While there have been many changes in the past 140 years somethings may never change on the 6666. Mack trucks have replaced cattle drives and trains, e-mail has put an end to the telegraph, and in many places ATV's. helicopters, and pick up trucks have replaced the horse and saddle. However as for life on the 6666 the view during branding season is not much different than it would have been in 1870. Nothing can attest to that better than the work of Tom Ryan. Ryan a western photographer and historian spent time on the 6666 in the early 1960's catching a glimpse of cowboy life. His art work is on display at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City,OK. Ryan was able to capture views of working cowboys on the 6666 that depict a lifestyle that would have been parallel if not exact in nature to the generation before them and that before them. In his work Ryan was able to show how though times had drastically changed the traditions on the 6666 would not. Below are some images from Ryan's collection, courtesy of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Getting ready for lunch, 6666 Ranch, King County, Texas, September 1968.
Tom Ryan Papers
Box 53, Folder 28
Getting a drink in the middle of the stream, 6666 Ranch, King County, Texas, ca. 1960s.
Tom Ryan Papers
Box 83, Folder 2
No comments:
Post a Comment