“I’m very fortunate to have been involved in the farming and ranching business all of my life.” These were the words from Ty Earl Powell while summing up his life long career in ranching and farming during a special interview aired on Town Talk radio.
Powell’s roots in this life long occupation were actually born in the early 1900’s when his great-grandparents R. H. Hurst and W. J. Luna moved to what is now the Plains area. The Hurst family moved to Yoakum County from Knowles, which is located just north of Hobbs, in the spring of 1903 and the Luna family followed in February of 1905 from Canyon.
The Luna’s established the first Post Office in their home and soon named it Plains for the broad open plains. After a year J. W. built a store and the Post Office was moved into it.
R. H. Hurst drilled the first water well in what is now the center of Plains and put a windmill at this location.
It was actually the grandparents of Ty Earl that got the ranching business started and passed it on to him.
“I’m ranching on the same land my grandparents ranched on back in the 1940’s,” Ty Earl said. “For that reason it kind of makes it sentimental for me, it’s real special. We even live in the same ranch house that was built in 1941. We have made some additions but most of it is the same home my grandparents lived in.”
In addition to his ranching responsibilities Ty Earl has been a County Commissioner for the last 12 years serving the citizens of Yoakum County in Precinct #3.
“Serving as a County Commissioner is a big responsibility. I appreciate the confidence the voters in my precinct have put in me,” Ty Earl said. “The tax payers are basically turning their check book over to us and trust us to spend their money wisely.”
But there is still another side to Ty Earl, that of a family man. After meeting his future wife Linda while both of them were attending New Mexico State University in the mid 1960’s they were married on February 22, 1969. From this marriage came two children, Lebert Ty and Jolena. And from those marriages have come nine grandchildren, six from Jolena, who married a Plains native Chad Wall, and three from Lebert and his wife Amelia.
Jolena is currently a PA practicing in Lubbock while Lebert is also in the ranching business in Virginia.
When asked if Lebert might come back to Texas to take over his dad’s business, Ty Earl just smiled and said, “I guess that’s a possibility, you never know.”
Both Ty Earl and Linda are looking forward to the annual Old Settlers Reunion that will be held in Plains over the weekend of August 5-6. Linda has always been very instrumental in the organization of the Art show portion of the weekend.
“We will have a lot of exhibitors from all over the place,” Linda said. “There will be a $500 cash prize for the picture that will judged Best of Show and also a $500 cash prize for the People’s Choice. It is a big deal to a lot of folks. We hope to have a large attendance taking in this part of the weekend.”
In addition to her artistic abilities Linda was also a public school educator beginning her career in 1978 as a Government, Economics, and History teacher in Denver City. After serving DCISD for 10 years she took a small break before returning to the classroom in Hobbs. Two years ago she decided to turn in her pen and pencils and enter retirement once again.
Ty Earl said the first Old Settlers Reunion was held in 1952 and has taken place every year after that over the first weekend in August. In addition to the Art show there will also be several food booths, a two-night rodeo, class reunions, and family reunions.
“This is something I look forward to every year,” he said. “We will have several folks come back for these reunions and we will just sit around and visit. It will be a fun weekend.”
Life is about to get simpler on December 31, 2016 when he will serve his last day on the Commissioners Court.
“I think it’s just time to step aside and let someone else take over for a while,” he said when explaining his reason for retirement. “Linda has been wanting to do some traveling and honestly, I think I’m ready for some traveling myself. I am looking forward to that part of my life.”
Replacing Ty Earl on January 1, 2017 will be Tommy Box, also a long time resident of Plains.
Town Talk radio is wishing Ty Earl and his wife Linda a restful semi-retirement and Happy Trails are down the line for him.
