Ivins Cattle Ranching: Survival and Success in San Juan

Livestock and ranching have been central to survival in San Juan County since 1880 when pioneers first arrived through the Hole in the Rock. Keith and Deann Ivins are descendants of early pioneers in both Nevada and San Juan County, Utah. Deann’s ancestors include William Adams and May Boland who were San Juan settlers. Her great grandfather John Adams had 4 sons: Ernest, Joe, Lloyd and Melvin who were lifelong ranchers. Upon arriving in San Juan territory, they split up the available range land into 4 areas for each of the brothers. Keith grew up in a Mormon settlement in Lund, Nevada population 200. It was composed of miners, ranchers and Native Americans. Droughts were a problem there as well. They ran a dairy farm, milking between 40-50 cows. He remembers driving to school when he was 6 years old! There were only 20 enrolled in their little school. Kids grew up quickly in those days with chores at home plus work at school. Today the BLM as well as the U.S. Forest Service require permits to graze animals anywhere in the west; however, in 1880 it was open range for anyone ambitious enough to ranch. Usually, the Adams brothers ran sheep and had as many as 15,000 for many years. Ben Sanchez and other local Mexican workers were excellent sheepmen and cared for herds in the mountains in the summer. However, it became increasingly harder to find the help they neededso they transitioned to cattle which don’t need constant herding like sheep do. Another problem with sheep were the wolves and coyotes who roamed the area. However, in the late 1950’s the government started paying trappers for hides which helped control the wolf population in San Juan. (See issue 5 of Blue Mountain Shadows)

As the Ivins/ Adams family transitioned to cattle, they invested mostly in black Angus, as they produced better beef. Shawn and Tyler Ivins bought Lynn Patterson’s land for their summer range; however they move cattle to the mountains in hot months. Rico, Colorado is another area used by the Ivins family in the summer, as the grass is more abundant there. Trucker Dennis Cosby has trucked cattle for the Ivins family for nearly 40 years, transporting them back and forth between Utah and Colorado. Over 64,000 acres of BLM land is also available; however, permits are required. The BLM determines the number of animals approved based on AUM (animal units for 3 months) 1 cow = 1 AUM. Besides complying with BLM requirements and making sure there is adequate water for animals, ranchers also care for hundreds of animals. making sure they are branded, given vaccinations for grubs, pneumonia, and are ear tagged. Recently they have added technology to help them track cattle. A collar with a battery is attached to all cattle and is on all time so that each animal can be quickly located. The Ivins grandchildren are also involved in this process and sometimes their family teams up with the Grovers or other ranchers at branding time which makes it a social event! Water is also a major concern for animals and alfalfa fields. Wells, dams and reservoirs are key ingredients to success. To have enough water, some ranchers have drilled wells. That is the case with rancher Sandy Johnson and others living on Black Mesa, Mustang, Valley of the Gods, or the Butler Wash area. Many are turning to solar collectors to generate electricity to run solar pumps which pull water into troughs for cattle.

Like a good poker player, ranchers also need to know when to "hold ‘em" or when to sell or move animals to a new range. There are many pluses for ranchers and farm families: children learn to work hard, get up early, and make decisions for the good of the family, livestock and the land. Sons David, Justin, Shawn, and Tyler have their own animal related jobs and are also competent ranchers, ropers and businessmen.

Christmas memories and celebrations

Families throughout the world have unique ways of celebrating Christmas. Because of its significance in our lives and the diversity of our traditions, Christmas memories are different for each family and person. Though the central focus is on Christ’s birth, our remembrance of him and our experiences are different, as well as how we celebrate. Here are some of those memories that others have of this holiday. Gayle Shumway: When I was a Senior in High School, our Seminary teacher, Mitch Kalauli planned an experience for us that I will never forget. Our class started raising money in the fall of that year for Christmas gifts to deliver to selected homes on the Navajo reservation. We prayed to be guided in the gifts that we purchased; we bought mostly toys, wrapped them, and some of our class drove deep into the reservation. Larry Lee was dressed as Santa Claus, and he waited outside the hogans and houses until we had been inside for a few minutes. Those little hogans were sparsely furnished with the bare necessities, a cooking stove, bedrolls against the walls, table, chairs, a few shelves built into the walls sometimes a weaving loom. They were bigger than they looked, and we all fit inside. I remember especially one hogan with wide-eyed, excited little children and a toothless grandma more excited than the children who loudly laughed with glee! We sang Christmas carols and then pretended that we heard Santa's Reindeer and Larry would make his entrance and present gifts. As we watched, tears filled our eyes, and joy filled our hearts. We learned the spirit of giving; we also learned to appreciate the abundance that we were blessed with. I will always remember the love that I felt in those homes on the Navajo reservation. Rosalie Payne: Christmas and the winter season were one of the best parts of growing up in Idaho. One of my fondest memories is that my dad would hook up our horses (Lady and Taffy) to the sleigh and we would ride around our little town taking friends and neighbors some kind of special treat my mom had made. Of course, any holiday has favorite foods. At some point in the holidays, we would get Yorkshire pudding and huckleberry pie. Sylvia Shumway: Ever wonder where the term “Christmas givet” came from? I think my brother Craig introduced it to friends and neighbors after he learned it. The origin came from a man, not sure if he was Navajo or Ute. But my father had hired him to work in the uranium mine dad owned. Every Christmas Eve my family would wait for his knock on the door. He would say “Christmas givet” to us. We would give him what he needed for his family if we had anything extra and usually, we would include food and snacks as mom always made extra just for him. That is when I learned the joy of giving and sharing. Janet Wilcox:

One Christmas I’ll never forget is when six of my friends rode the school bus home with me to our farm which was 22 miles from Ririe where we attended school. The weather was perfect for sleigh riding and we anticipated a couple of fun days, before my father would take us home in his army truck. Unfortunately, there was a terrible blizzard that blew in that night, and we were officially snowed in for several days longer. There were no phones on the farm so we couldn’t call their families. Fortunately, my mother was a great cook and she had chili and donuts and several things already prepared. We had a large basement with multiple beds, a pool table and ping pong table so there were lots of things to do. We played fox and geese, had snow ball fights, and sledded down the hill, jumped on the beds, sang silly songs and talked late into the night. After a few days the blizzard subsided and we bundled up and rode in the back of truck back to Ririe! One tradition we did for years when we were raising our own children was to a secretly deliver something which corresponded with the each of the 12 days of Christmas. I believe it was the Eberhard family who first delivered 12 consecutive gifts to us when our children were younger. As they got older, they helped prepare and deliver the items such as “golden rings” = donuts; partridge in pear tree became a “dove” soap or a pear; 8 maids a milking= milk duds; drummers drumming = small decorative drum. The trick was to quietly come to the door, place the gift, ring the bell then run quickly or hide where they couldn’t be seen. They also did a lot of snow shoveling (and sometimes snowball throwing!) in the neighborhood. Another thing we did when our children were young was to go to the nursing home with the Stubbs family. The children would dress up as wise men or angels and they would sing 4-5 Christmas songs. Afterward they would deliver a simple gift to each of the residents there. The home we lived in at that time, didn’t have any insulation so gigantic icicles would form. This was the memorable icicle!