By Jim Bret Campbell, Executive Director
I am reminded daily of the commitment and dedication that generations of the ranching and Texas Tech University communities have made to building the National Ranching Heritage Center. Every day when I enter the David M. DeVitt-Mallet Ranch Building and my office in the Christine DeVitt Wing I am reminded of the investment that two sisters—Christine DeVitt and Helen Jones and their subsequent foundations—made to make the National Ranching Heritage Center a reality. In fact, the whole concept of a center devoted to preserving and promoting ranching heritage might not have gotten off the ground if Christine DeVitt had not written an initial check for $200,000 to get the herd started down the trail.
I greet visitors at the 6666 Ranch entrance and our events would not be the same without the world-famous L Barn donated by Anne Marion or the Pitchfork Pavilion given by the Pitchfork Land & Cattle Company. Just walking through Proctor Park, which is named after famed rancher Foy Proctor, I am reminded time and again of the sacred trust that the current leadership and our NRHC team have in telling the story.
At the Ranching Heritage Association annual meeting, Mark Kirkpatrick of Post, Texas, took the reins as president of the association. Mark’s grandfather was John Lott, Sr., who was a member of the Ranch Headquarters Committee and served in countless ways in the formative years of the Center. Mark took the reins from Bedford Jones, who has followed in the footsteps of his parents in serving the Ranching Heritage Association.
With limited staff and funds at the time, John Lott personally oversaw many of the additions to the historical park. He was on-site on an almost daily basis to ensure that the Center was established and growing. Countless others have made similar commitments of their time, talent, and treasure over more than five decades of building what we now know as the National Ranching Heritage Center.
NRHC in 1974.
A New Era
Because of the dogged determination of those who have come before us and the solid foundation that they built, we have the luxury of entering a new era of adding to our ability to tell the story of ranching through new and engaging ways. In October, we broke ground on The Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center, featuring Hank the Cowdog. Author and rancher John R. Erickson trusted us enough to share his beloved dog, Hank, with us to be able to connect with kids and adults alike to share about modern ranching with Hank as the guide. The Cash Family Ranch Life Learning will bring ranching to life when it opens in mid-2023.
In 2000, former National Ranching Heritage Center Executive Director Jim Pfluger wrote: We will tell the story through our historical structures and artifacts, but also through song, poetry and the written word.
With that in mind, we are making a commitment to bringing life to the historical park daily. Our Ranch Hosts make critical contributions to engaging visitors on Living History Saturdays and special events like Ranch Day and Candlelight at the Ranch. There is just no comparison to the experience our guests get when Lewis Neely has the forge in the Spade Blacksmith Shop roaring, and he is hammering a turning fork into shape.
As we plan for the future, it is critical that we build on the solid foundation that has been laid for us, but buildings don’t stop at the foundation. It is more important than ever that we leave every guest that comes through our doors, visits our website, or engages with us on social media with a sense of both the history and present of ranching in ways that share the values of cow country.
Because of You
We could not dream without you and the current generation of the ranching community that continues to invest in the National Ranching Heritage Center. Because of your increasing support through your membership dollars and donations, investment in our endowments, and continued commitment and dogged determination, you make it possible to dream beyond just paying the light bill and maintaining our historical structures. You make it possible to bring life to the park through programming and performances, living history and events, and sharing our way of life with the next generation.
