It was Thursday. This is the one day of the week when ranchers from several counties in Arizona and New Mexico bring trailers full of cattle to sell to wholesale buyers from the city. If I’m nearby, because I had to visit a patient or two, I’ll stop by the auction to visit my friend Terry Burgess who works in the sales office.
Terry is a widow and semi-retired rancher who lives about 10 miles down the road from me on a 40 acre spread. She grew up on a ranch that was very remote. During the school year, Terry stayed with someone in town and only traveled back to the family’s ranch on the weekends. The list of the cattle and horse organizations which is active in is
endless.
Terry’s father, Claude McNair was inducted into the Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1972. This year, Terry was inducted into the Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame. The only father and daughter to hold those honors in the Hall of Fame’s history. Terry has been only the 5th woman to ever been inducted.
I placed, photographed and documented #67 in a corner of one of the back corrals. One that had very few cattle in it. Unknown to Terry, I dedicated the placement of #67 to
her.
When I have those days when life is so overwhelming that I don’t even feel like getting out of bed, I think of women like Terry. Another one of my heroines will always be Dale Evans. She once said, "Cowgirl is an attitude, really. A pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage. The cowgirl faces life head on, lives by her own lights, and makes no excuses. Cowgirls take stands, they speak up. They defend things they hold dear." That’s Terry. That’s my girl!
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