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Sylvia Mahoney of the Fort Worth Rotary Club discussed the history of the Great Western Trail, as well as Rotary's involvement to help research and mark the trail. The Great Western Trail was one of two major post-civil war cattle trails in the state of Texas. The trail was used from the late 1860's to 1893 to take over 10 million cattle to market. The trail stretched all the way from Matamoros, Mexico, to Saskatchewan, Canada. Use of the trail grew quickly when Texas ranchers realized they could fetch a much higher price in markets outside of their own state. Factors including the growing taste for beef in eastern markets, the ability to ship cattle via the railroads, the availability of young, jobless Civil War Veteran labor, and millions of feral longhorns contributed to this rapid growth. Cowboys who brought the cattle to market were paid in gold. Well known Texas ranches such as the Huevo and YO Ranch grew out of this phenomenon. Some experts believe that these cattle drives were what rescued Texas from depression after the Civil War. However, walking a herd of cattle thousands of miles was no easy task! The typical outfit would have 10-12 cowboys, a wrangler, a cook, a trail boss, money for food along the trial, and all the equipment needed to make the 2-3 month journey. Hazards, other than the obvious risk of death or injury at the hand of the massive longhorns, included inclement weather, tick fever, snake bite and river crossings. In fact, more cowboys died by drowning (at these crossings) than by any other means during the cattle drive era. Efforts to mark the trail began in 2003 as a joint effort between the Forth Worth and Vernon, Texas Rotary Clubs and the Altus Historical Association. The effort to mark the trail spread quickly through the Rotary network, and soon Rotary Clubs from Matamoros, Mexico, nine states in the U.S., and several clubs in Canada were working together in the massive effort. As a matter of fact, the Kerrville Rotary Clubs were heavily involved and Sylvia recognized the efforts of Sue and Doug Whinnery, in particular, for their work in the project. Sylvia even designated Sue a "Trail Boss Deluxe" for her leadership on the trail! All in all, the project lasted over eight years, and over 110 posts were planted, marking the trail (even when it was necessary to "re-write" history in the process). According to Sylvia, this effort was unprecedented and was accomplished through the virtues of the Rotary Four-Way Test and the Cowboy Code. It exemplified the strength of the Rotary network. As an example, the Matamoros, Mexico club created a pin to commemorate the experience. Our own Bob Waller received that pin for his help with the project. You can learn more about the history of the project, as well as more about the involvement of Rotary, in Sylvia's book, "Finding the Great Western Trail." The book is available on Amazon and anywhere else books are sold - check it out! Sylvia Mahoney provides the club with a Flag from the Forth Worth Club to celebrate the occasion! |
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Club Administrator: Caroline Wilson, (512) 787-7964