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Officially the Pitchfork Land & Cattle Company of [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], the ranch runs commercial Angus and Herefords as well as the cross-bred “black baldy." The Pitchfork has more than a hundred windmills, eighty pastures enclosed by fence, and five thousand cows and bulls. The ranch has never sold an acre in [[Texas]] but has slowly expanded from its original 52,500 acres. The Pitchfork is also unlike most ranches in that it is larger today than when it was established, whereas most large ranches have followed the reverse course over the years and sold off acreage.<ref name=ranch/>

Officially the Pitchfork Land & Cattle Company of [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], the ranch runs commercial Angus and Herefords as well as the cross-bred “black baldy." The Pitchfork has more than a hundred windmills, eighty pastures enclosed by fence, and five thousand cows and bulls. The ranch has never sold an acre in [[Texas]] but has slowly expanded from its original 52,500 acres. The Pitchfork is also unlike most ranches in that it is larger today than when it was established, whereas most large ranches have followed the reverse course over the years and sold off acreage.<ref name=ranch/>

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Known for its natural beauty, the ranch is featured in a photographic book ''Pitchfork Country'' by its past manager[Bob Moorhouse, a member of the ranch board of directors. It is open to the public for [[hunting]] and for organized tours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theworx.com/bigranch/pitchfork.html|title=Big Ranch Country - Pitchfork Land & Cattle Company|publisher=theworx.com|accessdate=November 19, 2019}}</ref>

Known for its natural beauty, the ranch is featured in a photographic book ''Pitchfork Country'' by its past manager Bob Moorhouse, a member of the ranch board of directors. It is open to the public for [[hunting]] and for organized tours.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theworx.com/bigranch/pitchfork.html|title=Big Ranch Country - Pitchfork Land & Cattle Company|publisher=theworx.com|accessdate=November 19, 2019}}</ref>

==Background==

==Background==

Hermon "Babe" Oliver (1920-2009) worked for the Pitchfork Ranch for forty-two years. In 1960, he was elected as one of the four King County ommissioners, a part-time position which he held until 1976, when he was elected [[sheriff]] of King County]. In 1984, he was appointed King County administrative county judge, a position which he held until his retirement in 1990. Oliver was born to M. N. and Ada Oliver in Steedman in Pontotoc County  in southern Oklahoma. He moved to Texas with his family in 1934 and thereafter was a [[United States Army]] veteran of [[World War II]]. On February 25, 1945, he married the former Bama Nell Smith (1924–2007) in Paducah in Cottle County, Texas. The Olivers relocated in 1995 to Pampa in Gray County, Texas, and then in August 2007 to Clyde in Callahan County. Oliver was survived by two daughters, Linda and husband, Jimmy Barton, of Clyde and Beth Watson and husband, Randy Watson, of Pampa, and one son, Terry and wife, Linda Oliver, of Dumont in King County. His services were held at the First [[United Methodist]] Church in Paducah, Texas. Interment was at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Paducah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/020509/obi_384786752.shtml|title=Obituary of Hermon "Babe" Oliver|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=February 5, 2009|accessdate=February 5, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

Hermon "Babe" Oliver (1920-2009) worked for the Pitchfork Ranch for forty-two years. In 1960, he was elected as one of the four King County ommissioners, a part-time position which he held until 1976, when he was elected [[sheriff]] of King County]. In 1984, he was appointed King County administrative county judge, a position which he held until his retirement in 1990. Oliver was born to M. N. and Ada Oliver in Steedman in Pontotoc County  in southern Oklahoma. He moved to Texas with his family in 1934 and thereafter was a [[United States Army]] veteran of [[World War II]]. On February 25, 1945, he married the former Bama Nell Smith (1924–2007) in Paducah in Cottle County, Texas. The Olivers relocated in 1995 to Pampa in Gray County, Texas, and then in August 2007 to Clyde in Callahan County. Oliver was survived by two daughters, Linda and husband, Jimmy Barton, of Clyde and Beth Watson and husband, Randy Watson, of Pampa, and one son, Terry and wife, Linda Oliver, of Dumont in King County. His services were held at the First [[United Methodist]] Church in Paducah, Texas. Interment was at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Paducah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/020509/obi_384786752.shtml|title=Obituary of Hermon "Babe" Oliver|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|date=February 5, 2009|accessdate=February 5, 2009; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

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==The Pitchfork today==

==The Pitchfork today==

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In 1999, the Pitchfork Ranch won the annual Ranch Award from the American Cowboy Culture Association, which sponsors the annual National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration held each September in Lubbock, Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/091099/loc_0910990117.shtmlauthor=Teresa Cox|title=Cowboy life rides high at awards show: Symposium saddles up with tribute to heritage|date=September 10, 1999|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|accessdate=September 5, 2013; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

In 1999, the Pitchfork Ranch won the annual Ranch Award from the American Cowboy Culture Association, which sponsors the annual National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration held each September in Lubbock, Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/091099/loc_0910990117.shtmlauthor=Teresa Cox|title=Cowboy life rides high at awards show: Symposium saddles up with tribute to heritage|date=September 10, 1999|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''|accessdate=September 5, 2013; no longer on-line}}</ref>​

==Pitchfork ranch cookbook==

==Ranch cookbook==

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Ranch manager Douglas Burns’ wife, the former Mamie Sypert (1896-1982) published ''Recipes of a Pitchfork Ranch Hostess: The Culinary Legacy of Mamie Burns.'' She assumed management of the ranch’s Big House, including the feeding and entertaining of personal and business guests. The recipes and reminiscences in her notes, reproduced in the cookbook, reveal that Mrs. Burns set a bountiful table. Though she claimed not to have enjoyed [[cooking]], her recipes and comments on ranch living reveal a real enthusiasm for preparing food for guests. The book provides not only the ingredients of her special dishes but a glimpse into West Texas ranch life.<ref>Cathryn Buesseler and L. E. Anderson, eds., ''Mamie Burns: Recipes of a Pitchfork Ranch Hostess: The Culinary Legacy of Mamie Burns.''</ref>

Ranch manager Douglas Burns’ wife, the former Mamie Sypert (1896-1982) published ''Recipes of a Pitchfork Ranch Hostess: The Culinary Legacy of Mamie Burns.'' She assumed management of the ranch’s Big House, including the feeding and entertaining of personal and business guests. The recipes and reminiscences in her notes, reproduced in the cookbook, reveal that Mrs. Burns set a bountiful table. Though she claimed not to have enjoyed [[cooking]], her recipes and comments on ranch living reveal a real enthusiasm for preparing food for guests. The book provides not only the ingredients of her special dishes but a glimpse into West Texas ranch life.<ref>Cathryn Buesseler and L. E. Anderson, eds., ''Mamie Burns: Recipes of a Pitchfork Ranch Hostess: The Culinary Legacy of Mamie Burns.''</ref>