Rancher carries on family tradition

Three decades Dorie and G.C. "Bo" Damuth founded Flying D Texas Longhorns Ranch in Magnolia on family land with ranching history dating to the mid-1800s. Since Bo's death in 2006, Dorie continues tending to the ranch's now 150 head of longhorns.

In the years before Dorie and Bo started Flying D, the land was a part of Half Circle J Ranch that held cattle, and spanned 1,000 acres. Now, after the Damuths leased parts of their property, which borders FM 1488 east of FM 149, the longhorns roam on about 450. The ranch is run by Dorie with one full time hand and a part-time employee.

Both Dorie and Bo's families have roots in ranching longhorns, Dorie said, and when their family members who ran Half Circle J Ranch decided they could no longer handle ranching, the family sold the cattle and equipment, leaving the land ripe for another project.

"Back in the 1800s, my family members were ranching people in Jasper County," Dorie said. "They came from the old pioneers dating back to Stephen F. Austin and land grants. My grandfather was one of the large ranchers and ran cattle along Neches River in Jasper, and no one had anything else but longhorn back then."

Longhorns were brought to the Americas by Spanish settlers about 500 years ago, Dorie said. According to the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association, the Texas Longhorn breed is generally docile, produces lean meat and can adapt to a wide range of climates.

As a child, Dorie grew to appreciate the animal and its characteristics. When longhorns became nearly extinct in the mid-1900s, Dorie's family maintained one of the only herds in the state. It is also the reason why Dorie and Bo felt passionate about reviving a family longhorn ranch.

"In Montgomery County where Bo was growing up, the Damuth family ranch went back into the 1800s also, and they didn't have anything but longhorns either," she said. "So here in Montgomery County, there was a lot of longhorn activity and they actually had a rail head in Magnolia where they shipped cattle east for meat consumption. There is a lot of longhorn history in town."

The Damuth's longhorns have won numerous awards in the state and country, and Dorie became the first woman elected to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's Board of Directors in 1974.

"Our family history made us both want to have longhorns because we remembered so fondly the memories of our forbearers when that was all you saw—longhorns," she said. "They have a very gentle nature, and if they have a chance, they'll behave like dogs and cats."