LINFIELDERS
BILL and BARB HAMMEL: WHEAT AND CATTLE RANCHERS IN THE DALLES, OREGON
See slideshow:
https://vimeo.com/1017280090?share=copy
Bill
and Barbara (Brookshire) Hammel (both Linfield College Class of 1970 grads) of
The Dalles, the “Gateway to Eastern Oregon” are third generation wheat and
cattle ranchers in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge.
The
Hammels operate 9,600 acres. Of those, 2,400 acres are crop ground—wheat and
barley. The rest is pasture ground for livestock.
They
run 140 head of cattle, all mother cows. (That’s down from 200 head in recent
years). Plus, they have calves and six bulls.
There
are Angus, Hereford, and Beefalo (a cross between a buffalo and any commercial
cow). Beefalo are low in fat and cholesterol—a health food product.
Bill
and Barb live at their home ranch on Fifteen Mile Road in The Dalles, Wasco
County, Oregon, near the Deschutes River.
Although
it's Fifteen Mile Road, their home is about 18 miles from downtown The Dalles.
It takes 20-25 minutes to get to town depending on the time of year and who’s
driving.
Their
wedding --- in the middle of their senior year at Linfield -- was Jan. 3, 1970,
in Portland. They both graduated from Linfield in 1970. But, here’s the rest of
the story:
Bill
joined the National Guard in the spring of 1970 and went to Army basic training
at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, and Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Because of basics he
left Linfield in spring 1970. Meanwhile, Barb finished her Business Education
degree in May of 1970. Bill finished Guard camp and they returned to Linfield
in fall of 1970 for him to finish his Business degree in December and play his
final season of Wildcat football.
In
the spring of 1971, the Hammels moved to the old farm house and Bill’s parents,
Frank and Mildred, moved to town.
In
1990 Bill and Barb had a decision to make. Keep the old house, built on rocks,
but add a real foundation and do other major remodeling. The cost would be
about the same as building a new home. (Bill’s mother liked that Barb would be
getting a new place.) So, in 1991, the old house was torn down, and the current
home was built.
Bill’s
grandfather, Eugene Hammel “bought the ranch in 1911, but homesteaded up the
road in 1904. These days we have four different properties that we operate,”
said Bill.
Bill’s
grandfather, Eugene, was born in Metzerlen (now known as Metzerlen-Mariastein),
Switzerland in 1870. His parents and some of his siblings came to America in
1879. Other siblings remained in Switzerland. There were 14 children in the
family.
Metzerlen-Mariastein
is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in
Switzerland. The present name of the municipality dates from 2003, it being
previously known as Metzerlen.
A
1966 graduate of Wahtonka High School in The Dalles, Bill attended and played
sports (football, and track & field) at Eastern Oregon College (EOC) in La
Grande as a freshman before transferring to Linfield as a sophomore.
His
high school football coach was Jeff Durham, a son of Paul Durham, a long-time
Linfield coach and athletic director. Read about why Bill transferred from EOC
to Linfield here:
https://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2014/08/because-of-question-bill-hammel-is.html
Bill,
a transfer student, and Barbara Brookshire, in her second academic year
(sophomore) at Linfield, met in 1967 on campus. Their matchmaker was classmate
Johnny Bill “Moon” Self.
It
may have been love at first sight, but Bill and Barb didn’t start dating until
the end of the 1967-1968 academic year.
Barb
grew up in Portland and moved to (suburban Portland) Tigard, in junior high.
She attended Tigard High School and graduated in 1966.
When
they married, Bill knew a lot about wheat and cattle ranching. He grew up
working the land and raising cattle with his folks. What did Barb know? “ Zip!
My family lived on 10 acres out of Tigard, and my dad raised some calves, and I
had a horse. I knew nothing about wheat ranching. I thought wheat ranchers were
rich--HA!,” she said.
As
young marrieds, Bill worked and ran the Hammel ranch. Barb started as
a substitute teacher in The Dalles School District “I was then hired as a
full-time business teacher at the high school and taught there until our first
son, Brian, was born in 1975,” she said, Barry was born in 1979.
Barb
went to court reporting school in Portland and did some freelance court
reporting (depositions) for several years. Barb also started teaching night
classes for Treaty Oak Education Service District. A couple of years later the
college hired her as a full-time business instructor. She taught there for 30
years.
Treaty
Oak was a satellite branch of Portland Community College. Later Treaty Oak
received its own accreditation and became Columbia Gorge Community College
(CGCC).
Before
leaving for n0n-agricultural careers, the
Hammel brothers worked on the ranch too. That included driving trucks or
combines at 13-14 years old. Barb also drove combine for many years “before the
boys kicked her off the machine,” said Barb.
Brian
worked in the tire business after he graduated from high school in 1993. He
came back to the ranch and started helping a couple years later and the
livestock operation was turned over to him.
“He
was the one that got us into the Beefalo business. We sent him out to buy a
couple Hereford bulls at an auction, and he came home with the Herefords plus
two yearling Beefalo bulls and three heifers. He worked on the ranch until we
lost him to cancer in 2010,” said Bill.
Barb
and Bill are great grandparents, because Brian had two children—Bailey (26) and
Beau (16). Bailey has two little boys—Brian (almost 3) and Eugene (15 mos.)
Barry
graduated from The Dalles High in 1998. He went to Eastern Oregon University in
La Grande his freshman year, then transferred to Columbia Gorge Community
College and studied microelectronics his sophomore year. He completed his
studies at Portland Community College and went to work at Intel in Beaverton.
With
Intel for 22 years, Barry comes home to the ranch every two weeks (on his
four-day off weekends) to help Bill. He also takes two to three weeks off to
help with harvest every year. Barry is a bachelor—"so no more grandkids
for us!,” Barb said.
Barb
and Bill say farming (crops) and ranching (livestock) is not just a job, it’s a
lifestyle that you have to love.
“It’s
not an easy 9-5 work day. Harvest hours run 12-13 hours, and you are on call
24/7 with other things like feeding livestock in the winter, fire calls, and
helping neighbors. There is never a dull moment on the ranch. Bill wouldn’t
trade it for any other job—it’s in his blood,” said Barb, who says she loves
her ranching/farming life, too.
-PHOTOS
from Bill & Barb Hammel over the years.
-PHOTOS and video clip from Wildcatville 8/17/2024
POSTSCRIPTS:
=EH
was brand of Eugene Hammel, Bill’s grandfather. FH was for
Frank Hammel, Bill’s dad. Rocking Diamond B was brand of Brian, Bill and
Barb’s son. “We use all three brands to identify the different breeds—Angus,
Hereford, and Beefalo. When people ask Bill what he does for a living, he tells
them that he is a professional gambler — he’s a farmer/rancher!,” said Barb.
=Harvesting
wheat on Hammel farm land requires self-leveling combines. A key reason flat
land combines are not used is because the land is too “hilly.” Self-leveling
combines have many positives. The most important is saving combine drivers. A
flat land combine operating on undulating farmland could tip over resulting in
a driver’s injury or death.
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