By Jim Bret Campbell, NRHC Executive Director
Jim Bret Campbell, Executive Director
You might have heard about a little announcement at the National Ranching Heritage Center recently. The Cash Foundation made the largest single gift in the National Ranching Heritage Center’s history by granting $3.5 million to name the Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center, featuring Hank the Cowdog. That gift partners with more than 20 other donors to complete the construction goal for the project and almost 90 percent of the total goal of $10 million to fully fund and endow this transformational project.
Don and Kay Cash have been long-time supporters of the National Ranching Heritage Center. They both grew up on ranches and were immediately drawn to the NRHC after retiring to Lubbock. Don and Kay were early supporters of the partnership with John R. Erickson and Don chaired the Ranch Life Learning Committee that has helped distribute more than 70,000 Ranch Life Learning Series books across hundreds of school districts.
Before Don’s health failed and he was still able to drive, he would stop in the center about once a week and ask, “What do you need?” and “How’s our Hank the Cowdog project?”
Don and Kay passed their ranching and philanthropic heritage down to their son, Clay and his wife, Ashley. In addition, Ashley comes from deep ranching roots on both sides of her family as one of the heirs of the famed Turkey Track Ranch in the northern Panhandle of Texas.
Members and guests gather to hear the announcement of The Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center donation.
“People talk to us about ranching and, really, they think it’s about cows, horses and cowboys,” Clay said. “There are so many other things that go into explaining what a ranch is beyond just cowboys, horses and cows. This gift affords us the opportunity to tell the whole story. Doing so with Hank the Cowdog allows us to grab hold of young people and give them at least a rudimentary understanding of how ranching works.”
At the announcement, Texas Tech University President Lawrence Schovanec said, “Understanding that ranching, farming and the entire agriculture industry play a vital role in the economic development of this region requires that we educate our students and our community about this work. The Cash family has a long history at Texas Tech and their contributions have made a difference in our ongoing efforts to excel both athletically and academically. It is investments like these that elevate Texas Tech and the National Ranching Heritage Center and validate the work we’re doing.”
“This gift affords us the opportunity to tell the whole story. Doing so with Hank the Cowdog allows us to grab hold of young people and give them at least a rudimentary understanding of how ranching works.”
The Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center
The Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center, featuring Hank the Cowdog, is an indoor/outdoor educational center will include interactive exhibits on animal and plant agriculture, range management, the role of cowboys and more alongside an immersive version of the ranch from the “Hank the Cowdog” book series. The goal of the center is to teach the public about ranching and how it contributes to the care of livestock and the land.
Clay Cash discusses the plans and the importance for building The Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center.
The world has changed significantly since the 1960s when the National Ranching Heritage Center was first envisioned. Then, most Americans had some tie or at least frame of reference to production agriculture. Now, the vast majority of our population has little direct knowledge about where their food comes from, including beef.
As a museum focused on the history on ranching, we struggled with how to best address contemporary ranching issues–most importantly how to help connect our guests with modern ranching and how it impacts them on a daily basis.
The answer presented itself on a weekday afternoon in 2015. Julie Hodges, the NRHC Helen DeVitt Jones Endowed Director of Education, invited John R. Erickson, rancher and author of the beloved children’s book series Hank the Cowdog to do a concert at the National Ranching Heritage Center.
Promoted only through social media, Julie thought a couple hundred people might show up. Almost a 1,000 came. With more than 10 million books in print, the power of the Hank the Cowdog brand was evident.
Today, we reach thousands of people. With the completion of the Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center, I firmly believe that we will reach hundreds of thousands of people.
Hank will be the guide, but the end result will be a public that better appreciate ranchers and the stewardship they feel toward the land, the animals and the consumer.
The Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center teaches:
- The differences between a farm and a ranch
- The business of ranching
- The ecology of ranching and ranchers as stewards of the land
- Wildlife behaviors and habitat
- The work of a rancher
- The chores of a cowboy
- The qualities of a ranch horse
- The qualities and character of ranchers
- That beef and animal protein is nutritious, delicious and safe
From left to right: Jennifer Workman, NRHC Development Director; Cannon Cash; Colby Bowes; Ashley Cash; Clay Cash; Carson Cash; Texas Tech University President Lawrence Schovance; Byron Kennedy, Texas Tech University Vice President for University Advancement; Jim Bret Campbell, NRHC Executive Director; Mark Kirkpatrick, Ranching Heritage Association Vice President.
