Yakking with Yante Episode 4: Dixie Dude Ranch with the Conoly’s
Editor’s Note: In this latest episode of Yakking with Yante Daniel interviews the Conoly family. Sharp Conoly is a current member of the HUB Life 101. He has been a member of The HUB community since 2016 and is one of Daniel's close friends as well. Sharp’s parents, Diane and Clay, own and operate the Dixie Dude Ranch, which is located near Bandera, TX. Life 101 members visit the Dude Ranch every year; this year the trip is February 11-13. A video of the trip last year is below. Sharp’s mom, Diane, also works as the administrative assistant at Life 101.
DY: How did you guys find out about the HUB and Why did you guys choose us over other schools?
DIANE : My sister-in-law knew someone who lived in Houston with a special needs child and they told her about the HUB. We found that the HUB's mission fit what we wanted for Sharp. We wanted him to be heard, understood and believed in.
DY: What are the origins behind Dixie Dude Ranch and how did it come to be before y’all were the owners?
DIANE AND CLAY: The ranch land was owned by a German immigrant family named Maass.
When the Maass family's son was killed, fighting with a neighbor over grazing territory and the father also soon passed away from heartache, the mother (not having enough help to run the ranch) had to move to the city where she could find other work. The ranch was then foreclosed on and auctioned off. This was when Sharp's great, great Grandfather, William Wallace Whitley, bought it off the courthouse steps in 1901.
* Prior to the invention of Barbed wire, which kept livestock on one's own property, sheep ranchers and cattle ranchers often fought over grass and grazing land for their animals.
DY: How were you able to keep the ranch steady and going for so long?
DIANE: We are fortunate enough to have inherited a great reputation and long list of repeat customers due to Clay's Grandmother and Grandfather creating such a welcoming and fun place for guests. Clay has carried on the traditions and kept the ranch as close to the original as possible, in light of the changing times.
DY: Where did you guys get all of the animals that you have roaming around the ranch?
CLAY: I have many horse trading contacts and I also go to auctions to look for new horses, as well as other livestock, like the goats and longhorns.
DY: This is more of a question for Sharp: Have you thought about working at the Dixie Dude Ranch and carry on to your parents legacy when they get old enough to retire down the line?
SHARP : I am primarily interested in city living, but I do enjoy being at my home on the ranch and I love all the animals : Goats, horses, cats, our yellow, lab dogs and Kevin the peacock. The wild pigs are ok, but not real cuddly. When the ranch is closed at Christmas, I do enjoy helping my dad do some of the chores the Cowboys usually do, like feeding the animals. I have also helped in the kitchen a little and one day I may sing with the ranch band.
DY: Can you tell us more about the little grave sight that is somewhere on the land and what the story is behind it?
DIANE: The grave site is where the Maass son and father, mentioned in the above question, are buried. Hence, why it is called a Range War Cemetery.
* Prior to the invention of Barbed wire, which kept livestock on one's own property, sheep ranchers and cattle ranchers often fought over grass and grazing land for their animals.
DY: How would you describe your time being owners and managers of a whole entire ranch for many years?
DIANE: We find it a privilege and very fulfilling to be able to share our family heritage and culture with people from all over the world.
DY: How would you describe the trip to the ranch that is coming up in February?
DIANE: I would describe the upcoming trip to the ranch this February as, an exciting adventure waiting to happen, and can't wait for you all to be there again or for the first time with us!
DY: Where did you get all of the stuff that you sell from the gift shop? I think all that stuff is cool.
DIANE: I purchase the items in the gift shop from various wholesalers, artisans and even some local, craftsmen and women.
DY: How are you able to juggle things like maintaining your job at the Life 101 campus and working at the ranch?
DIANE: What a sweet question. I juggle the two lives/jobs as well as I can Daniel. I am able to do most of the buying and ordering from here, and I have an excellent employee who manages and opens the gift shop for me, along with two other ladies that help. The Life 101 Job is pure JOY for me. It has helped me fill the hours and makes me feel like I have a family here in Houston.
DY: Where does the name “Dixie Dude Ranch” come from? Did you come up with it by yourself?
DIANE: The story of where and how the name came about, as many stories about the long history of the ranch, has a couple of versions, or meanings. When Clay's grandmother, who was raised on the ranch with 7 other siblings, finished college; she moved to California to be an actress and get into the then booming "Silent Movie" industry. She met and married her husband, who was also in the movie industry, working as a stuntman. In 1937, William Wallace Whitley asked his daughter and new husband to come back to Texas and help him open the ranch up to guests. The automobile had just been invented and city folk were now more mobile and began flocking to the countryside for relaxation and fun. The young couple said "we are going back to Dixie " a common term for the south back then. That and the fact that Clay's grandmother's maiden name was Dixon could have had something to do with it too.
DY: What are your future plans for the Dixie Dude Ranch?
DIANE: The plans about the future of the ranch are to keep it going and in the family as long as possible. Sharp’s older brother, Alec, has expressed an interest in continuing the business. After graduating from Texas A & M college he returned to live on the ranch and started learning the ropes from his dad.
