Spring has sprung and our second collectors show is behind us. The DRM show in Shamrock, TX was a good one and we had a fine time. It was a small show and no walk-thru traffic but there was no shortage of wire trading going on. I think the same wires traded hands numerous times over the weekend.

Danny Wright, Zack & Carolyn Herring and Ruth & Delbert Trew all did a great job at their assigned duties. Those “Best of Show” awards (made by the Herring’s) were sure some of the best. We did enjoy all the meals. Dan Sowle and I were very honored with the large trophy that we received for our help with the auction. It will be displayed in our trophy cases with pride. Thanks also to Jerry Thornton for his hand carved cane he donated for the auction and the other things he added for the banquet favors.

It was nice that the Date Nail Club joined us for a combined show. Will miss them next year as they have other plans. The Boards decision was to have the show in McLean, TX next year at the Devil’s Rope Museum. The show is scheduled for April, 2013.

Looking forward to our next show in La Crosse, KS on May 4th and 5th. They always put on a good show and have a theme that is a lot of fun at the banquet.

Not long after this show, the Super Show will be held in Minden, Nebraska on June 22nd and 23rd. Super Shows are always extra good as a lot of collectors, if they can only attend one show, try to make it to the Super Show.

Guess that is the latest, that I know about, what is going on across the collecting field. Hope all our collector friends are doing fine and maybe we will see you all this Summer.

JERRY BOXBERGER
PRESIDENT, NMBWCA

Cowboys had a slang term for barbed wire.  After it came to Texas in the 1870s, they called it Texas silk.  Long before barbed wire, plank fencing had been well established in South Texas.  Before that, mesquite and brush fences were common, especially for corrals.

Mifflin Kenedy built a 36 mile fence on the Laureles Ranch in 1868.  The fence stretched from the Oso to Laureles Creek.  It was made of pine boards and cypress posts, treated with creosote, and cost $4,000 a mile.  It enclosed 131,000 acres.

Martha Rabb, the cattle queen of Texas, enclosed her ranch near Banquete with a plank fence in 1875.  It was made of heart-pine boards nailed to cypress posts.  It took a line rider two days to ride it.

S. G. Miller put up a 15 mile mesquite fence on his ranch where Lake Corpus Christi is today.  This fence was made in the old way introduced long ago from Mexico.  It consisted of mesquite posts, set four to eight feet apart, and laced with smaller mesquite limbs and brush and tied with rawhide strips.  The fence angered Miller’s neighbors because it blocked a road between Corpus Christi and Gussettville.

Barbed wire arrived around 1875 and became big in the late 1870s and early 1880s.  In Corpus Christi, J. B. Mitchell’s Hardware was selling Glidden’s patented barbed wire in 1883.  Though it was much cheaper than planks, some ranchers would have nothing to do with it.  “Shanghai” Pierce was afraid the cattle on his ranch at Tres Palacios would get entangled in the wire, cut themselves on the barbs and die of screwworms.

But cattle learned quickly.  It was said that after they had been in contact with barbed wire, it was difficult to drive them between two posts.

Ranchers who owned their own land began to enclose pastures in barbed-wire fences.  This set off a violent conflict between the big land-owning ranchers and the free-graze, open-range cattlemen.  Ranchers who owned enough land to match the size of their herds called the free-grass cattlemen “range pirates.”

One open-range cattleman said barbed wire was “the damnable device of his Satanic majesty” and said he prayed that J. F. Glidden, the inventor, would have it wound around him and the ball rolled straight into hell.

Gaping holes began to appear in fences.  Cowboys working for open-range cattlemen and those with small holdings cut fences that belonged to the cattle barons.  Cowboys working for the big spreads rode the fence lines armed to the teeth.

Newspapers ran headlines like, “Hell breaks loose in Texas” and “500 miles of fences cut in Coleman County.”  In Corpus Christi, the Caller reported that James McBride’s fence, five miles from town was cut in a number of places and said “the perpetrators of this malicious act should be caught and punished.”

Gov. John Ireland called the Legislature into special session in 1884 to deal with the crisis.  Legislators passed laws making fence-cutting a felony; they even made it a crime to carry fence-cutters in a saddlebag.  With these new laws, the Texas Rangers brought an end to the fence-cutting troubles.

For cattle barons, enclosed pastures meant they didn’t have to hire as many hands.  Fencing cut down on rustling, reserved the rancher’ grass for his own herds, and made it easier to segregate cattle for breeding.  This allowed them to control bloodlines and improve their stock.

Barbed wire – “horse-high, bull-proof and hog-tight” – divided the land into pastures.  It also served as a dividing line between old and new Texas.  Free-spirit cowboys wanted to be able to ride across the land without having to go through a gate.  Only a few years before, it was said, a man could ride a thousand miles, from the Rio Grande to the Canadian border, without encountering a fence.  “Bigfoot” Wallace said barbed wire “sure played hell with Texas.”

If you have special requests for tables and set-up for the show, please call Dan and Nancy Sowle, 505.832.4339. NMBWCA and the city of Moriarty are looking forward to having you.

The 2012 California Barbed Wire Collectors Association Show is history and it was a good one. There were a lot of collectors present and numerous displays. The usual amount of wire sales and swapping seemed to go on continuously. There was a good amount of walk-in traffic this year. Mark and Linda Nelson put in Lot’s of work to make this show a success. Joe and Ellie Lawrence are to be thanked also for the work they did. Linda Nelson entertained the Ladies at a workshop making ribbon necklaces. They all had a good time. The gals also spent time playing dominoes and putting a puzzle together.

CONGRATULATIONS go out to Glade Wasden upon receiving the “HALL OF FAME” award. Glade has been a collector of wire for many years and has an award winning collection. A well deserved award for Glade. This award was presented in Bullhead City as he was not at La Crosse last fall.

We are looking forward to the next show in Shamrock, Texas on April 13th and 14th. Know they will have a good one lined up.

Our New Mexico show (July 20th and 21st) is taking shape and we’re looking for a large show. Hope these gas prices stop going up and we can all afford to take in all the shows this Summer.

The Super Show in Minden, Nebraska on June 22nd and 23rd will be a big one this year. Hope everyone will be able to attend.

That is it for now. Happy collecting and travel safe to the shows.

JERRY BOXBERGER
PRESIDENT, NMBWCA

Dear NMBWCA ;

My 100 year old step-father recently gave me a framed collection of barb wire and I’m not sure  exactly what to do with it.  I don’t know if the  pieces are valuable and I should insure it or what.  On the back, each piece is labeled by name, patent date/ inventor (including location, sometimes).  I’d like to have it appraised, but don’t want to spend lots of money if the collection is just a nicely mounted set of common wire.  How do I begin?  Where do I begin?

My husband and I are both school teachers (he is the Ag teacher and FFA advisor at the local high school) and we run sheep and cattle on our 160 acre ranch.  We  are the third generation to live on the family ranch and sometimes I think the fences around HERE are the real antiques!!

Anyway,  I’m hoping that you or someone you know can direct me on what to do with this framed, 23 x 19 inch collection.  Each piece is at least 18 inches long, there are 13 different samples and the  identification information on the back includes:

A description of 9 of the 13 barbed wires were included here.

I can send a photo if that would help.  If you and your wife are not able to help me, could you forward this to someone in your society that could?

Thanks so  much for your help and expertise.

Sincerely,

DRG

Here is our member’s response.

Hi DRG,

Thanks for your note inquiring about several pieces of antique barbed wire you received from your stepfather.

The 9 wires listed in your email are very common wires and most all collectors already have these wires in their collections.  On the presumption that the remaining 4 wires in the display that were not listed in your mail are of comparable value, it would be fair to say the value of any one individual wire would be nominal at best, and certainly would not warrant having them insured.

There is no doubt that this collection would be worth more to you and members of your family as a memento of your stepfather than you could expect from a collector.  If your are truly interested in selling the collection, at best it could be worth $25.00 to $35.00 if you could find an interested buyer.  An antique dealer might be willing to pay you 25% of that amount.

My suggestion would be to proudly display the collection on your wall for others to see.  If not, then you might consider donating it to a local museum.

I hope this provides you with some idea as to the value of your collection.

If you would like additional information or have other questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.  If we don’t have the answers we certainly can refer you to other collectors that will be able to help you.

Sincerely,

NMBWCA