Dorothy ‘Dot’ M. Webb

Inducted in 2016

Mar 7

*Dot Webb and husband Bud aboard the EQII bound for England*

Phoenix - Maricopa County

Inducted in 2016

Dot's love for Arizona and its ranching history is evident in her books. Known for her work with the Arizona Historical Foundation and the Arizona Cowbelles, many don't know that she is a champion golfer.

Dorothy 'Dot' Webb, a preservationist at heart, has dedicated her life to safeguarding Arizona's rich ranching history. Her involvement in several projects, such as the Carnegie Library display, the Cattle Ranchers in Arizona Legacy in 1992, and the Keepers of the Range book in 2003, is a testament to her unwavering commitment to preserving the past for future generations.

Among Dorothy "Dot" M. Webb's accomplishments were gathering, donating, and helping to catalog hundreds of boxes of Arizona cattle history for the Arizona Historical Foundation. In addition, she has assisted many families in gathering and documenting their own families' ranching history. Her dedication has earned her the nickname of the Arizona cattle industry's unofficial historian.

She and Anne O'Brien co-authored a book on the Stockyard restaurant in the old buildings at the historic Stockyards. It documents the agriculture and canal-building endeavors of the Hohokam, the Tovrea family, the packing plant, feed pens, and many other people who had offices in the buildings.

Dot's journey began in 1921 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where she was the eldest of three children in a family with humble beginnings. Her carpenter father led the family to Benson, Arizona when Dot was just four years old. This started a nomadic life along the Southern Arizona railroad, eventually leading them to San Carlos, 20 miles east of Globe. This personal journey is a testament to Dot's resilience and adaptability.

Dot attended a globe High School where many people found their high school class history boring but not. That's where she met her future husband, Milton "Bud" Webber. Following graduation, both went to the University of Arizona. They were married at the end of her junior year. Bud worked for the Torvea Packing Company then, so they set up housekeeping in Tempe.

I spent my senior year at Arizona State Teachers College, now ASU, getting a degree in elementary education. She said, "I was a business major at the University of Arizona, but ASTCU did not have a business school. That's why the teaching degree." After her graduation, the couple moved to the family ranch north of Globe, where they lived for two years. Bud had always run a small herd of cattle with the family cattle.

Dot taught elementary school in Globe for a year. When Bud was drafted and stationed at Falcon Field, the couple moved to Tempe. She took a teaching position at Baltz Elementary in Phoenix. After the war, Bud worked for Sterling Hebbard, the state's best-known farm and ranch sales firm. It wasn't long before the name was changed to Hebbardt and Webb. Bud died in 2001, but the couple's son, Jim, still has the company active.

"My husband spent his whole life in the cattle business. She remembers, in addition to working in the real estate business, he bought the family ranch in Gila County, leased and ran a ranch in New Mexico for ten years, bought a second ranch in Gila County, managed the Yolo Ranch in Yavapai County for one year, manage the Double OO Ranch in Seligman for several years, and bought the ranch and Skull Valley in 1951," Dot recalls.

She said, "My point in listing Bud's work is to explain what an excellent chance it gave me to learn the ins and outs of the cattle business and a chance to meet most of the ranchers in Arizona and New Mexico. Because I was interested, I went with him to classes in Holistic Resource Management, seminars, and all the cattle-related meetings. He thought a wife should be as well-informed as possible."

The ranch in Skull Valley is family-owned, and sons David and Jim. Her daughter, Margaret, lives in Denver and is not involved with the ranch's operation. "My sons do all the work, but I still have a voice. They do listen to me. Maybe they don't follow my suggestions, but that's okay. I know what's going on," Dot says.

That is a long-time member of the Arizona Cowbells in 1957. She and her family made a movie for the cowbell, which showed an average housewife buying beef, cooking it, and serving it. It was entered into a contest held at the National Cattlemen's Convention.

Most of Dot's work has been done as a volunteer. She volunteered at the Arizona Historical Foundation, an organization started by Barry Goldwater and Bert Fireman, a historian and writer for the Phoenix Gazette. After a short time, the library office was moved to the Hayden Library at ASU. After a couple of years, Dorothy was invited to be on their board and serve as recording secretary and nominating chairperson for several years. The foundation was dissolved several years later, and its documents were dispersed to the appropriate historical venues in the state. Ranching material was sent to the Arizona Historical Society and Papago Park.

Dot moved to The Terraces retirement community in 2008. For five years, she tutored fourth-grade students from Madison Heights Elementary School and served on two committees at The Terraces. She has belonged to a 12-woman Investment Group for over 25 years and has written several books, including a history of the Valley Field writing in Polo Club. She keeps busy and loves every minute of it.