Ranch Dairy (1)

Willow Springs Ranch & Dairy — The 1940s (Part I)

Grace Carron and her nephew Bill Watkins purchased the ranch in 1941 and transformed it into a working dairy through the decade. Veronica and Hugh Arington lived and worked here, documenting daily life in detail.

Veronica and Hugh Arington at Willow Springs Ranch, 1940s.
Looking east from the Big House to the hogbacks — site near today’s golf maintenance area.
Original entrance gate to the Willow Springs Ranch working area.
The Willow Springs barn and silos — later used as the golf course maintenance building.
Mrs. Carron’s first dairy crew, 1942 — the team that kept the ranch & dairy running.
Hand‑milking the Holsteins inside the dairy barn — a daily routine during the ranch’s working years.
Winter chores — cleaning milk cans outside the round milk house.

More on rodeos, bunkhouse life, snakes, and daily operations continues in Part II.

The Early Days
1940s — Part I
1940s — Part II
Coors Waterfall
Photo Archive