Wallis, Ben 1971-05-18

Ben Wallis reviews his business ventures in the cattle industry, discussing his experiments in crossbreeding cattle and the government cattle program in the 1930s.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Ben Wallis

Additional Parties Recorded: None

Date: May 18, 1971

Location: Llano, Texas

Interviewer: Fred Carpenter

Length: 1 hour

Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: Background and early life, Civil War and post-war anecdotes, Family land holdings described, Learned the cattle business from his father, Dipping cattle for ticks, Recalls sale of cattle in Oklahoma, Explains contract selling of calves and yearlings, Crossbred to create a "Brangus" type, Other crossbreeds discussed, Claims to be first man to unload cattle directly from truck to railroad, Description of "Cat-town".

Tape 1, Side 2: Problems of cattle killed by lightning, Extent of present operation, Method of feeding cattle in winter, Government cattle program of 1934 recalled, Cites abuses in the program, Attitude toward the program expressed, Mentions government goat-killing program, 1935 rams and rising price of cattle, Results of experiments with crossbreeding, Longhorn cattle kept as a hobby, Wind storms recalled, Relates rumors about buried treasure.

Range Dates: 1860s-1971

Bulk Dates: 1930s-1971

Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript:

---

Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.