Visit with Snell and Taylor families at Grady Shell's ranch Las Puentes

September 29, 2006 found my friends Jerry, Rodolfo and I visiting the small town of Gómez-Farías, high in the Sierra Madre Mountains, during the annual celebration honoring the founding of the town. We'd been hiking around the town, taking photos and just enjoying the celebration, when Jerry got the idea that we should take a break, and admire the mountains to the south, as we'd been talking of visiting the mountain town of El Cielo someday. So we left the celebration and walked to the amphitheatre, located behind the City Hall, as it features a breathtaking view of the Sierra Madre Mountains, and we were in the mood for a rest break and wanted to admire the mountain scenery.

Left: Grady's house at his "Las Puentes" ranch. Note the palapa-covered patio to the right of the house, where the party was held. Right: Grady's well-equipped bar inside his house.

We weren't alone, as there was a group of people with us, who looked like a large family, headed by a tall, handsome gentleman, who carried himself like an aristocrat. I didn't really pay much attention to him, as I was busy snapping photos of the beautiful scenery, and taking notes on my digital recorder. However, the gentleman startled my by starting a conversation in perfect English, and introducing himself as Grady Snell. He was surprised to see me, a total gringo in the town of Gómez-Farías, as the city rarely receives visitors from north of the border. We struck up a conversation and it wasn't long before I introduced him to my friends Jerry and Rodofo.

Grady is a descendent of the original settlers of Chamal Colony in southern Tamulipas, which was settled by the Snell and Taylor families, and many other Americans, who migrated south from the state of Oklahoma. We immediately "hit it off" with Grady, and after enjoying a few beers at Gappy Bar, in Gómez-Farías, he invited us over to his place on the following day, as he has throwing, as he described it, a "little party" and was having a few friends and extended family members over. He gave explicit directions to where his ranch is located to Rodolfo, who is a native of Tamaulipas, and a leading citizen in the town of Lucio Blanco, and Rodolfo assured us that he knew where Grady's ranch was located. So we bad Grady goodbye, and promised that we'd be over for lunch, and headed to Cd. Mante, where a charming hotel room awaited us.

Left: Grady's kitchen opens out to a spacious patio that has a view of his beautiful back yard and pond. Right: Mr. and Mrs. Grady Snell pose for Jerry's camera under the palapa-covered patio.

Grady's ranch is located off State Highway 66, about halfway between the town of Llera de Canales and Cd. Mante, in a rather idyllic spread that has an outstanding view of the always-green Sierra Mardre Mountains to the south. Grady's ranch is named "Las Puentes," and it's a real, working ranch, as he grows oranges, raises cattle, goats and horses, and employs real cowboys. His ranch is quite large, as it occupies around 500 acres, and his house is the center activity, as its located near the center of the ranch, just off State Highway 66. Rodofo had guided us to where he thought the ranch was located, and we pulled up to an impressive ranch with two men up on the roof, repairing rain gutters. We asked one of them if he knew where Grady Snell's ranch was located, and he pointed to the north and said "Three gates." We thanked him and continued toward Grady's place. It turned out that the gentleman on the roof was the owner of the neighboring ranch, and Grady's nephew, Seymour Taylor.

Grady welcomed us to his home. It seems that he was having a "little party" and he and a couple of his ranch foremen were sitting under a huge patio that is attached to his house, and preparations were being made for the festivity. Naturally, the bar was open, which made the event even more pleasant, and one of his cooks, a shy young girl named Betty, was firing up the grill and getting ready to grill carne asada.

Left: Nancy, Grady's daughter, prepares pasta. Right: From left to right, the author, Grady, his ranch foreman, and Rodolfo Rincon, drink beer and pose on the patio.

Grady told us a little bit about himself, in that he is a direct descendent of the founding fathers of the Chamal Colony, and that he had inherited the ranch from his father. Grady was born in the state of Louisiana, and had spent much of his working life in the New Orleans area, working as a marine engineer, and he'd enjoyed a long and interesting career. Now that he had retired from the business world, he planned to focus his activities on running the ranch, and enjoying all the bounty that retirement, and the beautiful area in which he lives offers.

Left: The pond behind the house. The brick-lined path can be clearly seen in the photo. Right: Gourmet cook Betty cooks carne asada on the barbecue. Note that the barbecue has been fabricated from a beer keg.

We were shown around inside his beautiful home by his charming wife, and we especially enjoyed the interesting coin collection that he has, not to mention the full-service bar. The house is spacious, very comfortable, and quite elegant inside, although not all extravagant.

Left: From left to right, Lindy Taylor, Rodolfo Rincon, Grady Snell, and a neighbor pose for the camera on the patio. Right: Grady's charming wife grins for the camera, as guests help themselves to the fantastic pot luck.

Actually, I preferred to sit out on the patio, chat with Grady and his foremen, and watch Betty as she prepared the grill and lighted the fire. In talking to Grady, he let me know that most of his employees have been with him for many years, and a lot of them are descendents of employees that have worked for his family since the original Chamal Colony pioneers settled the land back in 1903. Actually, Grady really doesn't think of his employees as such, as to him they're part of a big, extended family. Grady treats his employees very well, and in return, he has a family of loyal employees. He pointed out that the Betty's mother had worked for him, and was now retired, and that Betty had been employed by him since she was of legal age. It's really great to see employers and employees who care about each other and treat each other like brothers and sisters.

Left: Guests serve themselves in the chow line. The lady in the red dress is Lillian Taylor. Right: This lovely lady was celebrating her birthday on this date.

Grady's adorable little granddaughter, Andrea, wanted to give me a tour of the pond in back out of the house. The grounds around Grady's house are park-like in atmosphere, with a pond behind the house, fed by a small stream that runs year-round, and shaded by majestic trees. Andrea was proud to let me know that the pond was the home of turtles, frogs, fish and another more sinister resident: an alligator! I didn't believe that one, so I excused myself and walked the path up to the patio, and asked the ranch foreman if there really was an alligator living in the pond. He assured me that it was true, and the alligator prefers to dine upon stray dogs that wander to the pond to take a drink. I asked him how could there be fish, frogs and turtles in the pond when it was home to an alligator, and he just shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't know.

Back at the pond, I allowed Andrea to give me a tour of the area. She's a very pretty, bright little girl, probably about 8 years old, and a non-stop talker. She's not at all shy and she respond to all of the questions that I asked her about mundane things such as her school, her friends and what short of things that she liked to do. She really gave my Spanish a workout, as she was a constant stream of chatter.

Left: From left to right, cute Andrea, Lillian Taylor and another guest pose for Jerry's camera. Right: Andrea observes the mouse that has been placed in the aquarium with a snake. The snake was a real chicken, as the mouse climbed all over it, and all it did was stick its tongue out. By the time we left, two hours later, the mouse was still alive, happily crawling all over the snake.

I rejoined the group on the patio, which was growing larger, as friends and relatives arrived from neighboring ranches. Most of the guests were descendents of the original Chamal Colony settlers, many related to the Snell and Taylor families. The party was a combination lunch and pot luck, so many of the guests brought with them various tempting dishes that they placed on a large table and displayed in true pot luck style. Rodolfo, Jerry and I felt bad that we didn't bring anything, but Grady had told us the day before to come as we were, so we took him at his word. We also noticed, in true Mexican style, that all of the guests were dressed quite well, and Jerry and I were dressed in shorts and t-shirts. Nobody seemed to notice, much less care, but we did feel a bit out of place. If I ever get the chance to attend another one of Grady's "little parties," I'll dress much better.

Left: The grandson knows how to charm snakes. Right; Guests are enjoying themselves under the palapa.

Grady provided the carne asada, warm corn tortillas, the soft drinks and the beer, not to mention the spectacular accommodations and the beautiful patio, plus a lot of great "banda" music playing on a boom box. Many of the guests brought food, and the feast consisted of carne asada, pork al pastor in sauce, delicious Mexican rice, pasta, potato salad, grilled chicken, chicken gravy, corn tortillas, and several varieties of salsa, all homemade, of course. Notice how the choice in food blends Mexican and American culture? I found that very interesting, and mingling with the guests, as most employed a mixture of Spanish and English. The Chamal Colony is a true blend of two great cultures.

Left: Seymour Taylor and Grady Snell converse with Rodolfo, who always seems to find himself in our photos. Right: My delicious lunch, garnished with the best salsa verde that I've ever tasted.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Lindy and Lillian Taylor, two direct descendents of the founders of the colony, along with their nephew, Seymour Taylor, and his wife. We found it interesting when the Taylors spoke English, they spoke with a deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas drawl, yet they spoke Spanish like a native. We recognized Seymour, as he was the guy working on the rain gutter of his house on the ranch next door who directed us to Grady's spread. We were introduced to all of guests, and almost all of them had interesting stories to tell about their family, their ranches and their lives in Tamulipas. The Snell and Taylor clans are filled with very interesting people.

We were amazed how Grady welcomed us into his home and invited us to spend a very pleasant afternoon socializing with his family and friends, and eating some of the best food that you can imagine. We'd only known him for 24-hours, yet he treated us as if we were one of the folks that he'd known for years. When it came time to leave, we couldn't thank Grady enough for his gracious hospitality. What a guy!

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