QUICK REFERENCE ENTRY:

Richmond P. Hobson, Jr. wrote two non-fiction ranching classics, Grass Beyond the Mountains (1951) and Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (1955). Born in Washington, D.C., in 1907, Hobson, Jr. was the son of American war hero Rear Admiral Richmond P. Hobson who, in turn, was named for Lt. Richmond Pearson who fought in the American Revolution. After attending Stanford University, "Rich"; Hobson worked to save money to buy a cattle ranch. When he lost his savings with the 1929 crash of the stock market, he went west to Wyoming and teamed up with Pan Phillips, also known as Panhandle Phillips. They came north to explore B.C. in the early 1930s. Phillips and Hobson, Jr. formed the Frontier Cattle Company and created the Home Ranch in the Chilcotin, north of Anahim Lake.

Grass Beyond the Mountains: Discovering the Last Great Cattle Frontier on the North American Continent recalls the early days of a fledgling enterprise on thousands of acres of land, culminating in a successful test cattle drive in 1937 known as the Starvation Drive. This tale of hardship and perseverance was initially serialized by Maclean's magazine during a period when Ralph Allen and Pierre Berton were editors. Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy is a follow-up volume in which Hobson, Jr. recalls his struggles with Phillips to maintain their four-million-acre spread with a shortage of men and supplies due to the outbreak of WWII. The ranchers endure frozen faces, marauding wolf packs and blood poisoning mixed with the romance of starry skies and sweet mountain air. To break the solitude, Hobson has a recurring vision of a beautiful blonde woman. This true story of ranch life on the 52nd parallel reputedly sold more than 100,000 copies.

Hobson's partnership with Phillips dissolved in the 1940s. Hobson resumed ranching in the Vanderhoof area with his wife, Gloria, leading to his third and final book, The Rancher Takes a Wife (1961). Hobson died suddenly at his River Ranch, 50 miles south of Vanderhoof, in 1966. His stories were the basis for a CBC television series entitled Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy, filmed in British Columbia.


FULL ENTRY:

Richmond P. Hobson, Jr. wrote the all-time ranching non-fiction classic of B.C. literature, Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (1955), as well as Grass Beyond the Mountains (1951) and A Rancher Takes a Wife (1961).

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1907, Richmond Pearson Hobson, Jr. was the son of American war hero Rear Admiral Richmond P. Hobson who, in turn, was named for Lt. Richmond Pearson who fought in the American Revolution. His father became well-known in the United States after he led an unsuccessful effort to block the Spanish-held harbour of Santiago de Cuba in eastern Cuba by sinking the Collier Merrimac during the so-called Spanish-American War (a conflict that also involved Cuba and the Philippines). The Admiral's boyhood home Magnolia Grove is an historical landmark in Alabama where, as a youngster, the author learned to steal watermelons. His mother was a Pearson from North Carolina.

After attending Stanford University, Rich Hobson worked to save money to buy a cattle ranch. When he lost his savings with the 1929 crash of the stock market, he went west to Wyoming and teamed up with Pan Phillips, also known as Panhandle Phillips. They came north to explore B.C. in the early 1930s. Phillips and Hobson Jr. formed the Frontier Cattle Company and created the Home Ranch in the Chilcotin, north of Anahim Lake. His first book called Grass Beyond the Mountains recalled the early days of his fledgling enterprise on thousands of acres of land, culminating in a successful test cattle drive in 1937 known as the 'Starvation Drive'. This tale of hardship and perseverance was initially serialized by MacLean's magazine during a period when Ralph Allen and Pierre Berton were editors.

Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy was a follow-up volume in which Hobson Jr. recalled his struggles with Phillips to maintain their four-million-acre spread with a shortage of men and supplies due to the outbreak of World War II. The ranchers endure frozen faces, marauding wolf packs and blood poisoning mixed with the romance of starry skies and sweet mountain air. Hobson has a recurring vision of a beautiful blonde woman to break the solitude. This true story of ranch life on the 52nd parallel reputedly has sold more than 100,000 copies. Hobson's partnership with Phillips dissolved in the 1940s. Hobson resumed ranching in the Vanderhoof area with his wife, Gloria, leading to his third and final book, The Rancher Takes A Wife. He died in 1966 in Vanderhoof.

As of 1974, Hobson's books were included in the Canadian Nature Classic Series from McClelland & Stewart and were republished by Reader's Digest. As of 1998, Hobson's stories were the basis for a CBC television series entitled Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy, filmed in British Columbia. In 2006, Prince George writer Audrey L'Heureux, who knew the Hobsons, recalled: "Rich [Hobson] was honoured right from the start. A frontier Jamboree, celebrating Rich's first book and honouring Vanderhoof pioneers, became a huge success and was staged yearly as a pot luck for about 700 people from 1951 to 1968. The Nechako Valley Historical Society maintains a Rich Hobson Room that is a favorite with many visitors. They have prepared a slide show of Rich's life from family albums for visitors. To further celebrate and promote Rich's books a society was formed to offer a yearly trail ride called Rich Hobson Frontier Trail Ride that attracted participants by the hundreds between 1992 and 1998. Vanderhoof Community Theatre offered a stage production to sold out audiences called Nothing Too Good For A Cowboy adapted by local resident Doug Goodwin. Daughter Cathy Hobson and granddaughter Katy Hobson have returned to the north and now reside in Vanderhoof. The attractive log Frontier House built by Rich's mother in 1945, and used as home base for Rich and Gloria until 1967, is now privately owned in Vanderhoof."

[For other authors pertaining to ranching, see abcbookworld entries for Adams, Ramon F.; Affleck, Edward L.; Alsager, Dale; Alsager, Judy; Bliss, Irene; Brown, Jack; Bulman, T. Alex; Carroll, Campbell; Cohen, Bill; Conkin, Jake; Cox, Doug; Duncan, Eric; Freeman, Richard; Hobson Jr., Richmond; Kind, Chris; Knight, Rolf; Lavington, Dude; Lee, Norman; Lee, Todd; Loggins, Olive Spencer; MacDonald, Ervin Austin; Mann, Elizabeth; Marriott, Harry; Mather, Ken; McCredie, Andrew; McLean, Alastair; McLean, Stan; Picard, Ed; Piffko, Karen; Place, Hilary; Resford, Eliza; Roger, Gertrude Minor; Shoroplava, Nina; Simmons, Clarence; Stangoe, Irene; Tepper, Leslie; Wuest, Donna.]

BOOKS:

Grass Beyond the Mountains: Discovering the Last Great Cattle Frontier on the North American Continent (M&S, 1951) [Originally appeared serially in Canada's Maclean's magazine]
Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (M&S, 1955)
The Rancher Takes a Wife (M&S, 1961)

[BCBW 2010] "Ranching"