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| Jim and Top Preuit |
Day 6. My dad and Top Preuit looking on at a branding in 1990. No action in this photo, they were both too crippled by then to participate. Which was sad because the two of them possessed a wealth of experience and wisdom in cowboyology. Dad and Top were lifelong neighbors and close friends. Members of the so called greatest generation, and veterans of World War Two. Top was a survivor of the Bataan Death March. In the words of Louis L'amour, they would do to ride the river with.
Some comments:
Justin Reichert Dossie Cribbs see how touching these photos can be ? You old spoil sport.
Stewart Williamson Haha Justin, you are right. I was 29 when this photo was taken, and I was in the the pen that day. I was too immature to appreciate their wisdom back then. I would give anything to be around them again. I'd pay more attention this time!
Kay Odom Jeffries WOW WOW WOW
These two men are the REAL deal. Both experienced life, that we only read about. They are the History of NM. I got chill bumps and tears reading your comment and looking at this picture. Said it before and saying it again, your Dad, Mom, and you kids were the first people I met, my first visit to NM, I still cherish that memory, and the steak! Can’t say enough about these two men! Both Great friends of the Jeffries
Look at those hats‼️‼️‼️‼️
Pat-Cindy Boone You said it, Stew, with a little help from Tom Brokaw:America’s Greatest Generation. Without those folks we would be speaking Japanese and eating sauerkraut. Their willingness to step up and be accountable is second to none. And then these two, along with millions of others, went to work back home and built this country into the greatest country on earth. God bless America !
Betty Williamson One of my all time favorite pictures of two of my all time favorite people. Photo credit to our dear friend, Sandy Babers, who captured many of our branding memories, and who also kept a bottle of whiskey in her desk so when Daddy stopped by Walco in Portales (and later in Roswell), he could count on sharing a drink.
Dino Cornay They need to put this picture up at the Capitol Building in Washington..that photo is priceless..real men..I knew a rancher from Roy, NM that was in the Death March..he said the only ones tough enough to survive it were the ones raised on ranches and farms because they had all worked so hard growing up.
Stewart Williamson Brother Dino, I agree. There were a lot of men from NM in the death march. I spent a lot of time around Top. I only heard him speak about it a couple times. He didn’t describe the atrocities they experienced, and he wasn’t bitter when he talked about it. He grew up in tough times, and it was just another ordeal to be faced. The most interesting thing about it he told me was he had a pocket knife though the whole deal. The guards never found it. He told me it probably saved his life and several others in his company. Because when they caught a mouse or rat they could clean it with the knife and eat it. Hard to imagine. And then, as my friend Pat Boone said, the survivors came home and went back to work. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
Leigh Hammond Willmon: Must've been really hard on them just to stand by & watch.....
Stewart Williamson; Leigh, that’s something I really thought about when I looked at this photo. I couldn’t relate to what they were going through back then. I’m old enough now to understand. My dad lived to be 96, but he was too crippled to do anything for the last 20 years of his life. He got up every day thinking that somehow he was going to get better so he could go back to work. His optimism never waned till the day he died.
Vicki Lynn Harp Donaghey: Love this picture. It’s funny but one thing I remember about both of them were the hats they wore. I remember Top’s hat was always the small one and your Dad’s hat looked like it had seen better days, but I bet it was his favorite one. Hutch used to wear one like your Dads. The pic brings back fond memories.
Dennis Hardisty: Stewart Williamson I need to make a correction. I said that Top was my Dad's uncle but he was a cousin. Top's dad and my grandmother's dad were brothers. Top's dad was named Otis and he lived past 100, in his last years he was in assisted living in Portales. One of my aunts went to visit him and as she was leaving one of the ladies working there stopped her and asked her if she knew "about" that man. My aunt said "Well, he's my great uncle so yes I know about him. Why ?" The lady told her that before lights out each evening Otis would make the rounds and offer money to all of the female residents of the home to sleep with him. My aunt laughed and asked her if he got any takers. Apparently Top came by it honestly !
Stewart Williamson: Dennis, I remember Top talking about that lol. Is Benny your uncle? Benny and I were both pallbearers at O. A.’s funeral.
Stewart Williamson: Dennis, here’s something else Top told me that his dad had told him. When a O.A. was young, his family lived in TX and big trail herds would pass by regularly. He told Top you could hear the herds a long time before you would see them because their horns clicking together as they walked made such a racket. I have never heard this anywhere else.
Dennis Hardisty: Stewart Williamson Yes Benny was my uncle. He passed away in 2005.
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