Rancheros Visitadores sterling tie slide made by Holland's of San Angelo, Texas
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Rancheros Visitadores sterling tie slide made by Holland's of San Angelo, Texas
Wonderful maker marked vintage sterling silver tie clip. Retailed by Holland’s of San Angelo, Texas. Holland’s has been the leading fine jewelry West Texas jewelry retailer since 1918.
This tie slide was custom made for a member of the Rancheros Visitatadores. Marked STERLING. Notable members of the Rancheros Visitadores include President Ronald Reagan, Ed Borein, Walt Disney, and Clark Gable.
Some history on the Rancheros Visitadores — “Back in the days of Old California, the ranchers of that Mexican province made it a custom to ride from ranch to ranch to help their neighbors with the spring roundup and other chores. Tied down to vast estates as they were for most of the year (a ranch of 35,000 acres was not uncommon), the ranchers and their families made the most of these visits. Their lonely lives were eased by a burst of dances, dinners and parties on what was no doubt known as the hacienda circuit. But like so many Latin customs which smacked of the finer feudal graces, that of the visiting ranchers, or los rancheros visitadores, vanished after the arrival of the aggressive Yanqui with his more practical but unromantic ways.
The custom probably would have wound up as a colorful footnote in a WPA guide or as a 23-letter word down in the Sunday crossword puzzle if it hadn't been for John J. Mitchell, a financier with a flair for the outdoors. Early in 1930 Mitchell, the owner of Rancho Juan y Lolita near Santa Barbara, thought it would be fun to try to recapture the spirit of Old California. He sent out invitations, and 65 friends showed up. They had such a dandy time on their one-day jaunt that one of the riders, T. Wilson Diblee, suggested the gathering formally adopt the title Los Rancheros Visitadores in honor of the ranchers of old.” -from a Sports Illustrated article in 1951.