Marianne Etchart & Jose Antonio Manterola, Manterola Sheep Company
Jose Antonio Manterola & Marianne Etchart
Casa Grande - Pinal County
Inducted in 2018
Both Antonio “Tony” Manterola and Marianne Etchart Manterola came from sheep herding families so it is no surprise that that was the business they found themselves immersed in when they came to the United States.
Tony was born in the Pyrenees Mountains of Sumbilla, Navarra, Spain. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mother with four sons and two daughters to raise. At an early age Tony left home to seek his living in America. Tony arrived in the U.S. in 1907 at the age of 17 and went to work herding sheep on a ranch in Van Horn, Texas. After spending three years in Texas he moved on to Arizona where he had friends. He went to work in Flagstaff for H.B. Kelly and Dr. R.O Raymond, a doctor who owned sheep.
Marianne Etchart was born in Argentina in 1909 where her parents had each moved to when they were young. At the age of 17 she emigrated to the U.S. from Argentina arriving at Ellis Island in 1926 by ship she then took a train to connect with cousins living in Flagstaff. She went to work as a housekeeper for the Babbitt family, a pioneering family in the area. She later worked in Phoenix for the Dr. Matanovich family as a nanny.
In 1922 Tony was one of the founders of the O’Haco Sheep Company, along with partners Fermin Echeverria, Mario Jorajuria and Michel O’Haco.
Marianne and Tony met at a wrestling match at Madison Square Gardens in Phoenix, where they were introduced by Fermin Echeverria. In 1932 the couple married and made their home in the Glendale/Peoria area, but spent a lot of their time with the sheep in the Casa Grande area during the winter months. They summered in Winslow.
Marianne was no stranger to sheep ranching as her father raised sheep on the Argentine pampas and in France. In the summer months, the Manterolas spent most of their time on the Tillman ranch located 50 miles southwest of Winslow and Garland Prairie, just east of Williams. They had four children Joe, Sylvia, Maria and Carmen who enjoyed ranch life. They lived in a log cabin and Marianne cooked for her family and the herders on the ranch.
In 1945, Marianne and Tony bought the Flagstaff Sheep Company from Dr. Raymond. They operated the business until Tony’s death in 1956. Following the death of her husband, Marianne found herself facing opposition. The idea of having a woman running a sheep operation was not popular. She was the first but according to her daughter Sylvia, “She fought them all the way.” With the help of her children she continued the sheep operation until her death in 2011 at the age of 101.
Both Tony and Marianne were active in the sheep industry. Tony served on the board of directors of the Arizona Wool Growers Association for four terms and was appointed by Governor Dan Garvey to serve on the Sheep Sanitary Board.
Marianne was active as a member of the Arizona Wool Producers Association and Auxiliary, Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association and was recognized as an Arizona Pioneer Rancher at the National Livestock Show at the age of 75.
The couple was best known for putting on the summer Annual Wool Growers picnic held at their Aspen Spring Ranch near Flagstaff on the second Tuesday of July each year. Hundreds of people, including the Governor of Arizona, elected officials and dignitaries in addition to the wool grower families, attended.
