Mark Bivins and Tom Bivins

00:05 Hello, this is Tom Bivins. The third son of Lee and Betty Bivins oldest brother was Levi business who was instrumental in bringing National Public Radio to the panhandle of Texas.

00:21 67 years old

00:24 Married with two children

00:27 Lyft in Amarillo on my life and currently in the ranching business running a ranch that's been in our family for over a hundred years.

00:37 My brother Mark Bivins is on this call.

00:40 Because you can interrupt me like he normally does.

00:44 Anytime he's so cute. He's

00:49 This is marketing.

00:51 This is Mark Bivins and

00:56 My age of 65 today's date is Wednesday. I'm sorry. It said Thursday, November 13th and my locations Amarillo and my conversation partner is my brother Tom that just introduced himself and

01:15 We are going to tell you a little bit about our family.

01:21 Perfect. Thank you all so how has ranching change throughout the four generations that your family has worked in this business?

01:30 I think the most dramatic changes funny is the telephone.

01:35 And the reason I say that is because

01:38 And I believe is 19 26 or 28. I'm not sure of the year. My great-great-grandfather was enough today. We're living through the coronavirus pandemic.

01:55 Madera sing downstairs cow disease and foot mouth disease that's also Coronavirus.

02:03 Which was moving North through Texas and finally got to the Panhandle and the solution to immediately treating in this terrible terrible things happening, but you just shoot cows and bury them.

02:19 And this would have been devastating to my great-great-grandfather because at that time he had over 25,000 head of cows.

02:28 But he also had the first telephone in the Panhandle.

02:32 And when he saw what was happening he got on the phone to the markets in Kansas City, Missouri and begin buying cows. So by the time it's her dad been liquidated it almost replace the entire headcount the other telephone.

02:49 So I think that's the biggest change that I can think of this happened in our industry marketing thoughts. When you come more to the current day ranching Technic technology is changing even more rapidly with the radio frequency ID tags for cattle the radio frequency readers that are used now in cattle processing on the ranch Jen in the feed yard anywhere Cadillac handle now, they're trying to make it where you can you can get information on that individual animal.

03:35 Without actually having to be in contact with the animal they're even moving now to wear that can be read by satellite. So that that is a continuation of of what the telephone allowed in the 20.

03:55 But the technology is and in feeding catalog has changed dramatically and in in the the ranching process it sits in the the the grazing and the maintaining of the pasture land true various different methods various different techniques prescribed fire with something used in in early years, but it wasn't necessarily prescribed. We try to do it now with the with the crew and a and an intention to burn rather than letting lightning burn up your Ranch.

04:35 So be well are the Cowboys in the cattle and we are we are blessed to have a great team out on a ranch and they do things very similarly to the way they did in 1925 felt something had changed some things haven't changed.

05:05 Yeah, well yeah I wouldn't have it in majan that at all, I mean I also know nothing about ranching but thank you so I wanted to ask if you all wouldn't mind maybe sharing a favorite story from your family's history that you think might illustrate the character personality of one of your relatives

05:26 Well, there's your tail course, I wouldn't hear it has no true or not. But just north of Amarillo. There is a high Mesa.

05:34 The tale is that they took my great-great-grandfather to the top of this Mesa Co horseback and set all the way and you can see to the South into the West is for sale, and he allegedly said thank you. I'll take it all.

05:49 Now that's a great story. I don't know if it's true or not.

05:54 And what about you though? He did wonderful amount of land in the Texas Panhandle in tremendous amount of beach land in Eastern, New Mexico.

06:08 Well, that's really interesting. But y'all never found like a land deed or anything that my document that

06:15 Weirdest all the currently held property but there are a lot of handshake partnership deals that have that happened. But who knows if they were for real or not? He was the credited with owning the property so I can tell you and what about you mark you have anything that comes to mind?

06:37 Well, I think one that was one interesting thing.

06:43 About my great-grandfather and said he didn't kick we care to ride horses and because of that he he wasn't able to see he never he never saw just because he had issued riding horseback.

07:01 And then

07:04 When the automobile became prevalent in in this part of Texas Dodge Motor Company sent their bear derivation of a Model T.

07:18 To go to the Texas Panhandle and had special tires put on it and they actually made a movie of Lee Bivens driving this Model T around them on the pasture and we actually have a copy that movie. I don't remember.

07:44 That's probably one of the first off-road vehicles I guess you could say. So he was he was a Pioneer in but said he was immensely generous and he always wanted to help people and that came to came to be, you know with various ways, but he just he always had a place in his heart to try to help whoever needed help and I think that's that stands out to me to be one of them the best historical aspects of her family's we've all carry that on and we pride ourselves in that exactly is your great-great-great-grandfather.

08:28 Yes, just want I just want okay. Yeah, and so, how would you describe Amarillo, Texas to someone who has never been there?

08:51 I'd say it's this beautiful.

08:55 It was one outstanding characteristic and that is in the travels. I've had the still the prettiest sunsets I've ever seen including Hawaii run Amarillo, Texas Plains.

09:13 I think also one thing you got it.

09:18 You've obviously not been here. And so

09:22 It would be interesting to do to be able to see what your visualization of Amarillo might be and what it really is. It's immensely flat. But anyone that drives through here would think it's just for the baron Countryside, but if you really get out on the ranch Lander or in the country, there's a whole lot of variation and a whole lot of beauty and virtue.

09:49 Very sad, I'm Canyon. There's a canyon just south of Amarillo. That is the second largest canyon in the country. And so there's there's a lot of relief. It's just not visible from the highway but it is truly is spectacular and we do pumps in have just stunning sunrises and sunsets. And unfortunately a lot of that beauty comes from the fact that there's a lot of dirt in your atmosphere because the wind blows a lot but it's it all makes it worth living.

10:26 I can I can I think I can speak for both of us that we wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

10:33 Absolutely. Not not believe Anywhere But Here it's hard to get here. It's hard to get them. Well as there's not a major at the airport here. We are served by major airlines.

10:51 So it's a difficult sensible.

10:55 Yeah, if you could describe Amarillo, especially for someone like me who has not been there before I guess you could paint a picture with words and I know you kind of describes the scenery a little bit before someone who has it been and what are the color is what are the smells? What are the things that you're able to see when you're there?

11:17 Rock and roll itself men's yellow and the the predominant grass Prairie. And so it's it's Branchland bet.

11:36 As this short grass, but then it has a lot of others what we call invasive species like mesquite trees that that green leaf in the winter and they lose their leaves. Then we have cat various kinds of cactus. We have a choice to Cactus which is like a miniature version of stove pipe cactus in Arizona. And that's those were two species that were not here originally when the when the Coronado discover the syrians nothing but but filled fields are grass, but the cattle that have come up here have brought these invasive species and so they become of a distinctive part of the landscape.

12:25 And and then

12:28 We don't we don't have a lot of trees that most of the trees you see you're planted and the the native trees grow only around for subterranean water. And that's in the creek bottoms and in along the Route. There's only one river running through here the Canadian river which very rarely has water in it, but there's a lot of trees that grow along the edge of that River.

12:56 And as you get further north from here, the country gets even flatter and because of that they they broken it out in the Farmland, but Amarillo itself isn't surrounded by Farms. It's surrounded by ranchland, but you can see forever. The vistas are incredible.

13:22 Yeah, so what about the people what are the people of Amarillo like are they called Amarillo ins two words very friendly.

13:38 And they don't they go out of their way to help people not to intrude. But if you need help, they're glad to offer whatever assistance they possibly can and that's up heard that from many of my friends and guests that I've had them reload it amazingly friendly Amarillo is

14:02 Mark Mason the generosity of the Bivins family which is true, but all of the Panhandle people are willing to chip in for a worthy Endeavor for them or we just built a new minor league baseball stadium. That's been a tremendous success.

14:24 But it took the entire Community to do that and it was successful.

14:33 And because of our location, we we have to be pretty self-sufficient and the the rest, you know, that sometimes we feel neglected by our state capitol in Austin because of geographic distance and sometimes political distance, but

14:51 Because of that Amarillo just become very self-supported and very very hard-working and and the people here as Tom said they don't they will bend over backwards to help her neighbor, but they also will work hard to try to make cup Amarillo a better place to live in and I think most people here take take great pride in that. Do you think they value the most in like what what do the amaryllis Valley the most in maybe their Community within Amarillo like itself when you mentioned a little bit about sending friendly and just because of the location that you all are at, you know, you you all have had to work together, but where do you think the cord that is like where does it come from?

15:37 I think the fact that maybe the quality of living here is I think better than most places. I've been in that it's small it's caring it's safe relatively speaking in this day in age and it's just a wonderful place to raise children is what I tell my friends that I've never been here.

16:02 So very family-oriented as well and safe.

16:06 Yeah, yes birthday face community and there's various religions represented here community and

16:32 But the faith is it really strikes me most is this the face that you have been and being here to say that they have in the betterment of Amarillo.

16:44 Wow, that's beautiful. I'm going to take these questions kind of bad to the land on. This is a rather long question, but being stewards of the land always emerges as a strong value among High Plains Farmers & ranchers given the impending threat of drought fire and other wet weather events to your region. How do you foresee the future of this industry and what should be done to preserve it for future Generations?

17:11 I think the poor bastard must we discover some reason people should eat beef. What's there's a lot of it being made it that none of which were truly successful. This is the largest cattle industry area in the United States. We raised and processed over 45% of the beef that salt in the United States which anything above that is exported to work large exporter of beef. So, I think that's important that we maintain the land they are the

17:46 Air quality the best we can for future Generations can continue to feed people.

17:54 And not just because a lot of corn grow near to.

17:59 And the and you know, the last part of the question the preservation, I mean Max ranchers are

18:09 Are are really more in the business the growing grass and they are feeding cattle or grazing cattle because if you don't have grass you don't have cattle and so conservation and for most of every Rancher that I

18:25 And I think

18:30 It is that all really comes from our history. I mean there been droughts before they know the Dust Bowl we were right in the middle of the Dust Bowl and the lessons learned from plowing the soil during the Dust Bowl and maintaining some kind of cover on the way to keep the dust from blowing. I mean, it's these are all embedded in the in the people that live here. And so we come by conservation on a daily basis regardless of if we have rain or not. I mean, it's always been a feast or famine of of moisture in this part of the world. And right now we're moving back in. And so will will making accommodations for that as we speak but

19:23 You know, we we try to we try to conserve the water when it does rain and we certainly try to to utilize it in a way that does the most for the land. I mean, it's it's all about growing things.

19:38 I didn't know that at all, you know, but it makes a lot of sense. You know, what that the grass there be no cattle. All right, so just to keep talking about the land and the landscape. What do you love the most about the Texas Panhandle?

19:56 I think it's a wonderful place because you get all four of taste of all four seasons of the year. We do have Wendy Springs. We have rainy beautiful beautiful Springs when it rains. The pastor is green. The skies most times empty of clouds with bright blue Horizon, very far away is long long distance views.

20:28 And then there's winter and it does so go ahead Mark.

20:33 None of it is gathered the future or spectacular and

20:40 And Tom alluded to the season so we definitely have four seasons.

20:45 It's it's it's windy in summer and then it's windy and it's winter the point is that I know that you all had like a freak snowstorm like 2 weeks ago. So so the weather at the Texas Panhandle very nice. Is there anything else that you all love just about the Texas Panhandle? I mean you talked a little bit about the people that are there you talked about the cattle and everything else. Is there anything else that sticks out about the Texas Panhandle to you all?

21:23 I have to mention the wildlife because we know being outdoors and in our industry, we all sorta migrate to hunting and fishing and they're great resources here for brawl types of hunting and and then the fishing is usually something that you kind of have to help nature with little bit but we have wonderful Quail Croft. We have a wonderful deer hunting opportunities here. We have pronghorn antelope. We have turkey. We really have as many species has any place else Texas? It's just people don't don't think of coming up here to hunt them and we have great migratory bird hunting as well and

22:11 Of the when are the fall and winter seasons here or you know, what? What people do is they go outside they enjoy the land they they they they they

22:26 Wonderful. Wonderful

22:35 Well, yeah, that sounds really interesting that this next question. That is also a little bit long but your family has been strong advocates for Public Lands Texas Parks natural Preserve and Wildlife protection, but you both also work in cattle ranching given the environmental impact of the beef industry. Do you feel that those two things have any conflict in any way?

23:02 Well, Texas is a private land stay in and because of that are our state parks are very important and people take great pride in the in the in the parks that we have.

23:21 When you when you have those the satisfied lands a lot of times, they'll actually introduced cattle into the parks just to keep the the grass cra's down. And so as far as the is the beef industry intermingling with public lands, I think that there's great deal of synergy there and that the the two can definitely complement each other. In fact, we pride ourselves on on the the natural landscape that we have on a ranch and also the wildlife we have on our Ranch, but we also think that having cattle on the ranch is a bottle part of keeping that equilibrium.

24:07 And so if you actually take the Callaway you lose a lot of the advantages if they create for the Wildlife, so in my mind, I think that the two things coexist, beautiful, Texas

24:23 Caremark do we have the largest buffalo herd?

24:27 Just south of Amarillo.

24:31 Well, it's not the large battery but it's the most indigenous. It's the most genetically pure string of Buffalo that it originated with Charles Goodnight and and the genetic string has kept intact has not been any inbreeding actually there has been you have to you have occasionally bring outside genetics and just to keep the the specie going hybrid big hugs and a real cool thing. That is

25:11 At a state park just south east of Amarillo Caprock Canyon State actually move the herd off of the ranch call the j a ranch which is also in our family to the state park to to maintain the herd and to keep them in the Integrity of the genetic code.

25:37 Thank you for answering that so I'm going to go and sit back a little bit kind of what you were talking about. When you mentioned your great-great-grandfather Lee Bivens and just about so long Castle anthropy and and your family in Amarillo and everything like that. So I know that the lanthrop he has been at the core of your family is working Amarillo. And can you talk a little bit about some of the projects and initiatives on which you worked on that you feel the most product?

26:02 I don't think one. I'm a member and current vice-chair of Mary Bivins Foundation.

26:10 And that was created by a great grandmother.

26:16 To serve the she was on her deathbed trying to decide she wanted to help people again the running this outgoingness neighborly aspect of the Panhandle. She couldn't decide whether she want to have children for the needy older population of this area.

26:39 And she thought about it for a while and she's on her deathbed and probably decided that she wanted to take care of needy age of people. So she created The Voice Now call the Mary Beth Evans Foundation which takes care of needy agent. For example, we have built low income housing that is changed people's lives one lady who moved into her new home.

27:07 Pictures of an apartment basically that your heart was a home and she's moved in and start crying and when asked what was wrong, she said I've never lived anyplace to have a ceiling.

27:21 She lived in a car in Cars Oliver life is tragic.

27:25 But that is the most rewarding story. I've heard of anything the Bivins family is done.

27:34 And we've also

27:37 Been able to provide nursing home care for once again in EDH is in this area. We have a hospice facility in the nursing home. And so the focus of the of the families Foundation project for the needy people in the area, but we also have contributed to

28:07 All kinds of different artistic live Animal Arts Center. The Tom was heavily involved in the fundraising for the Globe-News Center, which is are Performing Arts Center here in Amarillo. My father was he was a big advocate of the mental health mental retardation board in Austin, Texas and served on that for my mother. It's a story, and I discussed the home are we actually my grandmother's house and she and her family moved out. She didn't want to live there. So we move my parents moved in and and Tom and I were both born. There are two older brothers were born in the house are required, but beautiful beautiful.

29:01 But within the the living room the main living room with that own.

29:07 Countless different organizations that are benefiting the Amarillo Community originated and Tom Tom had a few examples. He said he was going to suggest

29:21 Yes, for example the Junior League of Amarillo. That's probably and assets created in Amarillo Amarillo Symphony was devised and partially funded by The Dayton Family in the initial days.

29:39 See Amarillo for the umbrella ballet. Most of the Arts have had some Thai Evans family and more importantly to that room living room where we grew up.

29:53 And we not only do beneficial and benevolence things in Amarillo. We try to serve and strive the northern 26 County to the Panhandle cousin one-time our great-great-grandfather on land at all those counties.

30:10 Wow, so what are you planning worth His companion by faith, but they were very devout episcopalians at the time and the church that we grew up in st. Andrew's Church. We have movies with my mother and father literally hammering nails to build the church and it was it was two blocks from this home where we grew up and so it was it was a big part of our family and

30:49 And an offshoot of that church who was a day school st. Andrew's Day School, which is

30:55 Oh a wonderful day through 8K 39 K through 8 Elementary and then Middle School.

31:09 Godchild

31:11 My aunt was instrumental in starting that and she was a teacher a retired teacher in my father convinced her that she wasn't going to retire and they were going to start this private Episcopal Faith by school and it it has thrived and become.

31:32 Really wanted the only

31:35 Bible private schools in Amarillo today. There's that suck really true. There are others as well. But it's it's one of the better ones. I'll have to pay that.

31:45 Yeah, that's incredible. You know, so you all discuss a little bit about you know, how your family has really I guess serve the community of Amarillo and continue to do so. What do you think Amarillo should be doing now to continue building itself up and supporting its many communities.

32:07 What was got to have services and entertainment venues that make one a people want to stay here if they're born here if they come to go to school at 2:01 that there's a branch of Texas Tech University. The other is West, Texas with start out as West, Texas state.

32:30 And then now it's a part of the Texas A&M system to retain look some of those students as many as hopefully we can.

32:39 7 return after the education and bring of a trade or business here and raise our families here and Craig growth in Amarillo, but it takes entertainment venues.

32:53 To make people want to come in to stay.

32:58 Quality of life restaurant since it's like Tom said it's entertainment but it's also good restaurants good schools good. I mean you too attractive Workforce. You've got to give people you got to get families what they need and

33:19 And we have a little bit of the struggle going on and it trying to

33:25 Just where to get over the hump and we're are populations about 200,000. We need probably 50000 more to really become totally self-sustaining as far as is financially and and then have the desirable qualities, but we have a great city government were working hard to try to do better than the city and Ann Arbor. Our family is participating in that as well.

33:59 Do you all think the current coronavirus pandemic has affected that in anyway, just the development of Amarillo.

34:07 Like any Community yes to has it slowed everything down but hadn't changed any beanie buddies dreams or or desire to continue started projects. Everything's going go ahead as planned because in these live in the Panhandle you do they have to endure hard times. We know we can endure those times and good times will come and we'll complete.

34:35 What has happened on Friday example now that we just had a presidential election in Elmwood little Johnson was running for president. Texas is very conservative state is home state.

34:47 And when he was elected, he realized an Emerald Texas had one of the largest air bases in the nation. It's just it was a B-52 base which house and we still haven't talked about this a minute a very large nuclear facility, which is a final assembly point for all Tommy Farms. Well, Texas didn't vote for him. They're very conservative.

35:17 And I voted for the Republican candidate of the two days after he was elected the air base in Amarillo Texas was caught the least.

35:26 So but it's a huge devastating blow them wrong. That was over 5,000 jobs.

35:34 And at the same time there was a bond election to build a new Civic Center in Amarillo.

35:40 And that's a very devastating thing to happen to any Community. If Community came together and voted for that bond issue and they went ahead and built what today is their most nukes and still being used.

35:56 I like that. I think it goes back to to just the type of people that live here. I mean, you know, we've dealt with grout we've dealt with with the Ducks. All we know is that with hardship and coronavirus is definitely a hardship is

36:15 It's something that

36:18 It's interesting with the community here people aren't used to wearing math. I guess that's the same problem seems like you're especially it's hard to convince somebody they need to wear a mask. But I think the message is getting through that. We we have a real big outbreak of Tobit in Amarillo currently in fact or one of those the highest cities in Texas, but

36:48 That we we need to know take care of each other and we all will we just it's it's hard to get these Cowboys and and outdoor guys cuz

36:59 To wear a mask when they do when they do those kind of things, but we're we're getting there.

37:07 Thank you. And so, you know the farmers and the Ranchers have been hit hard by the economic downturn but the people the high plains are strong and have persevered through much worse. Can you both share some stories from your family's history that illustrate that pioneering Spirit to overcome adversity and persevere?

37:27 My mother had a great to a great number stories about living through the Dust Bowl, but the

37:37 I think one of the stories that always sticks out in my mind is how they

37:42 Would always have to get wet towels and and put them in the door frames and put them in the window frames and and you know change them on a regular basis just because of the sheer amount of dust that was moving through the air this wood would engulf a house both inside and out and I just I can't really fathom that the Ken Burns series on the Dust Bowl a lot of it was based on events that happened within a hundred miles of Amarillo and I think that that's probably the biggest

38:20 Now the biggest event that the the people here had to deal with that. I can think of the loss of employment during the close of the air base with its Olmsted devastating, but just as a general

38:37 You know overall dilemma the dustbowl probably is the worst episode they had to confront.

38:54 Okay, thank you for sharing that and so, you know, is there anything else that you all might want to share just about you know life on a ranch or the people of Amarillo anything that you might want to leave behind? I'm for anyone that might be listening to this recording.

39:12 To leave and continue and but our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren have as many of the same opportunities as we've had been provided by the tremendous ranching.

39:32 Lands that we've had when I say tremendous, I don't mean number of acreage. I mean quality of land.

39:41 And to get back with me and it's it's been our families.

39:46 No, Central Faith to always get back whenever you can and you will reap rewards from doing it and and those around you will reap the rewards from it. And I think that's a good philosophy for everyone and it certainly one that's that's done. Well for the Bivins family.

40:08 Yeah, thank you both so much for sharing about your family and the Bivens Legacy and Amarillo. Thank you with so much.

40:17 Thank you for calling and asking it's a it's a subject. We love to think about it and talk about but not brag about.