Heinrich (Henry I) Wreden, Chuck Pritchard’s great-grandfather, left Germany and arrived in San Francisco Calif. in the 1840s. Henry married and raised 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls. Unfortunately, along the way, he suffered a stroke. He decided to sell some of his city investments and buy a ranch to semi-retire while letting his sons run it. Later Henry bought a ranch from Robert Flint. who had been killed in an accident and Henry purchased the ranch that dated back to 1898 with 50,000 acres in the Carissa Plains. Over the next 30 years, additional purchases were added to the original ranch so that the final acreage was around 60,000. The San Juan was run that way until Henry Sr. died, When he passed, the ranch was split up into six pieces and continued being divided through the next two generations. Chuck and I owned and ran a cow calf operation on a portion of the San Juan Ranch until the late 70’s. We then bought and moved our ranching business to the Bitterwater Land and Cattle Company to which we own to this day.
This photo is a reminder that, once again, I was in a good place! We were out in the "boonies," having finished branding with neighbors and friends, having lunch. When the sky,” opened up with rain”! We went back to our house, put on a pot of coffee, took turns drying jackets and shirts, etc. so that we could go back and finish the job when the rain let up. It was a fun day! No drama, just neighbors helping neighbors. This was not the exception; it was the norm in the ranching community.
Susan Cochrane
