First "Blessing of the Brands" held in Cuero

By Sonya Timpone

The Cuero Record

The first Blessings of the Brands hosted by Grace Episcopal Church was held at the English-German School on Thursday evening, May 12. A large crowd came out to watch as family branding irons were heated up and pressed against a large cowhide by area cowboys and ranchers while Matt Thigpen sang in the background. Many of the brands go back generations.

The history of brand inspections was given by Mark Nygard, market inspector. Robert Fields, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association’s special ranger, gave information to the crowd about why branding cattle is important.

Church history on the Chisholm Trail was given by David White, Episcopal Diocese of West Texas.

The brands were then blessed by Rev. Peter Thaddeus of Grace Episcopal Church; Father Jacob Mendoza, St. Michael’s Church; Dr. Glenn Robertson of First Baptist Church; Rev. Paul Muehlbrand, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and Rev. Stan Lawson of First Presbyterian Church.

The evening ended with cowboy stew being served and everyone singing “Happy Trails to You”.