Norman ‘Pete’ Brawley
Safford - Graham County
Inducted in 2010
Norman' Pete' Brawley's journey from Tishomingo, Oklahoma, to Duncan, Arizona, in 1935 was a significant chapter in his life. This relocation, part of the exodus immortalized in John Steinbeck's novel 'Grapes of Wrath, 'marked the beginning of his unique story.
"I was born in 1930," Pete said. "We came into Duncan and had a little car trouble. That was one of the reasons we stopped in Duncan. The other reason was that my father saw a jackrabbit that nobody was after, so he thought this was the place."
Pete's family lived in the small southeastern Arizona town until he graduated from Duncan High School in 1948. "My father was in construction, and he worked wherever he could find work," Pete remembers. Eventually, his father went to work for Bechtel in Morenci in the underground mines at Ask Peak, where he spent 14 years.
High school was a time of significant influence for Pete, with sports playing a major role. His basketball prowess earned him a partial scholarship to the University of Arizona upon graduation. However, a romantic encounter at Eastern Arizona College led him to a different path, halting his academic journey.
Loretta John came from a pioneering Southern Arizona ranching family. The couple married in 1950, changing his personal life and the career path he would ultimately follow. "We stayed here a couple of years. I started work at J.C. Penney's Company and got to go outside on a ranch with Loretta's father, so we went to Colorado."
Pete laughed, "When we left the Valley here, Loretta cried. She cried when we left Colorado ten years later because we loved it so much."
While they lived in Colorado, Pete and his partner once cared for livestock for Buddy Heaton, the creator of the Buffalo Rodeo. "He had started a Buffalo rodeo where they rode Buffalo and rode mules and Mexican fighting bulls. It was a very exciting time." Heaton competed with the RCA, which did not make him famous in many circles. "That didn't last too long. He was a wild man,” Pete remembers.
In 1962, Pete and Loretta returned to Arizona at the invitation of Rex Ellsworth, a prominent ranch owner and horse breeder. This marked a significant turning point in Pete's career, as he managed several of Ellsworth's ranches, demonstrating his adaptability and commitment to the agricultural community. "Mr. Ellsworth was raised here in the (Gila) Valley, and the 1940s got in the racehorse business," Pete said. "He moved to California and became one of the top racehorse men in the nation. Had many, many stakes winners. Had Swaps, the Kentucky Derby winner in 1955."
Pete managed Ellsworth's Hackberry, One-Hundred-Eleven, and Slick Rock Ranches and, for a time, the Three Links Ranch near Willcox, a considerable undertaking for a young cowboy. In 1977, he and Loretta bought the Tanque Ranch but continued to manage the Hackberry. The Tanque and the Hackberry share a standard fence line. When Rex Ellsworth died, none of the heirs wanted to take over the ranch's operation, so Pete leased it and made it his headquarters. Always interested in Quarter Horses, Pete has a reputation for the fine quality of his stock. Throughout the years, he has bred, trained, shown, raced, and sold some of the finest Quarter horses in the country.
Conservation has always been a top priority for Pete. His innovative approach to water and soil erosion management, using his cattle to control the problem, is a testament to his dedication. He used hay and manure to stabilize roads and earth dams on the ranch, a method that few ranchers have adopted. "If you get ten inches of rain a year and eight of it runs off, you haven't gained much." By using innovative conservation methods, including erosion control and ground cover, you can significantly improve the condition of the land. He said they were "building a lot of stock tanks where we could spread our cattle out and use some of the corners that were being lightly used and take pressure off the permanent waters, the windmills, and the pumps." Through his work with several agencies, he secured grants to help with the work. "It was so interesting to see the progress and the value that came out of these conservation projects." They would build gabions on roads that needed yearly maintenance to stop the erosion, thereby reducing the required maintenance.
In addition, they did some seeding projects using cattle as a tool. "There's some highly erodible soil. We come in with a large machine, rip or disturb the soil, scatter oat hay or some low-quality hay, and then put a big bunch of cattle there to tromp the hay in and mingle it with the soil and seep it. That has worked well for us in different areas." Since coming to the Hackberry, Pete and his men have engineered and constructed more than 100 man-made rock and concrete dams, dirt catch tanks, and gabions, dramatically increasing cattle forage and expanding wildlife habitat.
Pete Brawley's work has not gone unnoticed. He has been recognized by federal, state, and independent agencies for his contributions to conservation. His service to the agricultural community, through his work on boards, committees, and commissions at the local, state, and national levels, is a source of pride for all who know him.
The Brawleys have four children. Lee. Brad, Cammie, and Mark,. All are either directly or indirectly involved with the ranch.
Affiliations
Livestock Sanitary Board - appointed by Governors Mofford, Mecham, and Symington
BLM, Safford District - Range Resource Team
Arizona Lands Committee for the Arizona Cattle Growers - Co-Chair
Arizona State BLM Advisory Council - appointed by U.S. Interior Secretary Lujan
Grazing Best Management Practices Committee - appointed by Governor Symington Safford/Duncan/San Carlos Watershed Committee - Chairman
Graham/Cochise Cattle Growers' Association - President
National Cattlemen's Association - Past Member
Greenlee County Cattlemen's Association - Member
Graham/Cochise County Cattlemen's Association- Member
Arizona Cattle Growers' Association - Member
American Quarter Horse Association - Member Future Farmers of America - Honorary Member
Awards
Health of the Land Award - Dept. of Interior, BLM
Contribution to the Development and Management of the Hot Wells Dunes Recreation Area Award - Dept. of Interior- BLM Safford District
Certificate for Volunteer Service- BLM Safford District
Merit Conservation Award - Gila Valley Natural
Resource Conservation District (NRCD)
Award of Excellence- Arizona Game & Fish Dept. for efforts to improve Wildlife Habitat
Innovative Project Award - Coronado Resource Conservation & Development Area, for "Conservation Work in Southeastern Arizona"
Award of Excellence - Arizona Fish & Game Dept. for "Support and Outstanding Contributions to the Conservation of Arizona Wildlife & Natural Resources"
Outstanding Conservation Rancher of the Year - Gila Valley NRCD
