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Note: HI4071
Note: (Research):Named after Gen. John B. Gordon.
Notes by Mary McPherson
CATTLEMAN OF YEAR PETE CRUM, RECALLS RANCHING DAYS OF BY GONE YEARS
By Jonh Dicks,
Pete Crum slipped on his grey Stetson hat, knocked th ashes from his pipe and jumped down fro the top rail of the wooden coral fence. It had been a short break. Most breaks on a cattle ranch are short. "There's always something to do around here," says Crum of his 3,000 acre ranch north of Plant City off State Road 39. "It's either tend to cattle or mend fences. Ranchin is a fuu time job." Ranching has been more than a full time job for Pete Crum. It has been his life. The 64-year-old Crum, recently chosen Cattleman of the year by the Chamber of Commerce, comes from a long line of ranchers. He followed his father and his grandfather in the business. Crum grazes about 300 head of breeding stock on what cowboys called unimproved pasture--a lot of rugged brush country with trees and shrubs. It takes 10 acres of that kind of land to support every cow in his herd. Crum's ranch is a cattle breeding operation. He sells calves for a living. "We take our yearlings to auction and the buyers feed them out unti they're ready to be sold for beef." Crum's herd including the 20 bulls, bear his family's traditional "3" brand. The Crum family branding irons have for generations been heated whit hot to sear the brand into the hides of their cattle. Because of the rugged land of the Crum Ranch, the hands are required to use horses to tend the herd. Lassos and leather straps are as common among the cowboys here as they are in any western movie. To the Crum ranches, they are tools of the trade. Ranching has changed for the Crum family. In the 1930s Crum grazed nearly 3,000 head of cattle on 30,000 acres of land, much of it leased. Since they, property became so valuable for development purposes, landowners ends their ranching lease agreements. "There were no fences back then, and we had cattle drives of as far as 50 miles," Crum recalled: "It would take us three days to make the trip." Food was brought to the cattle "drovers" each day out, and at night they slept in barns on farms they passed. The range supports the cattle, with the exception of some minerals and salt which are provided in 33 pound salt blacks distributed over the ranch. The salt blocks also contain a cattle protein supplement in winter months. Pastured cattle are constantly bothered by insects. Flies, gnats and other pest are kept down by frequent spraying of hers with insecticides. Changes in ranching operations have benefited the Crum operation. Improved breeding practices have resulted in bigger and better stock. Despite imporved working conditions, East Hillsborough's Cattleman of the Year says he will soon hang up his spurs ending three generations in the ranching business. He plans to retire. Retiring with him will be the familiar "3" brand which has been a proud emblem of a hard-working family of men, the Crums.
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE, FRIDAY, JUNE 7,1991: Plant City--Funeral Services for Maurice G. "Pete" Crum. a resident of Plant City, will be held Saturday, June 8,1991 at 10:00 A.M. from Wells Memorial Funeral Home with Rev. Duncan Gray and Rev. R.C. Joyner officiating. Interment will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery. Mr. Crum was a native and lifelong resident of Plant City. He was a cattle rancher and was voted Outstanding Cattleman by the East Hillsborough County Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Crum was a lontime member and Past President of the Plant City Rotary Club; member of the Plant Clity Elks Lodge; Board of Directors First Florida Bank, Plant City;a graduate of Georgia Tech. University with a degree in engineering and member of the First United Methodist Church. Survivors include his wife, Helen Crum, Plant City; two daughters, Mary Joe Campbell, Plant City and Maureen Crum, Bartow, Fla.; one sone, Bob D. Crum, Miramar, Fla; one sister, Irma Wade, Plant City, seven gr
Tampa Tribune, The (FL) - June 7, 1991 Deceased Name: MAURICE G. ""PETE'' CRUM MAURICE G. ""PETE'' CRUM, 82, of Plant City died Wednesday at South Florida Baptist Hospital. A lifelong Plant City resident, he was a cattle rancher and a member of First United Methodist Church. He was a past-president of the Plant City Rotary Club. He was a member of the Plant City Elks Lodge and the board of directors of First Florida Bank, Plant City. He was voted Outstanding Cattleman by the East Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce. He is survived by his wife, Helen; one son, Bob D. of Miramar; two daughters, Mary Jo Campbell of Plant City and Maureen of Bartow; one sister, Irma Wade of Plant City; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Wells Memorial Funeral Home, Plant City.
Tampa Tribune, The (FL) Date: June 7, 1991 Edition: METROPOLITAN Page: 2 Record Number: 142 Copyright (c) 1991 The Tribune Co.
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