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Profrle

in

Courage

The

W

ord times

of Frank

DuBois.

By

StephenL.Wilmeth

lTlhe

size of

the hole

in

the arena fence

I

doesn't do justice

to

the

story.

The

I

prelude

took

place

over

several

hours of

horse trading.

The

level of

cow-pas-

ture

arbitrage was reaching

epic

proportions

as the negotiators

whittled

their binding

agreement toward

a conclusion.

It

ended

in

the

crescendo

of splintered

fence with the

rider,

horse,

and steer leaving

the scene of

the

accident in

three directions.

It

started

when

somebody

gave

the duo

some beverage

tokens. It

evolved

into

intense

negotiation

with

the need

to

prove

the

little

pony's

prowess.

The

buyer

was

not

getting

the promised results

so

the

seller

entered the

arena

to offer

both

horse

and

rider

some

remedial

instruction.

When

all was set,

out of

the

chute the

steer bolted with roper

and

horse

in hot

pur-

suit. In

schooling the horse, too much time

was taken and

decisions had to be

made.

The

horse cut left,

the steer turned

right,

and the

rider

continued in

a straight-line

header

shot

tloo.tgh

the fence.

Folks

who

witnessed

the

spectacle

claim

that at the onset of the

launch,

the

rider's

eyes

and

mouth

were both

shaped in

the silme

geometric configuration

as the hole

he

created

when

he sailed head-

long

ttoor'tgh

the

fence.

Nineteen

Sixty-Five

Frank DuBois

arrived at New Mexico

State

Universilf

in

the

fall of

1965. He was

from a

ranching

falnily from

Corona,

N.M.

He

was

raised

in Albuquerque,

but

family

heritage

shaped his life. His friends,

cultivated by

summers spent

on the

ranch, were

influ-

ences.

That

group

of

young men left

a

per-

manent impression

on the

school and

certain establishments

within

Las

Cruces

for

two

generations. Their exploits

were some-

what

legendary.

His

education

was

hit

and

miss. Three

times he left

school and

three

times he

returned.

One

departure

included a

con-

struction

job

in

Philadelphia.

It was

there,

across

the river at Cowtown, N.f., that

he

was

injured one night

showing the

locals how

real

cowboys bulldog.

Not

trusting

eastern

doctors,

he

loaded

46

o

RANGE

MAGAZINE

o

WINTER 201

5/2016

Frank

refirmed to

school

and

completed his

bachelorts

degree

in

1973.

56With

a fabulous

comebaclr.,

I

closed

with

a2,37

GP,\tt

he

boasts.

At

the

age

of

400

native

son

andNl'.M.

secretary of

Ag"iculture,

DuBois

was

convinced he

needed

to

statr

team

roping.

up and drove home to

Albuquerque.

His

doctor told him his

injury

probably

ended

his

chances

to

lift

anything

and

he

d be better

off

using

his

head

from

that point

fonvard.

Mistaking

the

inference

as

professional

med-

ical

advice,

Frank returned

to

school and

completed his bachelor's

degree

in

1973.

'With

a

fabulous

comebacK'he

boasts.

"I

closed

with a2.37 GPAI'

The

year

L974 set

in

motion

the unlikely

road

to

Washington and a

life

never

i-ag-

ined.

It

started

with

an

argument

with a lib-

eral.

Influenced

by

his brother, Frank

bought

a subscription

to the

I'{ational

Review.In

those articles, he

found his

natural

conserva-

tive

leanings.

Armed

with new

logic, he lam-

basted

the liberal

in

an impromptu

deba

Frank claims he

shed so

much light on

opponent

that the

young

man

decided

th

and there

to

change

his party

affiliatio

Asked

where

he had

registered,

Frank had

admit

he

wasnt

The

two

registered

together. They

we

then

drafted

into

Republican

ward duti

with

the

former liberal becoming

the

ne

Albuquerque

Southeast

Heights

ward

ch

and

Frank

the

new

vice

chair.

That

led to

t

introduction

to the county

party

chair

w

also

hailed from

cow country.

It

was

through

this chairman

that Fra

was

introduced

to

Sen. Pete

Domeni

When

the

senator decided an

agricultur

was

needed on his

staff,

Frank

made the

li

The selection

came down to

Frank,

with

bachelor's degree

and 2.37

GPA, and

a

can

date

with

a

master's degree

in

ag

econ

and

3.7 GPA.

Two

study cases

were

used

in the

inte

view:

an analysis

of legislation and advice f

the senator's

position

on

the

Navajo/Ho

land dispute.

Frank had been reading

t

Congressional

Record and

he

knew abo

the legislation.

He

condemned it.

(What

didn t know was that

Domenici

was a

c

sponsor.)

The matter of the

Nauqo/Hopi dispu

sealed

the deal.

The

graduate

degree

hold

pontificated

on

the history and the norm

tive values that

must

be

considered

for

t

ruling.

Frank's

response was simple.

He

su

gested the

senator

needed to

support t

Navajos because

the Hopis weren't Ne

Mexicans and

would

have nothing to

with the

senator's

reelection.

The interrog

tor

left

the room

smiling and

"Pancho"

w

awarded

a

ticket

to

Washington

Although there was

a

touchy situati

influenced by cold beer

and

Merle

Hagga

music, Frank

prevailed

with

an emergi

reputation

as

a

commonsense thinker

a

capable

political

operative.

He

spent fi

years

with

the senator learning

the

w

Washin$on worked.

Tired

of

politics, Frank DuBois got

t

job

of

policy analyst for the New Mexic

Department

of

Agriculture in L979.

His

la

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big

rubber

bands to

keep

them

in

place.

When

he

got

to

the

point

he couldn

t

hitch

to

get mounted,

he

started

using

a

rubber

tool

box

as a step

to

reach

his

stirrup.

When

he

couldn't

stand

long

enough

to

curry

his

horse,

he would

brush

one

side

and

sit

down

to rest

in

a

folding

chair.

When

he couldn't

throw

his saddle,

he

got

on the

side

of

the

trailer

where

he

could

lay

his

blankets and

then his

sad-

dle on

his

horse.

When

he

couldn

t bend

over

to

attach

oYerreach

boots

on

his

horse,

he

got down

on

his

knees and

crawled.

When

he

reached

the

point

he couldn

t

keep

his

balance,

though,

he

knew

permanent

changes

were

imminent.

In a

legislative

session,

knowing

he could-

n't

stand

for

long

periods,

he

swallowed

his

pride and

fittully

rented a wheelchair.

After a

three-hour

hearing,

he

headed

to

the

bathroom.

He

accepted

no

help.

He

Buster

b

ecame

Fr

ank' s

nitY anA.

Their

partnership

was

unique.

four important

goals-demonstrating

he

could run

and

be effective

in a

high-profile

state agency

and

competing

at

a

high level

in

a

demanding

sport

while

handicapped-he

set out

to address

two

more.

For

some

time

he

had

demanded

that

his

staff

keep

him

abreast

of issues

from across

the West

that

would

eventually

affect

New

Mexico.

"I

was always

disappointed

in

the

duily

briefurgi'

he

admits.

His

political

blog,

"The

Westernerl'

was

his answer.

Under

his

control,

it

became

a

daily

briefing

for

legislators,

policy wonks,

and

children

of the

Ameri-

can

West

from

far and

near.

It covers

"property

rights,

water

rights,

endan-

gered

species,

livestock

grazing,

energy

produc-

tion,

wilderness,

and

west-

ern

agriculture."

It

also

mixes

enough

western

his-

tory

literature,

and

music

to

keep

it

fun and

lively.

It

has

become

such

a

ritualis-

U)

o

d]

l

o

Y

z

CE

lJ-

a

trJ

tr

:)

o

o

pushed the

handicap

button

and

the

door

opened

with

a

big

"swooshl'When

he

was

ready

to exit,

he again

pushed

the

button

and

the

door

again

opened

with

a

big swoosh,

but

he

misjudged

the

distance

his boots

stuck

out and

was

trapped

between

the

door

and

the

wall.

"Whoa, whoa...back, backi' he

ordered,

realizing

that

steel

horse

didn

t

respond

to

voice commands

like

his

favorite

rope

horse,

Buster.

Buster

had become

Frank's

nirvana.

He

had come

to

Frank

as a

seasoned

but some-

what troubled

horse.

Both

of

them

found

comfort

in a

unique

partnership.

There

are

stories

of

Frank coming

out

of

the

header's

box

only

to

find

himsef

off

balance.

Rather

than score

the steer,

Buster

would

"run

to

balance"

and

keep

Frank upright

and

cen-

tered.

Th.y

might

wind

their

way

down

the

arena,

but when

Frank

was

back

under

con-

trol

the

horse

would

again

concentrate

on

the

steer.

Theywon

saddles

and

trophybuck-

les together,

but

their

real

success

was

a

most

special

humar/equine

bond

of

trust.

Sftl

Fighting

for

the

West

Frank

DuBois retired

from

his

post as

secre-

tary

of

Agriculture

in 2003.

Eventually

bound

to

his wheelchair,

he

embarked

on

new challenges.

Having

accomplished

two

of

48

.

RANGE

MACAZINE

.

WINTER

201 512016

tic

read

in the

morning

that

it has

taken

a

pennanent

place alongside

the

Bible

of

many

westerners.

It also

devotes

time

and

space

to

rodeo,

matters

of

the

NMSU

rodeo

program,

atrd

the

DuBois

Rodeo

Scholarship

Fund.

The

latter

happens

to be

the

final rung on

his

list

of

greatest achievements.

He

singlehandedly

lifted the

fortunes

of

NMSU

rodeo.

When

Coach

Jim

Dewey

Brown arrived,

he'

along

with

Frank's

funding

support, elevated

the

program

into

national

prominence.

Frank

loves

to

be

around

his

young

rodeo athletes

and the

respect

is

mutual.

His autobiographical

sketch

reads:

"Frank

DuBois...New

Mexico

secretary

of

Agriculture,

former

legislative

assistant

to

a

U.S.

senator,

a

deputy

assistant

secretary

of

Interior,

and

the

founder

of the

DuBois

Rodeo

Scholarshipl'Each

step

brought

per-

sonal

recognition. He

will

be

known bythose

markers,

but

his

most

revealing

chatacter

may

not get

full

public

scrutiny.

It is

much

too

personal.

Some

will describe

it

as

an

intense

work

ethic

while

others

will

describe

it

simply

as

heart.

I

Stephen

L. Wilmeth,

a

rancher

from

southern

Niw Mexico,

sals,

"Frank

DuBois

has made

us all better

stewards,

and

for

that

we

remain

forever

grateful."

Frank

can be

reached

at

mscowboy@Wail.com,

I:TTERg

(Continued

from

page

j5)

RANGE

contributors

present a

greatdeal

o

common

sense

but

the

writer

from

North

Pole, Alaska,

hit the

nail

on

the

head

with

back

to

the

Bible."

In

it

are

all the things

w

are

doing

wrong

and

how

we have

put the

creation

ahead

of

the

Creator

and

His

ulti-

mate

plan

for

creation.

The starting

point

getting

back

on track,

if

it is not too

late,

would

be

to

humbly

put

Christ

back

in

"Christmas." Our revisionist

historians

ha

skewed

our compass;

2

Chronicles

7:I4po

the

way.

Nonrvr

Ross

,

GnsetsY

Httt,

CermonmH

"Xrnas"

goes

back

about

a

thousand

years

a

is

an

ancient

and

respeaful

use of

the word

Christmas.

"X"

is Greekfor

Chnst

and

not

negative

for

this

holy

and

joful

hokday.-C

CI:

Thankyou

for

the

reply.

I

was

unaw

of

the

history

of

the origln

of

the

word

Xmas

am appreciative of

your

explanation and no

all

offinded.

Respeafully,

Norm

Myhusband

packed

mules

the

Flathead

est

in Montan

tells some

ha

rowing

storie

about

the

fire

camp

supply

trips

during

fires.

And

some

people

want

to

take

livestock

out

of the

mountains.

Recent

legislation-The

Merc

River

Plan-no

longer

allows

operation

o

stables

and

pack

strings

in

Yosemite

Natio

Park, effective

2016.

Ppccv

KnnrzeR

vLA FecEsoor

HEtt

ON

EARTH

On

the

phone

last

week,

speaking

of

the c

strophic

collapses

ofwestern

ecosystems

economies

by

wildfire

and

other

causes'

nature

restoration

genius

and

ftiend

Mar

Vande

Pol

("Wildergarten"

author)

mus

wish

certain

lying,

money-grubbing

natu

expertswould

worry

more

about

going

to

hell-and

spend

less time

making

hell

on

earth

with

their

policies."

Kinda

sums

it

u

Srsvs

Rtcu,

Sarr

LerB

CtrY,

UreH

COOL

STUFF

My

son,

Linden,

seven'

said

to

me today:

"God

isn't

finished

with

me

yet,

and

I gu

he

never

will

be,

because

even

when

I'm

ting

there'llbe

some

really

cool

stuffgoin

with me."

lfm...yeah.

Keep

smiling.

Smnne

D.S.

Hott,

Hnqspnrn,

Mot'l-tRN