Degarrin's Office — 1946

Weaning Weights (October) Average: 445 lbs Range: 380-510 lbs

Grading

Six percent Fancy is low. The bloodline needs work. The Domino bull I bought from Henderson in '44 is throwing heavy calves but they're coarse. Need to find a bull that puts weight on without losing quality. The Hereford Association sale in Denver is in March. I'll go if the Stillmores approve the expense.

Shipping Record — Fall 1946

Shipped: 1,100 head feeder steers + 220 cull cows Destination: Kansas City stockyards (steers), Amarillo (cull cows) Carrier: Hendricks Livestock Transport, Clayton, NM

Gross revenue (steers): ~$121,400 Gross revenue (cull cows): ~$15,600 Total gross: ~$137,000 Less shipping + commission: ~$5,175 Net to ranch: ~$131,825

OPA ceiling prices capped what we could sell for through October. Truman reimposed controls. The market wants to move but Washington won't let it. The Stillmores expect their check whether the government likes beef prices or not. An independent operator could hold cattle and wait for the ceiling to lift. We ship when we're told to ship.

Correspondence — Annual Report to Charles Stillmore

October 28, 1946

Mr. Charles Stillmore Stillmore & Associates Boston, Massachusetts

Dear Mr. Stillmore,

Enclosed please find the annual operations report for La Conquistadora, fiscal year 1946.

Calf crop came in at 87%, which is below our target of 90% but within range given the late spring we had. Weaning weights averaged 445 pounds. I am not satisfied with the grading — only 6% Fancy — and am looking at bloodline improvements for next year. The Domino bulls are putting on weight but the calves lack finish. I believe a Hazlett-bred bull from the Denver sale in March would improve the grade within two calf crops.

The monsoon was strong this year. Range is in good condition going into winter. La Cinta Creek ran full through September. The mesa pastures have good grass and I intend to hold the cow herd there through December before moving them to the river breaks for calving.

Improvements completed: replaced the south corral gate ($180), patched the bunkhouse roof ($340), new windmill rod and cylinder at the north camp ($220). Total maintenance: $740, within budget.

Items requiring attention: the saddle house roof is deteriorating. I recommend replacement before next summer. Estimated cost: $1,200. The road from the highway to headquarters washes out in every heavy rain. A culvert at the second crossing would solve it. Estimated: $800. I request your approval for both.

Crew stands at seven hands plus Toby Lloyd as foreman, Ignacio Mandragon as cook. Crew is adequate for current operations.

Respectfully, M. Degarrin Manager, La Conquistadora

[Annotation in pencil, margin: "Stillmore approved the saddle house roof. No word on the culvert. The road will wash out again in July."]

Manager's Journal — Selected Entries, 1946

DEGARRIN — DESK DIARY, 1946

Apr 12 — Adam Connor arrived from the war. Put him on the crew. Quiet. Good with horses. Toby says he's the best hand we've had since Danny Parks. Toby does not say that lightly.

Jun 14 — Danny Parks killed in the branding pen. Rope tangled. Horse went down. Hoof caught his head. He was twenty-two years old and the best rider any of us had seen.

Jun 15 — Wrote the accident report. Filed with the insurance company and the county. There is a form for this. The form asks for "cause of death" and "circumstances" and leaves four lines for the answer. Four lines is not enough and four hundred would not be enough.

Jun 20 — Louisa wants a memorial stone in the orchard. Ordered from Montoya in Clayton. Grey granite. His name and the year. Nothing else seems right.

Jul 2 — The Sophie situation resolved itself. She went home to Albuquerque.

Jul 3 — Connor is gone. I put him in the truck and Ernesto drove him to the highway. He took his saddle and his war bag and the bay horse with the sore leg. He did not argue. He did not make it difficult.

Aug 15 — Monsoon holding. Good rain. The country looks the way it should.

Sep 30 — Fall shipping complete. 1,100 steers to Kansas City. The calves were adequate. Not what they should be. I need better bulls.

Oct 18 — First frost. Early. The cottonwoods turned overnight.

Nov 28 — Sophie came for Thanksgiving. She looked thin. She looked careful. She sat at the table and answered questions and smiled when she was supposed to smile, and I sat across from my daughter and could not think of a single thing to say that would not make it worse.

Dec 25 — Christmas. Sophie played the piano after supper. Moonlight Sonata. She plays it beautifully. Louisa sat very still with her hands in her lap. The fire was good. The house was warm. My daughter is unhappy and there is nothing I can do about it because the thing that would fix it is the thing I sent away.

The calves were adequate this year. Not what they will be.