Local author shares ranching family history

On Saturday, Magdalena Public Library was at full capacity, with standing room only, for Randell Glen Major’s presentation of his book “We Were Cowboys”.

“I was glad to see so many people there and lots of smiles” Yvonne Magener, Magdalena Library Director, said.

Major said he wrote the book as a personal project to honor his family, especially his mother.

“After my parents passed away, I wanted to know more information, and they’re not around to ask anymore, and so I just thought that it would be a good idea for me to write some stuff down for my kids,” Major said, “And so I really wrote this just as personal stories, they may not be a lot of interest to a lot of you. Personal opinions may not be in line with some of you, but it’s just my book and my feelings.”

He shared a collection of over sixty photographs, including those of cattle drives, his time at the New Mexico Military Institute, horses and snapshots from his great-grandfather’s era.

Major said he researched his great-grandfather Nelson Field for the book. He found out that Field came to the Magdalena area from Colorado in 1886. He said they went through Albuquerque in the day, crossed the Rio Grande River, and then came out to what they called Alamo Spring.

“He (Field) had nine daughters he raised, and they were all good cowgirls,” Major said. “He raised them out there in North Alamo and hired a lot of the Navajo boys to help brand and do ranch work. And of course, all that happened. Well, two of the nine daughters ended up marrying Navajos.”

He said the family was close to the Navajos, and during his research, he found out that his grandfather was instrumental in having the Navajos stay at Alamo.

“During the long walk, a lot of the Navajos escaped on their journey to Fort Sumner, and they took off and fled back to Alamo Spring. So that was a good hideout place for him there, and they thrived in there,” Major said “Grandpa Field knew them real well, so he wrote a letter. He was called their agent, and he wrote a letter to Congress or whoever, or the army to make sure to just leave them there and leave them alone because they weren’t hurting anything. And so that was the reason they were such good friends.”

Major said his book has a chapter dedicated to his horses. He noted that while he tried to include stories about good horses, he found the stories about “bad horses” more exciting and interesting to tell.

He told a story about a horse called Hard Rock, who he bought from a man in Blue Water.

“This horse was so gentle and big and stout on the ground, and kids could go underneath him. I mean, just dog, gentle horse, nice horse,” Major said.

A friend asked him, “Are you really going to rope on that horse?” His friend told him that Hard Rock had almost torn down a barn.

“I found out later that horse would buck with you at the end of the day, not when you first got on him. He bucked one of my spurs off, and I hit into the tree, and I got back on him and rode him up the hill,” Major said.

Major eventually sold Hard Rock to Bill Owens’ Broken Arrow bucking stock. The horse went on to win the Arizona circuit and even qualified for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR).

“I sent him off to go do what he loved, and he was good at it,” Major said, “But his career suddenly ended when he got hit by lightning out there.”

During the presentation, people in attendance added their memories and input to the photos and stories. Major hoped the book might inspire others in Magdalena to write their own stories to preserve the local history.

After the presentation, a dozen ranches added their brands to the Magdalena Library’s Gazebo .

Major’s book can be purchased on Amazon.