There were many differences of opinion between father-
in-law and son-in-law concerning how to manage and con-
tinue the business empire. There were certainly differences
in terms of Mr. Miller’s “hands-on” approach and attention
to detail and his work ethic was non-stop. Mr. Nickle was a
lawyer who most likely did not often participate in the cattle
drives, yet he knew that refrigeration technology and feedlot
operations were drastically changing the ranching and meat
packing businesses. Plus, a whole new animal had appeared
on the scene in 1913 — the establishment of the income tax
system. It would be impossible to pass on the Miller and Lux
estate to the next generation while keeping its assets intact.
So, Mr. Nickel decided to start selling off properties, and
reducing their workforce to consolidate operations. Mr. Miller,
who had a reputation of almost never selling pasture land and
never entertaining a thought of retrenching his business, must
have experienced his famous German temper boiling over.
Henry Miller did authorize one interesting local land sale
120 years ago to the Coe Brothers in 1896. The Coe’s, Charles
and Henry Jr. (Harry), were astute cattle ranchers in their
own right; filing homestead claims and buying land from
other homesteaders who were selling out. According to the
Pine Ridge Association history, the brothers had a knack for
identifying the best land, “land that contained year ‘round
springs and broad meadows for grazing and raising hay.
When the cattle baron, Henry Miller agreed to sell the Miller
Field on the east fork of Coyote Creek they were especially
pleased.” At the Coe Park Visitor Center there is a photo of
the Miller Field with a group of cowboys posing in front of
the Miller Cabin after a cattle roundup. According to Harry’s
son, “forty, fifty guys came in to help gather the cattle into a
holding pen that was nearly 250 acres in size. They did [their]
branding there.”
My last anniversary story also begins in 1916 and has to
do with my favorite local character, Charles Kellogg. In his
book, The Nature Singer, Charles relates how he once was on
tour as a vaudeville performer, delighting the audiences with
his bird songs and his outdoor adventures, when he spoke of
the tragedy of all birds that were being killed for sport and
for fashion. In the crowd were a couple of ladies who were
dressed with beautiful hats adorned with bird feathers. They
were most certainly embarrassed by all the attention and
probably never wore those hats again. Bird populations at the
turn of the century were sharply declining due to the “indis-
criminate slaughter” for market hunting and fashion trends.
Springtime hunting was the norm as many bird species were
then making their way to their nesting grounds. The obvious
devastation provoked a dramatic government response — the
first international conservation agreement was negotiated
between Canada and the United States. It was called the
Migratory Birds Convention of 1916, and typically the second
Saturday of May is the official celebration. With the 100 th
year anniversary, I visited the Don Edwards National Wildlife
Refuge at Alviso and was treated to a wonderful walk with
geese, mallards, pelicans, egrets and herons soaring above
the marshlands.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
Voted #1 Dance Studio in 2016
JULY / AUGUST 2016
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