Broadwater Cattlewomen: Melanie Kimpton Weyant
Author: Samantha Ferrat, Cattle Women's Association
For as long as there have been cattle in Broadwater County, there have been Broadwater CattleWomen. They just didn’t properly organize until 1958 when they joined together as the Circle B Wranglers, and a few short years later renamed themselves the CowBelles. These women were the precursor to the group of CattleWomen we are today. The charter members represent a snapshot of Broad¬water’s cattle ranch history and I’ve listed them below to give recognition to those women and their families who may have given up on a few warm dinners so their wives could promote the cattle industry, and maybe they had just a little fun while doing so.
No matter the name we operate under, our beliefs have always been the same and are laid out in our creed:
Believing that the livestock industry is of basic importance to world existence, We, the American National Cattle¬Women, dedicate ourselves to support it with our labor and finances, to promote it through information and publicity, to encourage its producers with our understanding and love, to do all in our power to instill in the coming generations the love of the land, of life, the humility and awe before nature, and the hope and faith in the future that is inherent in CattleMen and CattleWomen.
The events and promotions these wonderful ladies pulled off over 60 years ago, were no small feat. I can say that because we currently try to do half as many things, and it is no easy task. One of my personal favorite events we are a part of is Ag Days with our Elementary School students. The Ag committee does an amazing job of putting this event together and we are always so happy to be able to contribute by having a station or two. Our Vice President, Sierra Blatter, graciously shares Mrs. Moo, her dairy cow, with the students, and no one has a better time than Mrs. Moo get¬ting snacks all morning long. Samantha Ferrat, our Secretary/ Treasurer and Montana Cattle¬Women District 2 Director, is in her element at Ag days where she gets to combine her love for teaching and her love for cows and always keeps the kids engaged whether she’s teaching cattle breeds through Corb Lund songs or showing them how to tag a calf.
Other notable activities for the CattleWomen include mak¬ing and providing roast beef sandwiches for the 6th-grade Conservation Day Field Trip, raffling off beef at the Townsend Christmas Stroll and presenting under the tent at the Broadwater County Fair - Friday, August 5th from 3:00- 4:30 p.m. Come see us, we will have free Beef Samples! We also offer a scholar¬ship each year to a graduating senior from Broadwater County High School. We are also lucky enough to have had Haley Potter, Montana CattleWomen Beef Education Chair, join our local group recently, and besides a wealth of knowledge and ideas, she brings with her access to some amazing tools. Such as Moo-tilda, the cow model for teaching about vaccine injec¬tion sites as well as a 3-D beef carcass model.
Additionally, we are in the process of planning a new and exciting event. We will be looking to host a Broadwater County Farm to Table dinner, with all food (and entertainment) sourced locally from within our county. We are blessed with so many growers and producers and can not wait to showcase Broadwater County in our 2023 event.
We are always hoping to do more to promote agriculture within our county. We are open to new ideas and would love to have more people join our ranks. But if the time is not freely available, a member¬ship or Business membership goes a long way to helping us continue our endeavors. We’d love to hear your ideas and comments and can be reached at broadwatercattlewomen@ gmail.com.
The original Circle B Wrangler Charter members, in alphabetical order, as found in “Our Beef Heritage” a newspaper com¬piled by Broadwater County Cowbelles and published by the Townsend Star in 1976:
Myrtle Biggs, Margaret Booher, Minnie Bruce, Bertha Cobban, Ruby Cox, Minnie Daughty, Lucy Ferrat, Edna Gaab, Mabel Gill, Mary Grand¬champ, Zita Gravely, Gertrude Grimm, Dorothy Hahn, Gudrum Hensley, Ester Holloway, Hel¬en Hudson, Marion Iverson, Geneivene Jacobson, Coral Kimpton, Mildred Kimpton, Geraldine Kimpton, Eleanor Marks, Alma Marks, Wilma Masola, Elizabeth McArthur, Irma Meyer, Joye Meyers, Ester Michel, Mary Mitchel, Mildred Neild, Geraldine Parker, Arlene Plymale, Eva Plymale, Lois Plymale, Winifred Prescott, Susan Ragen, Viola Ragen, Kay Ragen, Marba Stanfill, Marie Sullivan, Alida Swartz, Dorothy Jean Wallace, Pauline Webb, Joyce Whaley, LaRae Williams, and Thilda Williams.
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Broadwater Cattle Women
Image 1 Caption: Haley Potter and “Moo-tilda” at the 2022 6th Grade Conservation Field Trip
Image 2 Caption: Samantha Ferrat at 2021 Ag Days
