

John Anderson, has spent his whole life on and now operates the Muleshoe ranch with wife Kevva. John hopes for the future of our culture and country is that we keep the roots of that culture, the Bible and the Constitution in our daily lives.

The spirit of her forbearers resides in Candi as demonstrated in her reluctance to allow her heritage to be forgotten. She strives to increase her knowledge, to leave her land better than she found it, and hopes to inspire upcoming generations to develop similar philosophies.

Jim Nicholson’s greatest pleasures in his work come from doing what he truly enjoys, being on good horses, well bred cattle, and being around and meeting good people in the industry.  He says it really should not be called work.

Pete says his greatest pleasure of working his ranches comes from “handling a set of ouchy cattle on a real good horse”.  He believes the future of the cattle business is extremely bright because there is a lack of people staying in or going into the business which reduces the amount of competition.

Jimmie served as Past President of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers’ Association, the National Wool Growers Association and the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association.   His family has been breeding purebred Hereford cattle since 1954. 

S. A. Baxter is a sixth generation rancher born in 1931 on the family ranch in San Saba and Lampasas Counties, Texas. He says, There is no better feeling than to ride a good, young horse that you raised and started, on a good spring day.

We were taught to work, take responsibility for our actions, and to entertain ourselves. Looking back, Royce said, If you apply yourself, work hard, have patience, and maintain the Christian values we were taught, things will work out OK.  Technology changes, right and wrong stays the same.

Bob Kelton was born in 1948 to a 4th generation West Texan father Jim Tom Kelton & mother Doris Calley Kelton. His greatest pleasure is working cattle on horseback.

Joe Bill says his fondest memories of that time of his life were the summers spent gathering cows, flanking calves, helping the neighbors, getting to rodeo a little and roping in the branding pens. Those years were where he learned the lessons of the range. “Treat everyone how you want to be treated and work as hard as it takes to get the job done.”

The West Texas ranching landscape has been home to now seven generations of a family named Welch.  Those generations of Welches have endured many hardships and heartaches and as well have enjoyed many triumphs and achievements. 

Chris set out on a path of improvement, not making changes just to be flexing the muscles of a new manager on the place but making changes that were for the right reasons. These changes demonstrated his ability to adapt to the changing economic environment of the day.

Billy has maintained a cow-calf operation of crossbred Hereford – Angus cattle. Billy says “we never know what we’re going to get. That’s kind of the tough thing about this business,” Green concludes. “Mother nature doesn’t ‘entitle’ you, and you must live with what she gives you.”

Jim says he has seen many changes in the cattle and ranching business over the last 60 years. When he was a kid they worked cattle horseback from the 5th of July until Labor Day when he had to go back to school. They saddled their horses before daylight and worked until noon, rested during the heat of the day, then worked until dark — seven days a week.

Chris is the fourth generation of a family that began ranching sheep in 1883 and brought some of the first registered Hereford cattle to West Texas in the late 1880’s. He is president and owner of Scharbauer Cattle Company and owner of the Five S Ranch in the Texas Panhandle.

John Welch was born in Midland, Texas to parents Charles and Eileen Welch. John continues to ranch on 23,000 acres in Southern Colorado. He currently serves on the boards of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raiser’s Assoc., the Texas Livestock Marketing Assoc. and the Spade Ranches.

Everyone always thinks about what all the pioneer men did. They were working cattle, hunting bears, running lions, going to Fort Worth to sell cattle, while the women were at home having babies in tents. I’m telling you, the women are the people who held the West together. He describes his grandmother as a wise, self-educated woman with a lot of grit. She understood the stock market; she understood the cattle business; she understood the sheep business.