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.
