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Verdon Heaton | Oral History
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Verdon Heaton was interviewed on February 28, 2005 at the Bar-10 Ranch in the bottom of the Grand Canyon National Park, Mohave County, Arizona by Milton Hokanson, a representative of the Grand Canyon-Parashaunt National Monument Oral History Project. He related his experiences operating the ranch on the Arizona Strip with his brother, Tony Heaton.
MH: When did you first leave the ledge and come down to canyon-country?
VH: I came down here to live fourteen years [ago in 1991]. The first time I came down they were [herding] cattle on the top. [That] night, Tony [Heaton] told me to drive the truck loaded of hay down and he would [bring] the horses down. I thought I was never going to get down here! [Laughter]
MH: [Laughter] That would be slow going! Your family is from Moccasin [Arizona] across the [state] line and [from] up towards Bryce Canyon [National Park, Garfield County, Utah] at Alton [Kane County, Utah]. Where did you grow up?
VH: [I grew up] in Moccasin.
MH: You grew up in Moccasin by Pipe Spring [Arizona]. [Did] your family ranch out on the [Arizona] Strip over the years?
VH: All the time. That is where we were raised.
MH: When you got down here [and] unloaded the hay, was there much to see?
VH: [It was] dark. [I] unloaded half of it and the next day he told me to take the rest [of the load] down to the [Colorado] River. The same thing happened there. It got dark while they were getting the horses and mules.
MH: The days are long down here. Was it strictly a ranching operation at that time?
VH: Yes. When he started out, I can’t remember his name, he is a dentist in Kingman [Arizona]. I think he is up, what is that home up against the hill?
MH: In Hurricane [Washington County, Utah]?
VH: No. It is up further this way. My memory leaves me. He was the one [who] owned this place.
MH: Did he have the Bar-10 [Ranch]?
VH: Yes.
MH: Did he have the private ground, too?
VH: Yes. He worked and came up here and he leased [the ranch] to Tony. Then he decided he didn’t want to do [that], so Tony pulled out. It wasn’t very long [before] he sold it to him.
MH: Tony bought it out.
VH: That is [why] he located here.
MH: Were they running sheep down here at that time?
VH: Most of [the sheep were] up on the hill. They [had a few sheep] there [earlier] but we never did get mixed up with it [very] much.
MH: So it wound up a ranching operation. Were there a lot of buildings down here at that time?
VH: There were just those cabins over there.
MH: Had the spring been piped down here at that time?
VH: Yes.
MH: You did have water down here.
VH: The water has been down here a long time.
MH: Going back [to] the Whitmores, maybe?
VH: I think it was even before then. Who is the [fellow who] brought all the cows over here and let them [inaudible].
MH: [Do you mean] Preston Nutter?
VH: Preston Nutter. I think he was the one [who] had the water brought down here first.
MH: He was the first one.
VH: It was [through a] wooden pipe.
MH: Wasn’t there was a fellow named Wood [who] ran cattle or sheep down here for awhile?
VH: Yes.
MH: Did you ever run across [Jonathon Deyo] “Slim” Waring?
VH: All the time! Dad bought a lot of cows from him. He and his wife [Mary (Osburn) Waring] would drive [the cattle] halfway up on the hill up and then we would pick them up and [bring] them on.
MH: What do you remember about “Slim?”
VH: He was a good man.
MH: Was he tall [or] short?
VH: [He was] a big tall [man].
MH: [Was he] a [fairly] good cowboy?
VH: One of the tops!
MH: Would you buy cattle from him and take [them] back over towards Moccasin?
VH: He would sell them as soon as we got them into Kanab [Kane County, Utah]. He loaded them into trucks.
MH: Did you stay down here after Tony took the lease over?
VH: No. I was still in Las Vegas [Nevada] working helping Tony get money to keep this [ranch] going. When [things] got a little better, I told him I wanted to come and go to work. He said, “Come on.”
MH: Have you been down here ever since? [Laughter]
VH: Oh, this is home! [Laughter]
MH: Was the idea, primarily, to ranch when you and Tony first [came] down here?
VH: Yes.
MH: Where did the idea for the Bar-10 [Ranch] come from?
VH: You know, I don’t know. Somebody [was at] the [Colorado] River [and saw] what went on [when] these boats [went] by. We [went] down and [talked to] a couple of the big [boat owners] and [asked] them why [they] didn’t take them on down to the lake. “You are wasting your money.” Tony said, “If you will do that, I will build a nice lodge up here; then you [will be] making money all the way.” [This] worked out beautifully for him. So I came out and helped him build the lodge.
MH: Did everything for this lodge have to come over that road? Every nail? Every piece of pipe?
VH: [Laughter] That is a history there! When we came down off the [inaudible] down here we stuck one end in the truck. We would pile brick and everything up on it. You could come down and it would swing way out. [Laughter] Then you could come around to the other one and it would drag. It was [inaudible] getting [material] down here.
MH: I bet it was!
VH: Whatever came down was just whatever car came. Sometimes [it was] a touring car. Sometimes [it was] a pickup.
MH: [Laughter] A lot of them [came] down. How did you get them all back up? Was the air strip here when you first [started]?
VH: [There was] just a little short one down here.
MH: As I remember, it was very short.
VH: Yes, and you would [have to] turn in kind of a half moon down around those rocks. [Laughter] That is the way those [men] would come around.
MH: I haven’t seen the new strip. Who built that? Did you develop that?
VH: We did. Tony did.
MH: How does the operation work? The guests come off the river [and] how do they come up? What do they do when they get here?
VH: We used to bring them up out of the canyon with horses and mules. Then we had an old school bus [that] we would put [the guests] in and bring them up here. But [one] time we didn’t have [inaudible]. We just dumped them out down here where that little shed was.
MH: [Didn’t] there used to be sort of a sun shade down there?
VH: Yes. Ruby [Heaton] called it a Bologna Restaurant because she would expect at a certain time to give them sandwiches and they would be late [because] we would blow tires. That is another thing that he [wanted to do and that was to have] programs [for] the people.
MH: When did you first start bringing river runners out [here]?
VH: It would be back in 1955 when I went to [Las] Vegas. That is about when he started to bring them [out].
MH: When did they improve the strip and start using helicopters?
VH: [That was] probably about five or six years [ago]. [About 2000.]
MH: Then not only did the Bar-10 [Ranch] become a way stop for the river runners, but it has become a resort in of itself.
VH: People come! A lot of the people [who] come will stay here a week. They will be on their bikes or their ATV’s [all terrain vehicles]. They go to all of the places up here where they can travel and look. It is very good.
MH: Can you still get up Hell Hole and up to [the] Mt. Logan [Wilderness Area in Arizona]? Is that road still rough?
VH: It is just about washed out. You have to hike. There are [a] lot of rocks you have to go up over.
MH: How many miles is it from here to St. George [Washington County, Utah]?
VH: [It is] about eighty [miles].
MH: How many times have you driven that?
VH: Once a week! [Laughter]
MH: For fourteen years?
VH: Not quite that. Tony keeps talking [that] we [should] come up and go to church. I just [say], “I like it down here.” He finally got me to go to church so I drive up every week [laughter] except the last four weeks. I stayed down [here] because there was too much water coming down.
MH: There was some water in that wash coming down. How many people work down here? Is the full summer your busiest time?
VH: They have about twelve girls and maybe four boys because they do the horseback riding and picking up [items]. It works out [very well].
MH: [Do] you stay down here all winter? It looks like your season is getting longer all the time. It will be year round before long.
VH: This is home! [Laughter]
MH: Don’t you get a break along about January and February?
VH: That is when I like it. I used to be able to stay down here all by myself during the winter. Tony and the boys would come down when it [started] snowing to check and see [if] I was okay. I like it down here myself.
MH: I have a question about that but I will save it for later. Let’s go back to those early days when “Slim” Waring was still around and some of the old-time [fellows]. They lived out here. How did they make it?
VH: “Slim” and his wife did [well]. They had a nice home over there.
MH: How many [head of] cattle did he normally have?
VH: Gosh, I don’t know what he sold. It was quite a bit.
MH: Did you ever meet Preston Nutter?
VH: No, I didn’t. I didn’t know anything about him until I came down here and started hearing stories about him.
MH: Have you been over to the Copper Mountain Mine?
VH: I never got over there.
MH: How far [is it] from here to the Grand Canyon, to the [bank of the Colorado] River?
VH: [It is] about ten miles. It [takes] about an hour, not quite, to walk down to the river and about an hour to come back out if you are walking.
MH: When you are busy in the summer, how many people do you run through here in a day?
VH: About 10,000!
MH: [Laughter]
VH: Oh, in a day?
MH: Yes. I thought you were doing a John Riffey on me, pulling my leg a little!
VH: No, that [would be] during the season. Gosh, there will be four or five companies that come up here. Then we have a group that will come up here and stay at night. They will bring them in and they go on down the river for a two or three day trip.
MH: You probably [are fairly] busy [at the] air strip with all those planes coming in.
VH: Oh man! The [airplanes] we have now are good. They pull down and shut down one engine and load [the people] up and they get them over [the canyon]. They used to come in like [inaudible] [and make] four or five trips to wherever they were going. Now in an hour they are gone.
MH: The air strip is a little longer now, too.
VH: [Laughter] Yes.
MH: Did you ever know John Riffey and ever get over to Tuweep?
VH: I loved Riffey! He was a good man.
MH: There are a lot of stories about John. What is your best John Riffey story?
VH: I knew there were some people down at the rim [of the Grand Canyon who] were tearing everything up. Back then, you never [had] a uniform, just the poor ranger’s clothes.
MH: John never wore a uniform.
VH: He went down there and told those [fellows], “Listen, I just came by the ranger up there and he is coming down. He is going to put you in jail if you don’t get this [area] cleaned up before [he gets here]. I just thought I would tell you so you will do it.” We came back up here and he said, “That way, I don’t have a lot of paper work.” [Laughter]
MH: [Laughter] They didn’t know they had been talking to the ranger!
VH: I brought [some] bakers from [Las] Vegas [who I knew] when I was working down there. It was after dark when I [arrived and in] deer season time. So I drove down to Tony’s place. [A few of them] came down and were out there with a great big old flashlight. [Tony] was a-cussing me [about] what I was doing. I said, “I just wanted to take the boys down and show them.” He said, “That is alright.”
[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]
MH: When was the lodge here completed? Has it been like this for many years?
VH: I am just trying to think. We built this lodge in 19 ─. I don’t remember when it was [built].
MH: You said you have been down here fourteen years. So has it been within the last fourteen years?
VH: They built it before I came
MH: Really?
VH: I came out and helped them [build it].
MH: So it has been here for ten or fifteen years or longer. Do you also use the area here as a lodge for retreats? Do people come in and stay for a week or so?
VH: Yes. [When] the first of the month comes, they go up to the office and [arrange] it so we have food and [supplies for] whatever they want to do. We usually [do this] early in the spring or late in the fall when we don’t [have] the river boats. It works out [fairly well].
MH: It would be a good shoulder season. Other than John Riffey and some of the other ranchers, [who else did you know]? Did you know Al Craig?
VH: Yes.
MH: Did you know [Vivian August] “Pat” Bundy?
VH: Yes.
MH: What is your best “Pat” Bundy story?
VH: I never [heard many] of his stories. I was young. I would go with dad up to [their] farm to buy cows. He was quite a character!
MH: Yes, he was quite a character! What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you out here?
VH: Gosh, I don’t know. I love it [here]! [Laughter]
MH: What is the worst thing that ever happened to you out here?
VH: Getting on a little horse and [being] bucked off right there in the rocks! [Laughter]
MH: I can imagine that hurt! That will happen, won’t it?
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MH: What are the brands of [the] cattle [that] you are running down here now?
VH: Bar-10.
MH: Bar-10 is your brand. What are the breeds?
VH: A little bit of everything. We have the cows in a herd up here. [Inaudible]
MH: Do they do well in the heat?
VH: They do [very well].
MH: Do you [have them on the] range down here all year?
VH: No. We take them up on top and over [inaudible]. They also bought a [small] ranch that Esplins used to have. We take the cows over there. They have a place at Panguitch [Garfield County, Utah]. [The cattle that have been] here go up there now.
MH: Do you truck them out of here? Do you drive them up on top and put them in the trucks?
VH: We drive them up to the top and take them up. The ones that they got from the herd, we take them out to the mountain [inaudible].
MH: Do you still have your first saddle?
VH: No, it disappeared. It was an old cavalry [saddle]. That was rough riding! [Laughter]
MH: [So] you got yourself a little more comfort!
VH: When I got to be the [National Park Service] Ranger, dad came down with a brand new saddle. Man, I was in heaven! All the Esplin boys [who] were my age wanted to ride it. I never got to ride it very much to start with.
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MH: When Ned started here ─ what?
VH: He took over [inaudible].
MH: You were here when [the area was] made a monument, weren’t you?
VH: Yes.
MH: I have a couple of questions for you. The first question [is]: what is it about you [folks] who live out here on the [Arizona] Strip that [makes you feel that] there is no place on earth like it? What is the allure? What is it out here that keeps you [fellows] here?
VH: Cowboying.
MH: You like cowboying?
VH: Yes, cows.
MH If the cows weren’t here, I bet you would still be here.
VH: Eventually half of us will be gone, I think.
MH: But you will still want to go back to the [Arizona] Strip.
VH: I will go someplace else! [Laughter]
MH: The [Grand Canyon-Parashaunt National] Monument exists, the fact [is] that it is here. How would you like to see it managed and administered? What do you think [would] be the best thing they [could] do with it?
VH: I don’t know. They are doing a [fairly] good job. I really like them [and] their boss man.
MH: Would you like to see them pave the roads?
VH: No. I wouldn’t want to see [roads] paved but I would like to see [them] made smoother.
MH: [Maybe] graded once in awhile?
VH: Graded a little bit. They want to leave it natural.
MH: This year has been a [fairly] wet winter. Are [the] wildflowers out yet?
VH: They [aren’t] up here, but down [at] the river they are starting to blossom. The cactus is coming out.
MH: I really appreciate talking to you. Hopefully, I can come back in a couple of weeks and talk to you again.
VH: I hope you get enough good stories.
MH: I am getting what I wanted! It is just about right.
[END OF TAPE]
Description
Verdon Heaton was interviewed on February 28, 2005, at the Bar-10 Ranch in the bottom of the Grand Canyon National Park, Mohave County, Arizona by Milton Hokanson, a representative of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Oral History Project. He related his experiences operating the ranch on the Arizona Strip with his brother, Tony Heaton.
Credit
NPS
Date Created
02/28/2005
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