February 21, 2011 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
Twenty
years ago I wrote a column about an American cowboy from Arizona being
inducted in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
This was a proud moment for this man, his family, citizens of Arizona
and all the members associated with his nomination committee.
He was nominated for this
honor because of all the respect other prominent Arizona cattlemen and
citizens had for him. He was selected for the first Chester A. Reynold’s
award, named for the main contributing founder to the National Cowboy
Hall of Fame. Many distinguished Americans have been selected for this
honor since. Actor Sam Elliot introduced William Harding Martin Jr. at
the night of his Wrangler Award presentation at the banquet for the
Western Heritage Award at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
I first met William Harding
“Billy” Martin Jr. in late spring of 1957 at Manny Ruiz stock corrals
along Queen Creek. Billy was helping his father and Ruiz with roundup.
This particular day they were branding yearlings. Even as a young man
Billy was cordial and friendly. They all took a break for lunch and
invited Barkley and I to join them. I never forgot this introduction to
these cowboys.
William Harding Martin Jr.
was born on August 9, 1925, at the old Hewitt Station, which was located
on the Martin Ranch. His parents were William Harding Sr. and Lenora
Martin. Billy attended school on Hewitt Station Road about two miles
from where he was born. He attended high school in Superior, Arizona.
Bill worked on the famous
Cleman’s Cattle Ranch for his father who was foreman of the ranch for
forty years. Bill won the title World’s Champion Junior Cowboy at the
Florence Jr. Rodeo in 1942. This rodeo was known as the “cowboy cradle
of the West.”
On September 11, 1943, Billy
Jr. married Helen Gillette of Globe, Arizona. Shortly after they were
married, Billy Jr. joined the United States Navy and served honorably
from 1944-1946. Bill and “Teta” (his wife) owned and operated the
Neighborhood Market in Superior while Billy worked for Magma Copper as a
hoist operator. Their son George was born in 1952. Billy Martin Jr.
purchased the Martin Ranch from his father in 1958. He operated the
ranch for 50 years and in 2008 he sold the ranch to his son George.
Billy Martin Jr. was known
nationally as a Mountain lion hunter. I recall one time I was riding
with Billy and Bob Corbin over the top of Fraser Mountain following one
of Billy’s lion hounds. This ride was an experience of a lifetime.
That old hound was trailing
and Billy was right behind him hell or high water. The old hound went
down into a canyon so steep you couldn’t ride down it. Billy jumped off
his mule and handed me the reins and went after his dog into the canyon.
A couple of hours later Billy came climbing out of that canyon back to
where we were. He said, “It wasn’t a lion he was after, it was a
Bobcat.” Billy was quite disgusted with his hound.
As we trailed down off Fraser
Mountain Billy came to a bad place, stepped off his mule and walked for
about twenty yards. I wasn’t use to stepping off my horse, but I
figured it would be a smart thing to do when a man of Billy’s reputation
dismounted and walked, it was certainly time for me to do the same. As I
walked by the bad place in the trail and looked down into a deep canyon
some four or five hundred feet I realized hell was just inches away.
Everyone
that knew Billy Martin Jr. probably had a story to tell. He was a true
Western cattleman, a traditional cowboy and gentleman respected by his
peers and friends. Bill was certainly a friend to his fellow man and he
was recognized for this when he was presented the Wrangler Award at the
National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1990. Billy passed away on Tuesday,
January 18, 2011 in Mesa, Arizona.