The Association would like to welcome the following new members to the Association.

• Scott and Caron Garvey of Moosomin, Saskatchewan
• Len & Shirley Bloomberg of Fort Macleod, Alberta
• Daniel Erikssen of Onoway, Alberta

Ron Walker is an original member of the Alberta Texas Longhorn Association and has been involved for over 24 years. He purchased his first cattle from Dick Hanson from Wordon, Montana. Ron has 60 Longhorn cow/calf pairs and runs 150 – 200 head of commercial cattle which are ½ Longhorn cross and red/black cross. He has been an avid supporter of the “Steer a Year” project at Olds College and he has generously donated the information gathered on his crossbred Longhorn steers to anyone who is interested.

Ron has also been a wonderful supporter of all Texas Longhorn shows. He has won many ribbons, plaques and banners with his award winning cattle as well as being a regular at the Red Deer, Calgary and Olds cattle shows over the years. He has generously donated his time as a board member, donated and purchased items for auction and has also purchased many interesting items from the silent auctions. He is currently the Canadian liaison to the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America. He spends a lot of time promoting this terrific breed at many different venues like bull congresses and the Calgary Stampede.

Ron enjoys calving time because he just lets nature do what it does best, especially with the calving ease of Longhorn cows. His preference in color is black and white cattle. Ron also works hard to have IMPRESSIVE, TEXAS RANGER AND CLASSIC genetics in his herd; although all his Longhorns are his favorite.

Ron enjoys leather work, collects antiques and sells skulls in his spare time. In his family are his mother Florence, a brother Fred and his wife Diana, their children LeeAnn, Dale, Travis and Amanda, and another brother Ken.

If you are in need of well cared for cattle, information on the longhorn breed or Association, call Ron. He has a wealth of knowledge and makes great effort in promoting this breed of cattle every chance he gets.

When Robert passed away, an empty spot remains with the Association and its members. With his generous contributions and support, Robert showed how much he appreciated the Texas Longhorn cattle. It was decided by A.T.L.A. members, with the support of his parents, his memory would continue in the Longhorn industry showing our gratitude.

During the Annual General Meeting, members voted for presenting the Robert Owen Memorial Award of 2005 to the UNITED FARMERS OF ALBERTA for their support. Every year the UFA donates and supplies awards for Grand and Reserve Champions at our Field Days. Without their help this would not be possible.
(right) Chris Hepfner presented the Memorial Award to Rick Clark (UFA Regional Member Relations) & Evertt Caskey (Manager of Leduc UFA)

The “Member in Profile” for this newsletter is Mark & Sheri Johnson of Johnson Creek Ranch near Calgary. Mark is currently Vice President and director for the Association.

Involved in the Johnson Creek ranching operations are Mark and Sheri as well as Mark’s parents Murray and Jean who live in Ontario at the eastern ranch. When they have time for hobbies they enjoy working with their horses, riding and pack trips. A relatively new hobby for them is fly fishing which they learned at Gary Bruch’s place in Kansas.

The Johnson’s purchased their first longhorns in the fall of 2001 and in the spring of 2002 with herd sire “Sir Creston” and as well as some bred heifers. Mark and Sheri purchased their first longhorns from Darryl & Sue Swain of Great Lakes Land and Cattle Company whom after spending an entire day showing their cattle herd, treated Mark and Sherri to longhorn steaks for lunch. Mark notes “We purchased 5 cows from them that day and all the cows are still in our herd today. Those cows produce awesome calves when bred by our 2 main herd sires – Sir Creston and Shadow Alarm (Smoke)”.

Currently Johnson Creek Ranch has 4 herd sires, 9 senior cows between the ages of 5 to 18, several junior cows between 1 to 4 years of age and a couple of young trophy steers. They hope to begin showing their cattle in the next few years. Mark & Sheri also sell heifers and bulls to other breeders and have plans for other sale products in the future such as meat, hides and skulls.

Favorite color of longhorns found in the Johnson’s herd are spotty and lineback cattle. Mark is also very partial to the grullo color. A particular bred line of longhorns that is preferred on the ranch is a Phillips family of cows due to their great milking ability and gentle nature. The Texas Ranger JP bloodlines are one quality Mark looks for in his cattle as well as the famous Butler line because of the great horn growth.

As most of us breeders love being around our longhorns, Mark and Sheri are no exception. They enjoy calving time and especially the summer when they can watch their calves grow and develop into a valued animals.

Mark & Sheri are a wonderful addition to our Association and they are very up to date with all the longhorn bloodlines. They can assist you with any questions you may have about Texas Longhorns. Give them a call, they would be more than happy to help you.

The Board of Directors requests your thoughts and input for 2007 business objectives.

• Would you like the Association to continue to promote the Texas Longhorn cattle at Bull Congresses and Fairs?
• Would any of the members be interested in showing their cattle at upcoming fairs in Red Deer and/or Olds?
• Would members be interested in another Texas Longhorn Sale in the late winter or early spring?

Any questions or thoughts would be appreciated in order to plan and help the Association continue functioning. Please write us a note, call the office at (780)387-4874 or e-mail dhep@telusplanet.net.

The Association will be updating the Display Booth before January 2007, when we will be attending the Camrose Bull Congress. Members are urged to send in favorite photographs (4x6) of your cattle to the A.T.L.A. office as soon as possible so they can be displayed at the booth. They will be edited at the office for size requirements. This is a great place to show your best animal or animals. Please take a moment for this to help us display our beautiful breed of cattle.

George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi, was going up to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked, “Is an intruder in your house?” and he said no. Then they said that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available. George said, “Okay,” hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

“Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now ‘cause I’ve just shot them all.” Then he hung up.

Within five minutes, three police cars, an Armed Response unit, and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips residence. Of course, the police caught the burglars red handed.

One of the policemen said to George, “I thought you said that you’d shot them!”

George said, “I thought you said there was nobody available!”