Country Lifestyles
August 2018 Profile: Weldon Hawley – Living The Cowboy Dream
By Jessica Crabtree
At 4 a.m. every morning Weldon Hawley’s eyes open. By 5 a.m. he begins his day. It starts with coffee and breakfast, then the day’s tasks. It is a hard habit to break after nearly 40 years as a former cowboy and ranch manager of the Waggoner Ranch.
After his retirement in February 2017, the lifelong cowboy stepped away from the ranch he spent most of his life on, the ranch his parents brought him home to, and the ranch he brought his children home to.
Hawley’s father was working at Waggoner Ranch when Hawley was born and later the JY Ranch in Guthrie before moving back to Vernon when Hawley was five. His father, Charlie Hawley, was raised in a community settled by his elders amongst the Waggoner Ranch. While working at Waggoner’s, Charlie broke his back, ending his career as a cowboy. “He all but begged me not to be a cowboy. I guess he finally gave up and decided to help me,” Hawley said of his father.
Attending Vernon school, Hawley graduated and pursued a degree first at Clarendon College, finishing with a business degree from Vernon College. Hawley first stepped foot on Waggoner Ranch as an employee in 1970, something as a young man he whole-heartedly desired. Drafted to Vietnam in 1971, Hawley came home to Waggoner’s once more before leaving in ’76 for the Triangle Ranch in Iowa Park. It was in 1985 that Hawley returned to Waggoner’s, staying until his retirement in 2017.
“It was always something I wanted to do. It was the history, my dad working there, my uncles, I wound up there my whole life,” Hawley described. “It was my home.” As a very young man starting out, Hawley believes he was fortunate to have worked around men that he looked up to. “G.L. Proctor was the ranch manager then. Wes O’Neal, Jay Don Finch, Dolen Finch, Jimmy Smith, and J.R. Edwards were all awful good cowboys. They really put me to the test and helped me,” he reminisced.
To read more pick up a copy of the August 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
Hawley officially retired from the Waggoner Ranch in February of 2017 allowing him the time to work with his own horses. (Photo by Jessica Crabtree)
By: Martha Crump
Most cattle producers can tell you quite a lot about balancing cattle diets for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals based on the specific needs for their herd and type of operation.
A key factor, and one that is often overlooked, is that how your animals perform is also directly affected by their water intake.
Now many of you may already be thinking “well of course water is necessary, anybody knows that!”
In many years, as September marches into October, we are beginning to experience some return of rainfall. But as many of us know, that is not always the case. Often we are still experiencing hot and dry weather, and water supplies are dwindling.
When we find ourselves experiencing those types of fall conditions, it is critical to not only understand the daily water requirements for cattle, but also the impact that the quality of water can have on herd health and development.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Annette Bridges
A friend and I were recently talking about our husbands. She made a comment that I felt also perfectly described me and my hubby.
“He slows me and I hurry him. I’m sure that is why we do well together,” she said.
“Precisely!” I thought. Why?
Because when two different worlds collide, it can be magical.
No matter what those two different worlds are- a man and a woman with very different personalities, beliefs, or backgrounds, two partners with contrasting passions, strengths, or talents, or when a country boy marries a city girl.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Watauga, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, is known for its rich history as a railroad stop, but over the course of the last year, one teen girl has put it on the map for agriculture as well. Emma Harvey has lived in Tarrant County her entire life. Despite being highly involved in her local 4-H chapter, she still felt there was more she could do. In the spring of 2023, she stepped up to the plate to take over the title of Tarrant County Teen Miss Agriculture USA.
“It all started when I put in an application for the teen title here in Tarrant County,” explained Harvey.
The Miss Agriculture USA program is a national non-profit, age-inclusive pageant program that offers both competition and non-competition titles to women dedicated to the promotion of agriculture.
Read more in the October issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available online and in print. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive NTFR in your inbox each week.
Photo by Hannah Claxton.
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