2.01: SBL Expands

(From Chp. 2 ~ 1967, titled "The Dream Lives," in a book begun several years ago by SMSmith to document the early history of SBL and Simmental in North America.)

As Parisien wend his way through the testing and quarantine process, the work of planning for his arrival and promotion heated up. In January 1967, SBL invited 2 new Alberta members into the venture: Fenton Webster of Mountain View and Hans Ulrich of Clareshom; each paying $1,000.00, plus receiving shares for promoting the breed.¹

Fenton Webster was a Mountain View rancher; Hans Ulrich, a native of Switzerland, who had moved to Canada in 1958. Ulrich had superintended the outstanding Hereford breeding program at Claresholm Alberta for a Dr. Ammon. Steers from the bulls of this herd out-performed all tested breeds at the Bassano, AB Performance Testing Program conducted by the Alberta Beef Cattle Performance Association in 1965-66.

(Toward the end of 1968 Dale Lynch of Cary, Illinois joined the group, the only U.S. resident/citizen amongst the SBL shareholders. At the time, he was a livestock management consultant and employee of Curtiss Breeding Service of Cary, Illinois.)

Douglas G. Blair of Western Breeders Service Ltd., Balzac, AB, wrote the following:

Travers also had interesting business philosophies and I recall him telling me that he had some difficulties with his original shareholders when he wanted to bring Hans Ulrich and Dale Lynch into the ownership of the company soon after it started. He told me that some of his shareholders thought that they were watering down the stock but he thought that with the addition of these two men that they would be irrigating the stock.²

Also in 1968, Travers' six children, incorporating as S-6 Ranch Limited, purchased the shares of J.H. Blackmore whose health precluded him from continuing in the company. By 1970, four original shareholders, S.B. Williams, B.Y. Williams, O.T. Bingham, and Guy Bowlby, had sold their shares back to the remaining ones.

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1. As reported in a quote by Fenton Webster at p. 11 in the article "SBL: Foundation Simmental Breeders in North America," Simmental Scene, July 1978, pp. 10-14 & 66-67.
2, "Where Were You in '67?" Simmental Scene, August1987:106