- Jack Speiden
Jack Speiden (b. 1900 d. ????) was an American
stockbroker and ranch owner. Speiden fought in both World Wars, attendedYale and received a letter forfootball while playing on thehockey team, taught inChina , worked onWall Street , bought a ranch, and ran for theUnited States Congress .Charlie Ohrel , who inherited most of the information about Jack, after his death, summed up his life with a humorous understatement; "He sure did give it a good shot." His ranch, theJay Six Ranch , left a legacy of its own. His ranch played host for political figures like Joseph &Jack Kennedy , andBarry Goldwater . In fact, the Kennedy brothers were sent out to the Jay Six Ranch in 1936 so that Jack Kennedy could recuperate in the dry desert heat.Early life
At sixteen, Speiden joined an American volunteer ambulance unit headed for
France inWorld War I . TheUnited States entered the war a year later in 1917. Speiden, already in France, promptly joined theMarines and was returned to the States to train atParis Island ,South Carolina , then back to France with the2nd Division . When the war ended, Jack enteredYale University . He played on thehockey team and received his letter as a fullback on thefootball team. After graduation, he still craved adventure, so he went toChina with a Yale group. He taught English andeconomics atChangsha , deep in the interior ofHunan Province . He remained there for a year and spent the next year visitingJava ,India , Malaya,Singapore , andBurma . After returning to the United States in 1924, Speiden embarked on a successfulWall Street career. That career came to an end when the depression of 1929 struck. After a trip down toHonduras that same year, Jack caught a mysterious virus and was told to head west to the dry heat until his ailment was cured.Life in the West
Jack recovered from the virus in twelve months. A chance meeting with
Arthur Brisbane , the famous Hearst newspaper editor, in the spring of 1933, convinced Jack that he should make the American west his home. Brisbane told young Speiden that the country was rounding out the bottom of a business cycle and the smart thing to do was to invest in land commodities. Jack took the advice which subsequently proved sound.His boyhood had been spent in the back country of
New Jersey and he had learned to ride almost before he could walk. The cattle business seemed natural enough to Jack, but he thought it best to break in gradually. He acquired a small registered herd of 60 cows which, with the aid of one cowboy, he ran of part of the 76 Ranch inGraham County . He concurrently embarked on course of self education. He read every available book onanimal husbandry and was greatly helped by the excellent Animal Husbandry Department of theUniversity of Arizona . After several years of solid study along with practical experience, Speiden purchased what is now known as theJay-Six Ranch .When Speiden took possession of the ranch it was carrying upwards of 1000 head. The initial problem was to thin-out the herd and leave only registered stock. It was a slow tedious process. He realized that it was of the utmost importance to bring in the best possible breeding stock so he acquired bulls which were direct descendants of well-known strains as
Royal Domino 2nd ,Royal Triumph andAnxiety 4th - names which spell top quality to those in the business. The policy of weeding out the undesirables proved effective. At the ranch’s peak, Jack had one of the most representative herds in the country. His cows were raised strictly for breeding purposes and not for the show ring, although they could have undoubtedly held their own against some of the blue ribbon winners of the day.Speiden's passion for the improvement of breed carried into the
quarter horse field, but on a much smaller scale. Again the empasis was on quality. Although the venture was largely a hobby, it was obvious that a great amount of time went into selecting the best possilbe bloodlines. The results were gratifying as the Speiden colors were often first at the finish line.The layout of the ranch was perfectly suited to the improvement of the breed and to the conserve of the range. The huge area allowed the cattle to graze on healthy, knee-high grass. Each year during the growing season, several of the fourteen pastures remained unused which gave the new grass an opportunity of coming in good and strong. This method of keeping the grass so high was both esthetically beautiful and practical, as soil
erosion was kept to a minimum and no deep gullies mared the landscape. These gorgeous grassy pastures extended up the mountain slope. The tall pine trees and cooler temperatures made a perfect summer retreat from the exhausting sun. A freshening stream satisfied the water problem and irrigated a lushpeach ,pear , andapple orchard.The ranch’s beauty and isolation didn’t go without notice. People from around the nation came to the ranch for varied reasons. Many came to the ranch for enjoyment and relaxation. Included on the list was
Barry Goldwater find relaxation, or to toughen up.Much of the information provided by an article in "Arizona Highways" from October 1953,
Charlie Ohrel , andNeil Simonson .
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