Skip to main content

By Bob Welch

Everyone who reads the pages of Ranch Record is drawn to the ranching world. Whether you’ve been coming to the Ranching Heritage Center since the first structure was placed (the Renderbrook Spade Blacksmith Shop) in 1970, or you’re like one of our readers from North Carolina who found out about the Center by streaming Red Steagall’s show, “Red Steagall is Somewhere West of Wall Street,” you can’t help but learn more about ranching culture.

I find the diversity of backgrounds attracted to this place and this culture so intriguing. The cowboy is America’s best and most unique contribution to world popular culture. His portrayal in film and literature has created an icon (whether accurate or not is a debate for another day). For those interested in interpreting the cowboy and the culture that spawned him, ranches are the source. Ranches—like castles in Europe—are a living link of permanence through the ages.

Still, we all have to find our entry point into the culture. For some, it’s the Westerns they grew up watching with their dads. For others, it’s the new wave of Westerns playing now, like Yellowstone and 1883.

I was born into it. Most of my ancestors made a living from the land as far back as we can trace. One of them, my great uncle Buster, even made a name for himself in the Western world. He recently passed away at the age of 94. Though he never knew it, just being related to the man opened doors for me.

Buster had many virtuous qualities that attracted admirers and friends. A winning smile, eyes that twinkled with merriment, class, dignity, uncanny ability with horses and cattle, and an urge to gather and support family.

It’s his vision, though, that I admire most. He had a clear idea of where he wanted to go, but also a commitment to doing it a certain way. The right way as he saw it. Simply put, he worked within the guardrails of time-honored traditions to accomplish his goals. I don’t believe he did the things he did to become famous, or have a legion of acolytes. He ranched because he saw it as a way to rise above the station he was born into—and he did it the right way. He trained horses because it pleased him—and he did the right way.

That’s why, I believe, others flocked to him. He caught an entire sport up in his wake and cutting is what it is today because of him. As a rancher, he held strong to the old ways of doing things, kept traditions alive that could have easily faded, and raised excellent cattle.

As I walk through doors he opened for me, I hope I can live up to his legacy. As I teach my children who they came from and how to live, I hope they can understand what drove their great-great-uncle. As his friends and fans consider his life, I hope they strive to emulate him. And as people who love the ranching culture and lifestyle examine what it has become, I hope we can all thank Buster for his immeasurable contribution to our way of life, connecting the past to the future. And I hope we follow his lead and maintain—in whatever way is appropriate to each of us—the heritage of American ranching culture in our time.

Buster Welch, at right, pictured with his nephew, John, John’s son and editor of the Ranch Record, Bob, and Bob’s son, Tate, branding calves at the Four Sixes ranch in April of 2018.

This article appears in the Summer 2022 issue of the Ranch Record.  Would you like to read more stories about ranching life? When you become a member of the Ranching Heritage Association, you’ll receive the award-winning Ranch Record magazine and more while supporting the legacy and preservation of our ranching heritage. Become a member today.