So many things impact our lives as individuals, but nothing more than hard work. Growing up as a kid on a ranch, I learned many of life’s lessons through the chores that had to be done. It wasn’t always something I enjoyed, but was things that were necessary in order for our ranch to operate properly.
First, let’s look at the ranch I grew up on which was located about 10 miles east of Talco, Texas. My dad and his brother were partners of this property known as Graf Brothers Ranch. Now my dad’s brother (Uncle Bill) lived in Ft. Worth and was the owner of a major trucking company, while my dad worked full time in the Talco oil field as the superintendent for Vick Well Service.
Uncle Bill was mainly a financial owner of the ranch as dad did 90% of the work that took place. On the ranch, we raised several breeds of cattle including Herford, Angus and Brahmas, and at one point we even ran a few Charolais. The ranch was known for producing high quality crossbred calves, all due to one awesome Angus bull by the name of “Doc.”
Doc was a pure black Angus bull that became famous for the calves he produced, which landed him on the cover of Texas Farm Magazine. My dad truly loved this bull and had a special relationship with Doc who was his favorite bull that we ever owned.
A ranch requires a lot of work and there were many chores that had to be done, some I dreaded and others I looked forward to. But nothing was worse than what my dad called “picking up chunks.”
This was a job that took place anytime dad decided to clear some of the timber on our property in order to create more pastureland. We owned a D8 Caterpillar dozer that was used exclusively for clearing property and building stock ponds.
Once the timber was cut and piled up ready to burn, there were a lot of “chunks” of wood that had to be picked up by hand and placed in small piles also to be burned. I do remember having a few choice words every time I heard the words, “Pick up chunks.” It really was the worse job in the world!
One thing about working on a ranch, there was never a shortage of things to do. Whether it was building or mending fence, bailing hay, bush hogging, barn repairs, or doctoring cattle, there was plenty to do!
The greatest lesson I learned from growing up on the ranch was work ethic. Our ranch was our family business and required plenty of attention. Being a young teenager, a lot was expected by my dad when it came to getting things done, as he worked full-time in the oil field six days a week. Therefore, Sundays were always dedicated to any and all jobs needing to be done on the ranch.
But this place, was also my playground for hunting and fishing. It’s where my passion grew for both hunting and fishing as I spent hours upon hours fishing our stock ponds or hunting ducks and squirrels.
Looking back at my time on the ranch brings back some great memories. It helped shape me into the person I am today and motivated me to continue my education as dad reminded me often that if I did not go to college, I would be working seven days a week on the ranch. That was something I DID NOT WANT!
Till next time, enjoy every opportunity you get to wet a hook or enjoy the great outdoors and remember, it always a great day when you get to go fishing whether you catch fish or not.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com
