Anniversary Tributes

Over the years, periodic anniversary remembrances have been observed. A video, prepared by the noted livestock photographer Walt Browarny was shown in November 1987 to a large crowd in Edmonton, Alberta at the 20th Anniversary Celebration. It acknowledged the great contribution of Travers with these words:

“Though Travers Smith, the man basically responsible for the introduction and establishment of Simmental in North America through the importation of Parisien and years of hard work and promotion, passed away on February 7, 1974, 4 years before Parisien, the countless herds of Simmental across the continent stand as a living tribute to the perseverance and dedication of the man who contributed immeasurably to the North American beef industry.”

In the Simmental Country, August 1987 issue that commemorated the 20th Anniversary of Simmental in North America, Douglas G. Blair of Western Breeders Service Ltd. wrote:

I recall that Travers Smith was certainly a visionary when it came to the needs of the beef industry at the time. He was very strong on performance and factual data about sires and was very opposed to the influence of the showring. I always regarded Travers Smith as a close friend and was proud of the fact that his family asked me to serve as an Honourary Pallbearer at his funeral. I am sure that Travers would not be very happy to see the tremendous emphasis of the showring in the Simmental breed today. [p. 106]

Other comments from that August 1987 issue come from an article by Ted Pritchett, entitled “Remembering Travers Smith”:

… The idea Travers had and the force that kept him motivated through difficult times, went far beyond the high price of the new breeds’ boom. The desire for a better beef animal and its potential for the beef industry was the initial driving force and its benefits will be felt long after the exotic boom of the 1970’s is forgotten. / In looking back over history, people have wondered what motivated Travers Smith. What gave him the idea to strike out in such a different direction? What kept him going over the years before Simmental caught on and started to boom? / “I [Don Jensen] believe his driving force was to make a significant contribution to the beef industry and to leave his mark with something that would be remembered long after he was gone. Although I felt he never received the recognition he deserved while he was alive, he recognized himself he had achieved his goal. Now people and the beef industry are recognizing the kind of impact and legacy he left.” …

“… the guidance Travers gave Simmental was unique. While his first idea came out of their potential with the extra growth and milk for the beef industry, he quickly saw the potential in the purebred business too. In looking at the other new breeds that followed, Travers was unique in being able to see both aspects of the cattle — both the Purebred and commercial potential. While some people in other breeds saw the Purebred potential of a new breed and exploited that, they had no concern or interest in what they could do commercially. Those breeds weren’t destined for a bright future or a long life. / On the other hand, there have been people with sound ideas for commercial cattle, but they lacked the ability to put those ideas across to other folks. They couldn’t grasp the need for promotion and the excitement that goes with the purebred business.” / Travers was unique because he could see the need for both aspects and he did each one well. (SC:August1987:48)

Wes Alm wrote:

Our first, of several trips to Europe in the early 1970’s removed all doubt about the use of Simmental in Canada. After seeing the hundreds or even thousands of outstanding Simmental cattle in France and Switzerland we came home absolutely sold, and I realized to the fullest the visions that Travers Smith had had when he first visited Europe and saw Simmental. I then knew why he drove the thousands of miles, spent the thousands of hours and gave so unselfishly of himself to spread the word “Simmental” throughout North America. (SC:August1987:50)

In “SBL means Simmental” Don Sylvester wrote:

Everyone associated with the SBL operation, and virtually everyone involved in the Simmental business in North America, acknowledges that the development of both SBL and the Simmental business owes a great deal to the late Travers Smith. He not only got together the original $4,000 investment to import Parisien, but he also worked tirelessly to promote the breed in North America and it was he who formulated much of the plan and policy for the development of SBL. / “He’s the one that originally had this dream,” says [Ron] Gibson. / Travers Smith saw much of his dream come to reality before he died last February, and it is obvious that the dream did not die with him. (p. 34)

In Simmental Country, October 1994, Bob Gordon reminded breeders of the legacy that Travers had left.

We owe it to [Travers’] foresight to do our best in breeding the kind of cattle he dreamed of producing, as what he started benefited so many of us over the last twenty-five years. I remember flying home from Louisville, Kentucky in 1973 with Travers, he was dying of cancer at the time but all that was on his mind was his great hopes and desires to have Simmental cattle improve and change the direction of the present day cattle. I am sure he is watching over us to see what kind of job we have done to improve the cattle. Are we living up to his dreams? (p. 84)

Travers' Last Days

Many who attended the Louisville, Kentucky ASA meeting did not realize how serious Travers’ condition was; yet cards and letters of appreciation poured in from people whose lives he had blessed. The eventual diagnosis was Adenocarcinoma of the large intestine which had spread throughout the abdomen and into the liver. Within seven days of the ASA Convention, Travers was gone (February 7, 1974). He was just past his 57th birthday. Many from far and near attended his funeral in Cardston, Alberta on February 11, 1974.

Harry Furgeson, D.V.M., one of the early passionate converts to Simmental and a man whom Travers valued as a friend, was one of those asked by Travers' wife to serve as an honorary pallbearer. On February 16, Harry wrote a touching letter:

Dear Belle, / You made me so very humble, so proud. / No one knew how much I loved Travers—how I looked to him for guidance, for counsel. Yet you sensed it. You made me very happy. / I never had a brother by birth—but chose my brother—Travers. He led me as only a brother can. / For the Newsletter I tried to write about him— … / I hope what I have written for my Newsletter meets with your approval. …

Travers funeral program ~ February 11, 1974

Swiss-carved wooden cow awarded to Travers (in absentia) at the
American Simmental Association banquet of Feb. 1, 1974
surrounded by funeral flowers of Feb. 11, 1974.

2.05: First Impressions

(From research/ writings by SMSmith, 2000 AD)

It is interesting to note that many cattlemen were not initially impressed with Parisien. A few of these first impressions were recorded in the Simmental Country, August 1987 (reprinted from September 1980 issue) as follows:

Don Jensen laughs as he recalls, “I don’t remember the first time I saw Parisien, but I remember what I thought. The first thing that struck me was his color. On first glance, he looked like a Guernsey, but on looking at him close, you could see there was more to him. He really did look like a big slab sided ol’ calf though.” // … “Yes, I guess I was skeptical just like everybody else, until I saw those first calves. The year after the bull came in, I saw the calves and I couldn’t believe what I saw, so I went and got another fellow to see if he saw the same thing. Those calves were six inches taller, six inches longer and 100 pounds heavier than anything else and the proof was standing right there in front of you. That’s when I became a believer!” (pp. 37 & 44)

Rodney James: ... I must confess that I was not very impressed at the time with Parisien. As mentioned earlier, the Charolais breeders were importing extremely thick, muscular cattle and Parisien really didn’t fit that pattern. Believe me, there wasn’t a lot of interest in Simmental at the time. It is my understanding that a one half interest in Parisien could’ve been purchased for less than $5,000.00. (p. 24)

Wes Alm: ... After asking [a] neighbour what he thought of the new bull Parisien, I quote, he answered: “What the hell — we’ve had Black and White Holsteins for as long as I can remember. This one is red and white but he’s still a … Holstein.” (p. 50)

Doug Blair: In 1967 Travers and his Group Simmental Breeders Limited brought the bull Parisien to Canada and housed him at Prairie Breeders which was just starting at that time. I went to see Parisien in the summer of 1967 and concluded that he looked like a Guernsey bull as he was thin, narrow and not very “beef like” in my opinion. Travers and his Group however campaigned hard on the merits of the Simmental breed to introduce milk production as well as growth rate to North America. I recall that they were more successful in the USA than in Canada at the time. ... ( p. 106)

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

Travers before Simmental ~ Part Two

In Simmental Country, August 1987, Douglas G. Blair of Western Breeders Service wrote:

I used to attend the annual meeting of the Alberta Beef Cattle Performance Test Association and met Travers Smith who was an active member of the organization. Prior to 1967 at the ABCPA meetings he always stressed performance and progeny test information vs. confirmation and showring (p. 106).

With all his new ideas about performance possibilities, Travers began to read and search for the best performing breed. He received information from H.F. Peters, geneticist with the Lethbridge Research Branch of the Canada Department of Agriculture under date of March 29, 1965, showing that in a 1962-63 U.S. experimental test at Miles City, Montana, the Hereford/Brown Swiss cross out-performed in daily gain, every other bred including the newly imported Charolais and Charolais/domestic crossbreds. Travers decided to pursue that course—Hereford/ Brown Swiss crosses. But good cattle cost good money and the banks were often “at the door,” not always impressed with big ideas; so even with all Travers’ dreams, financial realities kept knocking, and knocking loud.

By mid-1965 things got so bad financially that Travers seriously considered selling his ranch. With six children, born in the space of 10 years (1947-1956), he wondered how he was going to help provide for their college needs and their self-funded, 2-year church missions that he hoped they would all serve for their faith.

With the banks not very inclined to more loans, Travers was stymied as to where to turn to finance this venture with high performance cattle and crosses. He had tried so many ways to clear the ranch debt—that inescapable companion to ranching. He had tried cattle. He had tried sheep. He had tried horses. He seemed to be repeating the frustrating cycle of his fathers’—chasing financial security that seemed always just out of reach. Then, in the first week of January 1966, Travers read a 1964 report by that same Hobart F. Peters, geneticist, about Peters' travels in Europe to study animal breeds, including the Simmental; and with that new information, Travers’ Simmental dream began.

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Note: Above news clipping is from an unknown source, probably dated sometime in the mid-1960s.