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 Dal Houston
I am terribly saddened by all the argumentative discourse that seems to be going on in today’s world. It seems as though it is no longer enough just to disagree on certain issues. We are expected to classify someone as an enemy if they do not always agree with us on all issues, lest we be considered weak.
To make things even worse, because those who disagree with you are now considered enemies, the sentiment seems to be that it is only fair and proper to destroy them, because they are the enemy, again with the fear of ridicule for being weak if we do not fight.
With all that said, and seemingly unrelated, I am a big John Wayne fan. From watching him dive into his role as a cowboy, to marveling at his time portraying a soldier or appreciating his acting gig as a sailor, there is seldom a week that goes by without me watching at least one
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Martha Crump
That old adage, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.,” may have some basis in truth when applied to minor situations. However, when what you don’t know is presented in the form of a “Trojan Horse” and is what amounts to an incredible attempt to fleece American property rights, it becomes a different story altogether.
To put this unbelievable tale together, we need to step back to Joe Biden’s 2021 Executive Order which pledged commitment to help restore balance on public lands and waters, to create jobs, and to provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with our nation’s climate, conservation, and clean energy goals.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1 whole lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
¼ cup water
Directions:
Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to the lemon mixture along with juice of one lemon and water. Taste and add more juice as desired.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
-
Country Lifestyles1 year agoScott & Stacey Schumacher: A Growth Mindset
-
Equine7 months agoThe Will to Win
-
Country Lifestyles7 years agoStyle Your Profile – What your style cowboy hat says about you and new trends in 2017
-
Country Lifestyles4 years agoAmber Crawford, Breakaway Roper
-
HOME7 years agoGrazing North Texas – Wilman Lovegrass
-
Country Lifestyles7 years agoDecember 2016 Profile, Rusty Riddle – The Riddle Way
-
Country Lifestyles8 years agoJune 2016 Profile – The man behind the mic: Bob Tallman
-
Outdoor9 years agoButtercup or Primrose?