Home on the Range
A theme forms after successive trips to Oklahoma ranches or farms: It’s not uncommon to find a woman in charge, functionally if not always in name. They are often smart, quick to act but thoughtful, in control, and toughened, either by life or land. In the office, we refer to them as plains women, though women of this nature can be found anywhere. Their persistence outlives weather and economic cycles, and sometimes one (or more) partners. To them, the only option is to press forward. You know the type. They hold the family or businesses together. They do admin and operations. They make the machinery of life work.
Terry Stuart Forst represents the fifth generation of Stuarts to own Stuart Ranch, a continuous chain that began in 1868. She wakes up at 2 a.m. daily, unless she sleeps in until 3 a.m. The quiet of the morning gives her time for bible study and journal entries. Her journaling practice began in 2011 while wildfires consumed portions of western Oklahoma and Texas. It’s her effort at documenting the present, so future generations might know how ranchers survived flame, drought, and, at times, success.
Admittedly, Terry comes from a line of committed yet restless people, always working and always moving — she often works on horseback. She splits time among ranching, business management, and maintaining the house. Terry assumed management of the ranch in 1992 with two young sons, Clay and Robert, in tow. Her father had increased the ranch from 16,000 to nearly 40,000 acres when he added the land in Waurika to their original holdings in Caddo. The ranch now spans almost 46,000 acres.
Clay and Robert, both fathers to the seventh generation of Stuart Ranch caretakers, work together to manage operations but have their specialities. Clay focuses on the outfitting business, which will service roughly 600 corporate and individual clients this year through fowl and deer hunting experiences tailored for any age. He has Terry's client-oriented demeanor. Robert, winner of several awards from the Ranch Hand Association of America, splits his time between raising quarter horses and cattle for sale and managing their growing Meat Co. online and subscription sales, the newest business for the ranch. Robert inherited Terry's quiet and direct sensibilities, and looks like he was sent over from the casting department. The brothers are clearly passionate about the land and, like their mother, dedicated to the role of steward. There is a job to be done and they will see it to completion without much fuss. It’s the third wheel in all of their relationships. In conversation, it’s difficult to tell whether the land chose them or they chose the land.
For Terry, Clay, and Robert, many memories, if not most, surround the land and their work. That’s by raising and by choice. Their mission has meant long days and long weeks. Sitting around a table with a growing family represents a moment of rest, communion with kin, and often levity. A time to reflect on the effects of people and the unpredictable weather, share funny stories, and welcome new friends and the next generation — who, with luck, will carry Stuart Ranch to the end of another century.
> Stuart Ranch, 9554 N. 2824 Road, Waurika, OK, (580) 228-3272, stuartranch.com
