Tickets are now on sale for the Southwestern Cowbelles annual quilt raffle. Although the quilt is 'brand' new, the brands sewn into the fabric represent generations of cattle-ranching history in the region.
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The iconic Southwestern Cowbelles quilt
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may be brand new every year,
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but the old brands sewn into the fabric
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represent generations
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of cattle ranching history in the region.
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You're watching the Local News Network
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brought to you by Big O Tires in Cortez.
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
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Tickets are now on sale
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for a chance to win
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the Southwestern Cowbelles
iconic brand quilt,
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that will be raffled off during the annual
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Southwestern Colorado
Livestock Associations
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annual meeting and banquet
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on February 13th at the
Montezuma County Fairgrounds.
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You don't need to be present to win
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but you need the presence of mind
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to buy a ticket from a Cowbelles member.
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The Southwestern Cowbelles
quilt raffle is a tradition
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that dates back to 1959,
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just four years after the
chapter formed in 1954.
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Proceeds benefit Cowbelle projects
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and provide scholarships
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for post-secondary
students who plan to pursue
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a career in architecture.
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Each quilt panel represents a
Cowbelle member's family brand
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and while a new handmade quilt
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is pieced together every year,
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it also represents the stories,
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genealogy and history of the
regions ranching families
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for generations,
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say the longtime cowbell
members, Bunny McComb
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and Mary Ellen McComb.
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Bunny and Mary Ellen are shirttail cousins
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and related by marriage through
their husbands' families,
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but they also share a deep history
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in cattle ranching on both sides
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of their own families,
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as represented by their brands.
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Mary Ellen's reverse
four W brand may predate
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the 20th century.
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My dad,
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came from Iowa in 1909,
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and at that time they had the W reverse,
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reverse four W
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and there was four Wilson brothers
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my granddad and his three brothers
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and that's where the 4 Ws came from
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and my dad ended up with it,
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and I have it now and,
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but it was active
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in Iowa back before my dad moved out here
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when he was nine years old in 1909.
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The oldest original
Colorado brand represented
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on the quilt is the canceled V,
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which was registered
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with the Colorado brand office in 1909.
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It now belongs to Rilla King,
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Shelldonna Zwicker Ives and Irene King.
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Brands passed from
generation to generation,
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but like land title must
be transferred legally
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to the next owner.
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To keep a brand, owners must pay
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an annual assessment fee $300
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to the brand inspector's office
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in the Colorado Department of Agriculture,
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or the title will be canceled.
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The brand inspectors website
reports that Colorado
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has more than 30,000
registered brands on the books.
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You can also reinstate a lapsed brand
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or create your own.
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People can also create your own brand.
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My son just a couple years ago,
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we were going to use
my own father's brand.
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It was a brand that was
in Nebraska and Wyoming
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and when we put in for it
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there was something
similar already in Colorado
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so we couldn't get the brand.
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So my son designed his own brand.
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And so his brand is not very old
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but it's very personal to him,
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I mean, because he designed
it himself and everything.
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So some brands are very new
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and they do have to be
approved by the state,
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but then you have very, very old brands.
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So, but it's all about
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making sure you keep
track of your livestock.
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No one steals from you
or accidentally sells it.
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If you'd like to take a
look at this year's quilt
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it's on display in the front
window of Brand Central
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on Main Street in Cortez.
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To buy a ticket contact Bunny McComb
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at 970-560-4807
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and to learn more about
the Southwestern Cowbelles,
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visit their Facebook page.
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Be sure to stay in touch and up-to-date
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with your local news source
on Twitter or Instagram
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and thanks for watching the local news.
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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
