"My grandmother had a very simple philosophy of life. That was that you generated money primarily just for two things, and that was for land and for the acquisition of cows."

--Wink Crigler--

Wink inherited more than life philosophies from her grandmother; she also inherited her entrepreneurial spirit. In the 1920s, Molly Butler was a lodge owner, rancher and entrepreneur. Today, Wink has created one of the more innovative "multiple use" ranches in the state.

"Grandma Molly" had a flair for business even at an early age. "She was very enthusiastic about using money to generate land holdings, and from the time Grandma Molly was very small, she had a brand -- even before brands were registered in the state." Widowed young, Molly had to fend for three small children. When there was nothing but horse transportation, Molly would take her children twice a year on a weeklong trip to Fort Apache with loads of cheese and butter to be sold. In keeping with her life philosophy, cows and land would be her key assets. Cows were "an essential part of her survival and her livelihood and, of course, with that comes the necessity for land. Being about half entrepreneur, she learned that she could also generate money by entertaining people like Zane Grey, Lew Wallace and other people who came along. And so all of this she managed to make work in sort of an eclectic approach of tourists and cows and land, milk, cheese, horses, rides, fishing -- all in one major operation."

Grandma Molly took advantage of everything the land offered, setting a precedent for Wink. "For them, having the wildlife to attract people like Zane Gray and James Willard Shultz and Governor Hunt and President Hoover and all the people that came here was an integral part of this entrepreneurship that they were able to generate. Not just to be an old dirt land farmer, but to have the ranch and then use the ranch as a place to take people out. Let them go out with the cows and play cowboy, have a cookout, go fishing, camp out and go on a bear hunt which, in a sense, is the same spirit that we share on the ranch today."

So, how has Wink kept the tradition alive? Today, Wink's ranch offers lodging, fly fishing, horseback riding, archeological digs, a museum, a day spa -- even an annual "cowboy golf" tournament. The cattle operation my sister and I run together ...And the fishing and the museum and the other things are just ideas that I've been able to generate here to enhance the use of the land. It's our best way to protect the integrity of our heritage and maintain it as a small operating ranch."

How did Grandma Molly help Wink learn the practical aspects of a rancher's job? "My grandmother and my parents always took us in as an integral part of the operation. We did everything. You know, they taught us early on of the water rights. We knew where to change the headgate, we knew where to turn the reservoir on. As kids, we learned all about the land and everything that we lived on, and that is what's enabled us to be able to do what we do today."

Wink has lived on this land all of her life, with the exception of her time at college. What about the future? Will she keep the tradition alive? "One time they asked my grandmother when she grew older something about when she was going to leave, and she said, 'You know, I just really wouldn't want to be anywhere else.' And that's kind of the feeling that we've always had. And my dad always told us, he said, 'You know, you can sell a cow, you can sell your potatoes or whatever, but never sell your land, because once you sell the land, the money goes, you'll never recover.' And we've always harbored that concept." Since the ranch was brought into the family, they have never sold any of the ranch properties. And, with Wink in charge, you can bet they never will.