[JIM WILLIAMS] My grandfather and my dad, Ii've always tried to make decisions that they would be proud of
and that would withhold our family name. In 1944, this ranch was started by a man Mr. Howard Parker.
He owned two Ford motor companies in San Augustine and Center so then when Mr. Parker got the cattle,
he called them V8 just like the V8 Ford engine. He started in 1944, his first brand number was number
1. Now we're branding 847/9 and that means that's the 9,847th bull that we would have.
And there's a heifer with the same number; we started both at 1 and then went on. So we've
had since 1944, 18,000 plus registered Brahman cattle that have been registered here at V8 Ranch.
[CATHERINE NEUMAYR] V8 ranch is a registered Brahman cattle operation. We're located on the Texas gulf coast,
about an hour Southwest of Houston. We are a family operation. The actual land for the V8 ranch was
put together and assembled by my grandfather Sloan Williams, and Sloan and my dad, Jim
worked together to build what is now the registered Brahman cattle operation at V8 Ranch.
[JIM] We run about 2,000 commercial cows/crossbred cows. Then we have about 300 registered V8 cows
between our family, and then we have about 500 recipient cows. Now at one time in the early 80s
we had about 8,500 crossbred cows. We had ranches leased in 20 counties, starting at Orange, Texas
which is right on the Sabine River, all the way to Eagle Pass, Texas which is down on the Rio Grande
River in no man's land. [LUKE NEUMAYR] We have cattle for sale year round at the ranch and if you need quality
Brahmans we hope that you reach out to us. Now our sales year is highlighted by three big events.
We have our now famous stall party that's held in conjunction with the International Brahman
Show in Houston, and then we host two internet sales in the spring and fall where we sell our
top end of heifer calves, and then that kicks off our private treaty sales here at the ranch.
When you talk about the V8 family I think that you have to start with who sits at the head of
the table, and that's Sloan and Molly Williams. They're the original power couple that made those
bold choices almost 75 years ago that have led the ranch to the great place that it is today. They
made big purchases of cattle and put together the pieces of land that formed the Hungerford ranch
and the ranch down here in Boling, and then their children Jim Williams and Jan Powell have carried
on the same passion and dedication. Jan and her family head up the horse division and oversee
the large commercial cowherd that we have. Jim and his family manage the registered Brahman herd.
And we all have those little pieces that we do day in and day out, but it's when we're able to come
together as a family that all those little pieces form the big picture that is V8 Ranch, and that's
when we feel like we're truly able to honor the legacy of the generations that have came before us.
[JAN POWELL] That means the world to me to come from, you know, that many generations that have been a
part of this ranch. Jim and I are so honored that we get to follow Mom and Dad in their
footsteps or 'wear their boots' you might say. It is a lot of responsibility. We just hope that we can
carry on and make them proud. And we want to instill in the younger generations to come that,
you know, you have to work hard, you have to be honest, and V8 Ranch stands for a lot.
[CATHERINE] I feel so blessed that I get to be part of carrying on the work that my grandparents
and my parents did together to get V8 to where it is today, and I know I speak for
all of us in the younger generation that we're dedicated and we're passionate about
building on the legacy that the ones who came before us at V8 Ranch started.