Pitchfork Ranch Cookhouse

Today I went to the Ranching Heritage Center on the campus of Texas Tech University to see a building that in real life I was pretty familiar with but had not seen restored and on display. I lived in this house my freshman year of high school. It looked more like the picture on the sign than what they restored. The kitchen-dining room that shows at the Center was only the base of the house. Attatched later were 3 bedrooms, 2 bath's, a living room and a large back porch with a built in freezer. My Mom & Dad were the cooks although all know who the cook was. Also behind the house was a commissary where staples were stored and once a week the different ranch houses would send over their grocery lists and my dad would fill the list and have the boxes ready for pickup. They provided meat, vegetables, eggs, canned goods and basic baking needs. No fresh bread, no fancy stuff but it was part of the pay.

This is the base of the house. It was surrounded by screened in porches. Inside the front screened in porch was the bell that got rang 3 times a day, 5 days a week and twice on Saturday. On the back screened in porch was the cistern that held water., It's the white thing shown out front of the house although I don't remember it being white. We caught rain water and drew it with a bucket. The 1st cup out of a new bucket was always the best...naturally cool and clear. I looked in the windows and found it looked pretty good but was restored a little more rundown than I ever saw it. The stove even looks like the one Mom cooked on but the refirgerator was a large built in when we were there. There is a table by the door with coffee cups and drink glasses displayed and I do remember that table. The one thing missing was an old crank telephone that
was used for ranch house to ranch house communications when we lived there. It had been there for years and I think it finally died during a storm while we were there. It was still on the wall when we left but maybe someone pilfered it before the house was donated to the Center.

I loved ringing the bell.


I took this picture because I thought the placement of the buildings was significant. The 6666 Pavilion has been at the RHC for several years so it had prime placement. Then the Cookhouse
was donated in 2007. But in Dickens and King Counties, these 2 ranches own most of the land and are large employers. I was
amazed the last time I went through Guthrie at the changes made at both ranches. Both are now modern cattle operations but I have a hunch if you visited with the cowboys that still work at both ranches, you'd find that in their hearts, not much has changed after all.