John Griffin, Part 1/2

Descriptive

Part OfJohn Griffin Oral HistoryIntervieweeJohn Griffin Minnie GriffinInterviewerJoyce McBrideBrowse TopicBusiness and IndustryCommunity GroupsLand, Environment, and Natural ResourcesSociety and CultureSubjectOral historiesArizona HistoryArizona History 19th centuryArizona History 20th CenturyGila County (Ariz.)BiographyCattle--West (U.S.)--HistoryRanching History of Gila CountyRanch managers--ArizonaU.S. Forest ServiceSalt River Watershed (Ariz.)DescriptionJohn Griffin was Gila County Rancher of the Year in 2006. His family's earliest ancestors, the Romeros, came to America in the 1700s, settling on a Spanish Land Grant. They brought some of the first sheep into Arizona Territory. Maria Concepcion Romero married John Clark, a soldier stationed in San Carlos. Her home was the first wood frame structure in Globe in the 1870s. Their daughter Emma Beech was the mother of Molly who married John's grandfather, John Griffin. John and his brother Fred came from Texas in 1906, and started the Pringle Ranch on the Salt River. After Fred returned to Texas, John moved his family across the river to start the current Griffin Ranch, a 70 section spread that spans from Timber Camp to Seven-Mile Wash, north of Globe. John names the early ranchers that bordered them and how they helped each other get established. John's father, James Griffin, was about 12 years old when his father was killed in a horse accident, and so he grew up ranching with the help of cowhands from other ranches and from the nearby Apache reservations. Minnie was from Boston, MA, and was in the WAC when she and Jim Griffin, a weatherman, met in England during WWII. They married there, and after the war, returned to run the remote Griffin Family Ranch. John continues describing the ranching culture and of his own generation, John the only boy. John's former wife, Jackie, had a degree in Ranch Management and Environmental Resources. He assumed control of the ranch after his father and took over responsibility of working with the U.S. Forest Service. At Mitch Holder's prompt, he became an officer in the Gila County Cattle Grower's Assoc. When the Forest Service destocked the ranches in 2002, John and the other officers went to the Public Lands Council in Washington DC to meet and taskforce with others to lobby and educate lawmakers and bureau heads on Arizona's issues. Other ranching problems such as drought-overgrazing, wildfires and other environmental topics are discussed. John and Therese also discuss their incorporation of holistic science into ranch management.Audio Length00:42:58Date Original2010-01-14Date Range1860s (1860-1869)1870s (1870-1879)1880s (1880-1889)1890s (1890-1899)1900s (1900-1909)1910s (1910-1919)1920s (1920-1929)1930s (1930-1939)1940s (1940-1949)1950s (1950-1959)1960s (1960-1969)1970s (1970-1979)1980s (1980-1989)1990s (1990-1999)2000s (2000-2009)TypeSound- NonmusicalOriginal FormatOral historiesLanguageEnglishContributing InstitutionArizona Heritage Research FoundationCollectionOral Histories of Gila County RanchersRights StatementThe opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee only. They do no represent the views of the Arizona Heritage Research Foundation, the Gila Co. Historical Museum or the Arizona State Library. Please contact the Arizona Heritage Research Foundation with questions about the use and reproduction of this resource.

Geographic

CountyGila CountyStateArizonaCountryUnited States

Oral HistoryJohn Griffin

Administrative

IdentifierGriffin, John, Part 1.mp3Date Digitized2010-01-14Digital FormatMP3

36.mp3

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John Griffin, Part 1/2