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Waggoner Ranch: 1 Year Later

February 13, 2017

A lot has happened this year on the Waggoner Ranch. Last February, the Waggoner sold to Stan Kroenke after being listed for $725 million. With the sale, 165+ years of family ownership came to an end. The largest ranch under one fence in the United States remains a contiguous working ranch, although things have changed throughout the year.

Stan Kroenke bought the Waggoner Ranch 1 year ago

After the sale of the ranch, the bunkhouse and cook shack closed down. About one third of the Waggoner cowboys have retired or been let go. Then the Waggoner made news when Kroenke forced Lake Diversion residents to leave their homes.

“But they will survive. They are cowboys. They live by another ethic that reveals itself in their work and how they relate to each other. They value people over things. They have a sense of personal responsibility. They know who they are, and they aren’t going to be less than that for anybody.” -Jan Batts in Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch

The cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch are resilient men, adept at coping with life’s many unpredictable changes. Bobby Daniel has retired to Seymour, Texas, where he raises goats. Some cowboys have moved on to other ranches. And many show up day after day to work the largest ranch under one fence in the United States as they have for decades.

The Waggoner Ranch was family owned for 165+ years before selling to Stan Kroenke in 2016

A year after the sale, we’re proud to be telling the story of this historic ranch and the cowboys who have called it home. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch was photographed the year before the ranch sold, preserving a way of life for future generations.

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Visiting a Texas Legend

February 6, 2017
“His eyes speak to folks he’s never met.  They see his hard work and determination.  He’s a Texas legend, and I’m honored to now call him a friend.” -Jeremy Enlow
We caught up with recently retired Waggoner cowboy Bobby Daniel.  He lived and cowboyed on the ranch from 1965 until his retirement in April 2016.
Bobby Daniel cowboyed on the Waggoner Ranch for more than 50 years
For the last 51 years, Mr. Daniel and his wife lived in a house on the sprawling Waggoner Ranch. These days they reside in the small town of Seymour, Texas, not far from the southern border of the Waggoner.
Read more: Bobby Daniel Retires After 51 Years 
Mr. Daniel is adjusting to retirement.  “I get to get up when I want to and do what I want during the day,” Daniel said smiling, looking at his newly acquired goats.  Mr. Daniel’s five goats and four chickens keep him entertained.  “I’d like to get a few more goats but the prices are high right now,” he said.

The Daniel Family Legacy

In the corner of his barn,  his saddles and ropes collect dust.  Since 1949, at least one member of the Daniel family was employed on the Waggoner Ranch.  At one point, the following eight Daniel cowboys worked side by side for the mighty three D:


Windy Daniel 1949 -1973
Cotton Daniel 1964-2015
Bobby Daniel 1965-2016
Mack Daniel 1971-2014
Casey Daniel 1975-?
Junior Daniel 1977-1987
Brother Daniel 1978-?
Marty Daniel 1979-1984
Eddie Daniel 1980-1993
Shawn Daniel 1989-1994

Bobby Daniel was the last Daniel family member to work on the Waggoner Ranch.

“At the book signings, Bobby Daniel is always a popular subject among readers,” Jeremy Enlow, publisher and photographer of Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch book said.  “Readers love his portrait and always want to know more about him.  His eyes speak to folks he’s never met.  They see his hard work and determination.  He’s a Texas legend, and I’m honored to now call him a friend.”
See more of Jeremy’s visit with Bobby Daniel in the gallery below.

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Waggoner Ranch from Overhead

January 30, 2017

It can be hard to visualize what a 510,527 acre ranch looks like. On the ground, the Waggoner Ranch looks endless, stretching as far as the eye can see in any direction. To get a better look at the scope of the ranch, Jeremy Enlow photographed the ranch from a Cessna airplane. You can see his aerial photographs of the Waggoner Ranch below.

Wanting to capture just the right moments on the ranch, Jeremy didn’t use a drone for any of the aerial photographs. Instead, he took all of the images himself while flying overhead.  These aerial shots can be seen in Jeremy’s book Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. Get yours today and enjoy free shipping in the United States!

 

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Order Up

January 15, 2017

Jeremy’s photographs of the Waggoner Ranch document many iconic aspects of the ranch.  Taken a year before the ranch sold to Stan Kroenke, they capture the ranch right before its historic change of hands, preserving a way of life for future generations. Some things have changed on the Waggoner since then, including the closing of the Waggoner Ranch cook shack. As time passes, this photographic history of the ranch becomes increasingly precious.

Debbie’s cooking philosophy was simple: “Lots of calories,” she laughs. None of it goes to waste. The cowboys filled their plates from the cafeteria-style line up of from-scratch comfort food. When the cook shack was open, Debbie made breakfast and lunch six days a week for the twenty-six cowboys.

You can see more photos of the Waggoner Ranch cook shack here, and what it looked like in the 1980s here.

Jeremy Enlow of Steel Shutter Photography photographed the cow camp at the Waggoner Ranch

It takes a lot of coffee to be a cowboy.

Debbie’s cooking was always mouthwateringly delicious and filling.

Weldon Hawley, right, is always the last to eat and the first to head to work.

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These Boots Were Made for Working

January 9, 2017

Working on the largest ranch under one fence in the United States is a strenuous job. To get it done, the cowboys rely on well made ropes, saddles, and boots. The cost of outfitting a cowboy adds up quickly. “A cowboy needs a saddle, boots, hat, leggings, spurs to start with,” says Bobby Daniel. “Everything’s really high now. Saddles are really high.” Bobby rode for the Waggoner for 51 years before retiring in 2016.

The cowboys choose their boots with great care. “We wear handmade boots,” says Ricky Rios. “Handmade boots last three or four years. Store-bought only last about a year.” Master Bootmaker Mike Vaughn crafted some of the boots pictured in Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. You can read more about Mike here in our Meet the Makers blog series.

Jeremy Enlow photographed the Waggoner Ranch cowboys for his first book. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch is made in Texas.

 

Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch is made in Texas, by Texans.

 

Jeremy Enlow's inaugural book is the recipient of 6 awards

These boots aren’t just well made and good looking. They’re designed to stand up to the hard work and Texas dirt the cowboys see every day. Day after day, these boots walk one of the largest ranches in the United States. Buy Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch today to see more Waggoner cowboy life up close.

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Everyday Grit

January 2, 2017

“I was shocked a ranch this size still existed with so many Cowboys still practicing cowboying the way it was done 100 years ago, with just their ropes and horses.  The land on the Waggoner is beautiful, but it’s the Cowboys on the ranch that make it a special place.” -Jeremy Enlow

The Waggoner Ranch cowboys work hard to keep the ranch’s cattle camp operations going. A work week is 5 and a half days long, averaging 10 hours per day.  “When I started thirty years ago, we had two vehicles,” says Weldon Hawley. “We rode in the camper in the back of the wagon boss’ truck. The chuck wagon was out (instead of cowboys driving in to eat at the cook shack). We have radios and cell phones and the helicopter. Everything else is about the same as it always has been.”

Cowboying this way is a hard, demanding way of life that requires a lot of grit. As predictable as their work is, any number of things – the weather, a startled horse, a debilitating accident, disease taking hold of the herd – can change everything in a moment. Cowboys are accustomed to uncertainty. They face each new day as it comes, making the best of it.

These are the cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch.

Jeremy Enlow of Steel Shutter photography documented the Waggoner Ranch in 2015

Waggoner Ranch near Vernon, TX photographed by Dallas advertising photographer Jeremy Enlow

Jeremy Enlow is a Dallas / Fort Worth advertising and media photographer

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Cowgirl of the Waggoner Ranch

December 26, 2016

In Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch, one cowgirl stands out. Cassidy “Butch” Chambliss lends a hand on the ranch during the summer. Well acquainted with the work at hand, she helps show the younger kids the ropes, too. The initiative modeled by the Waggoner cowboys is demonstrated in the way she works. Nobody has to tell her to hurry up or pay attention, the Waggoner work ethic having been instilled the previous summer. Not intimidated by the heat or the dust or the cattle, Butch hasn’t decided whether she wants to be a veterinarian or a cowgirl.

A Waggoner Ranch veteran, Butch Chambliss loves riding horses

Eleven-year-old Cassidy works with the cowboys during summer vacation. “Everybody calls me Butch,” she says. “I’ve been riding since I was two years old.” When Jeremy visited the ranch, she was happy to be riding her favorite horse, Romeo. “He likes to go fast!” she says with a grin.

You can see Cassidy riding Romeo in photos from Jeremy’s archives here.

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Merry Christmas, Y’all

December 18, 2016

‘Twas the week of Christmas, and all around the ranch all the cowboys were working the DDD brand. “The only weather we don’t work in is rain and lightning and when it’s too hot for the stock,” says ranch manager Weldon Hawley. Cowboys work ten hours a day, five and a half days a week. “There’s always enough cowboys around for an emergency, like fighting a grassfire or something,” says Jimbo Glover. “Somebody asked me, ‘What do you want to be when you get big?’ and I said, ‘I ain’t going to be a fireman, I’ll tell you.’”

 

Cowboys practice old-fashioned virtues. “Integrity is what the world’s missing now,” Weldon Hawley says. “There’s a lot of pride in their work, a bunch more so than anywhere else.”

Arriving at the pasture where they’ll work, the cowboys unload their horses and mount up in the faint glow of the moon and their vehicles’ lights.

“To do this, you just have to love it,” says Weldon Hawley. And the Waggoner cowboys do love their work; you can see it in every face as they ride out into the pasture. They are a living image of the American West. And this is an opportunity to see who they really are. These are the cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch.

 

Whether you’re reading from the city or the ranch, we hope you have a very merry Christmas. Don’t have a copy of Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch yet? There’s still time to get yours in time for Christmas. Just choose priority shipping by December 21st and it will get to you in time for the holiday!

Order by Dec. 21 for Christmas delivery!

Holiday Shipping

December 12, 2016

Help Santa out, Texas style. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch is made in Texas, by Texans, about Texans. With our new Priority shipping option, there’s plenty of time to order the book for everyone on your Christmas list.

Shipping Deadlines

In order to receive your book by Christmas, please order by the dates below

  • FREE SHIPPING | Order by December 15th
  • PRIORITY SHIPPING | Order by December 21st

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The Story as Old as Texas

“The book shows we’re still surviving, doing things like they did 100 years ago, the cowboy way.” –  Waggoner Ranch Manager Weldon Hawley quoted in Western Horseman, (March 2016).  Mr. Hawley has worked at the Waggoner since 1976. 

In 1849, Dan Waggoner began the ranch with 6 horses, 242 longhorns, and a bit of land in Wise County. Over time, the ranch grew and moved out towards Wichita Falls. It is now the largest ranch under one fence in the United States, spanning 6 counties. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch is proud to be a GO TEXAN product

Jeremy Enlow visited the Waggoner in 2015 to document the 26 cowboys working the ranch. The result is his inaugural book, Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch. Printed in North Texas, we’re proud that Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch is a GO TEXAN product.

 

 

Made in Texas, by Texans

December 5, 2016

This Christmas, GO TEXAN and give everyone on your list a gift made in Texas, by Texans, about Texans. The largest ranch under one fence in the United States, the Waggoner Ranch is nearly as old as Texas. Texas native Jeremy Enlow spent five months photographing the 26 working cowboys who live there. The result is the award-winning Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch, a 140 page full color coffee table book printed right here in North Texas.  

GO TEXAN this Christmas when you order Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch

“Printing bids were much cheaper in Asia, but for this book not only did I want it to be printed in the United States but specifically in Texas,” says Jeremy Enlow. “It is important to me to know the working conditions are safe and people are being treated fairly.  Texans, myself included, are proud of their state.  I consider it a great achievement that this book was 100% made by Texans in Texas.“

Texan from start to finish

Jeremy along with John Davidson (editor), Julie Enlow (producer), Jan Batts (copy), Yvette Bowling (design), Julie Hatch (Public Relations/Media) and Hunter Mills (Public Relations/Social Media) are all native Texans. Cowboys of the Waggoner Ranch is proud to be a GO TEXAN product. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book benefits The Waggoner Ranch Cowboys Fund, giving back to some of Texas’ greatest living legends. 

“The book shows we’re still surviving, doing things like they did 100 years ago, the cowboy way.” –  Waggoner Ranch Manager Weldon Hawley quoted in Western Horseman, (March 2016).  Mr. Hawley has worked at the Waggoner since 1976.

Buy the book now and get FREE shipping in the United States!

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