Cowboy/cowgirl Hall of Fame 2023 Honorees
The Barr Family, James (Buddy), Mark, and Maxwell and Rick Morrow
James C. “Buddy” Barr was born in Callahan County in 1925 and moved to Vincent in Howard County at the age of seven. One of seven kids, he was raised on a cotton farm, grew up during the depression, and joined the army when he was 17. During World War II, he served in the Pacific. If you asked Buddy why he enlisted instead of waiting to be drafted, he would say, “Because I was hungry!”
After the war Buddy came home and married Betty Carpenter in 1947. They started farming in Mitchell County, then moved back to Vincent and started farming in Northeast Howard County. The Barr family started to grow with the addition of Mark in 1950 and Maxwell in 1953.
Buddy was working for the ASCS office during the drought in the 1950’s and met Jimmy Taylor and Bill Sims. Jimmy was county agent and in charge of steers, and Bill Sims was assistant county agent in charge of sheep. Mark showed sheep for two years while Maxwell was still too young. Then, the stock show bug bit and bit hard - Mark and Maxwell got their first steers. After Bill Sims left, Lovell Kuykendall became the assistant county agent and was a major influence in the success of Mark and Maxwell. Lovell came up with the game plan and really showed the Barr boys how to win.
But Buddy was the driving force behind their stock show experience. HE LOVED IT! Buddy required hard work and dedication from his two sons in the stock show arena: feeding, grooming, exercising, and taking care of the stock in all ways.
Many times, they would get up at 5 a.m. to exercise the calves before school and again after they got home from school. Mark and Maxwell’s choices were work their steers or get hoes put in their hands.
The Barr Boys had 14 Grand and Reserve Grand Champions, all Hereford steers, including the following:
1964 – Mark – San Angelo Stock Show Grand Champion
1965 – Maxwell – San Antonio Fat Stock Show Champion Steer Jr Division with Baby and Mark showing steer
1966 – Maxwell – San Antonio Fat Stock Show Champion Steer Jr Division with Red Eye (Red Eye was purchased as a calf from the W.A. Moncrief Ranch close to Ft Worth. Bill Moncrief was an oil man and associated with Bob Hope.
1966 – Mark – Houston Stock Show Reserve Champion Steer with Skeeter
1967 – Maxwell – Fort Worth Stock Show Reserve Champion Steer with Beau
1967 – Maxwell – San Antonio Fat Stock Show Champion Steer with Beau (As a result of the success with Beau, the Barr’s were contacted by CBS about appearing on the TV show “To Tell the
Truth.” Buddy, Betty, and 13-yearold Maxwell were flown to New York City to tape the show. They got to meet Kitty Carlisle, Peggy Cass, Harry Morgan, Tom Posten, and Bud Collier. It was a great experience, and one Maxwell still thinks fondly of to this day. Mark had to stay home with Shorty and Patricia.)
1967 – Maxwell – Sandhills Stock Show in Odessa Champion Steer with Mac
1968 – Mark – San Antonio Fat Stock Show Champion Steer with Big John
Baby, Beau, Big John, and Skeeter came off the J.C. Sale ranch in Stanton. J.C. was a top producer of Hereford Show Steers in the state. .JC. approached Buddy because of the work ethic of their family and their steers. This relationship with the Barrs and Sales started a family friendship for many years.
Bills Sims later became the Executive Director of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association. Lovell Kuykendall went on to be executive director of the American Hereford Association. After leaving the agent's office, Jimmy Taylor went to the First National Bank of Big Spring and became the president of the bank.
Buddy farmed for many years in Vincent and ranched in Midland and Howard Counties. He served proudly on the Coahoma ISD Board, Howard County Fair Board, Coahoma State Bank Board, Howard County Junior College District Board of Trustees, and The Federal Land Bank Board. He was honored assoil Conservationist of the Year in 2001 by Soil Conservation Service.
Because of Mark's and Maxwell's hard work and dedication, their higher education was paid for with stock show winnings. Mark graduated from Tarleton State University in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in general agriculture and Maxwell from Texas Tech University in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in agriculture economics. Buddy was proud that his boys were college graduates as well as all five of his grandchildren.
During high school Mark was President of the Texas Jr Hereford Association. He farmed and ranched in Gaines County for 27 years before moving back to Howard County in 2002. Mark was the Howard County Judge for eight years, an office that his grandfather Ed J. Carpenter held in the 1950's. Mark has served on the Howard County Fair Board, Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo Board, Howard County Appraisal Board, Permian Basin Region Planning Task Force, and West Texas County Judges Association. Mark is married to Stacy and has two children, Stewart and Andrea, and two grandsons.
After graduating from Texas Tech, Maxwell started farming in Howard County. He is married to Kaye, and they have three children, Aaron, Johnathan and Meridith, and six grandchildren. Maxwell was awarded the Farmer of the Year in 2001 by Big
Spring Area Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves as Vice-president of the Howard County Junior College District Board of Trustees and was a member of the Farm Service Agency County Committee for 12 years and Big Spring Co-op Gin Board for over 15 years.
In 2000 Mark and Maxwell were inducted into the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo Hall of Fame at the 50th Anniversary of the stock show. They were the only brothers to have won Grand Champion awards. No one had their chest stuck out further that day in San Antonio than Buddy Barr. He was so proud of his sons' accomplishments.
Showing steers is definitely a team effort, and there was not a better team than Buddy, Betty, Mark, and Maxwell. All their calves were raised in the same pen and all under the watchful eye of Buddy Barr. And, it was worth all the effort for the wonderful experiences and wonderful memories they share.