This post is a companion to the most recent posting about cloud seeding.
My grandfather, Virgil Seay, (shown with me as a toddler) was an Archer County rancher who knew well the devastating effects of drought in Texas.
Virgil Seay was born in Chickasaw Nation of Indian Territory during the drought of 1891-1895. Around 1900 the family moved back to Montague County, Texas where his father owned a ranch in the western part of the county. In 1912 the family bought an additional ranch in Archer County. Around his twenty-first birthday Virgil found himself on a cattle drive to take the start-up stock to the new ranch. He would remain in Archer County fifty more years until his death in 1963.
During that time he experienced two more devastating droughts. The first occurred in the 1930s when he was a well-respected middle-aged cattleman. At that time he chose to sell part of his herd to the federal government to slaughter for herd improvement. A dedicated Democrat, Virgil Seay felt he made a wise decision for his ranch and the interest of the cattle industry.
During the 1950s Archer County and much of the rest of Texas suffered from another intense drought. This time Virgil Seay was semi-retired. Every morning he went to his pastures to check on the condition of the grass and the amount of water in the stock tanks. As cattlemen are wont to do, he sold off a portion of his herd, began supplement feeding especially in the winter, and became interested in cloud seeding. Although the concept of rainmaking had been around for a century, the actual cloud seeding began in earnest in the 1950s. Virgil Seay went to meetings regarding the new concept, read everything he could get his hands on about the theory and contributed financially to the project in Archer County and neighboring Wichita Falls.
Whether it was successful is still debated but in the spring of 1957 the rains came. Mr. Seay was able to live out the rest of his life with adequate grass and water for his herds. In fact, three days before he died he took some of his best heifers and steers to a stocker feed show and sale in Fort Worth where he won first place in both categories. He brought home two silver trays to give to two of his granddaughters. I still have mine displayed in a prominent place in my home.
Wichita Falls and the surrounding area are in the midst of another devastating drought. One of my cousins frequently tells me horror stories. There is little grass, strict water rationing has been in place for more than a year, and cloud seeding is a topic of interest once more. So as I started to write this article and the tears started flowing as I remember my grandfather, I looked out the window and saw raindrops on the driveway. The thunder and lightning began. My dog that is so frightened of storms sat in my lap as I read about the ways to trigger rainfall from scant clouds. I the day researching and writing this article, comforting my dog, and enjoying the rain we received.
I have done some research regarding droughts that have occurred here in Texas since 1836. All lasted about four years, were very intense, and then suddenly broke with more than abundant rainfall. I haven’t seen rainfall totals for Archer and neighboring counties, but I certainly hope and pray they received some relief like we did. Now if the rains will just continue as they have in the past.