“The Tippits took pride in having a good garden—at times planting 2,500 sweet
potato plants, 1,200 onions, 600 cabbages. They slaughtered pigs, cattle, goats,
and deer. They cured, pickled, or canned meat, made sausages, and rendered
lard. People came by the carload to see the orchard in bloom or laden with ripened
fruit: apples, pears, peaches, plums, grapes, various berries, nectarines, apricots,
cherries, figs, quince, pecans, walnuts, and almonds. Jack also grew vegetables
and crops such as rhubarb, sugarcane, cotton, and peanuts."
Tippits’ grandson Clifton, a historian and, as
was her late husband, active in the Texas
State Historical Association and the Texas
Historical Commission.
According to Caldwell's article and the
Tippits’ journal,
“Working the land without a tractor until
1939 meant hours of hard labor—plowing by
mule, planting, hoeing, watering, killing
bugs, and gathering. Canning took place on
a near-commercial scale, as few groceries
were purchased. The Tippits took pride in
having a good garden—at times planting
2,500 sweet potato plants, 1,200 onions, 600
cabbages. They slaughtered pigs, cattle,
goats, and deer. They cured, pickled, or
canned meat, made sausages, and rendered
lard. People came by the carload to see the
orchard in bloom or laden with ripened fruit:
apples, pears, peaches, plums, grapes,
various berries, nectarines, apricots,
cherries, figs, quince, pecans, walnuts, and
almonds. Jack also grew vegetables and
crops such as rhubarb, sugarcane, cotton,
and peanuts."
The Tippits’ ranch not only provided for
tourists, but regular large gatherings
occurred in the shadow of Mitre Peak for Sul
Ross students, the Odd Fellows, Bloys and
the Baptist encampments, complete with
dancing, band concerts, and games. Tippits
often enlisted members of these groups to
assist at the farm or with harvesting in the
orchard.
Tippits appears to have had an energy and
work ethic which far surpasses the average
person, and he continued to summit Mitre
Peak into his sixties, though through his
later years he suffered from rheumatoid
arthritis. With a vision greater than any
physical limitations, he facilitated the
building of Mitre Peak Park, which is now
the camp owned and operated by the Girl
Scouts of the Desert Southwest. Known
historically as Fern Canyon, with a year-
round spring and natural swimming pool,
Mitre Park consisted of several cottages, a
two-story lodge, commissary, and restaurant.
Though the automobile was still in its early
years, and travel was limited to rough dirt
roads without bridges, Jack Tippits managed
to explore and guide his guests to the
farthest reaches of the Big Bend and
Northern Mexico. His journals include
descriptions of his travels to places such as
"McDonald Observatory and Limpia Canyon,
Chisos Mountains, Persimmon Gap; the
Boquillas Hot Springs, Kingston Hotsprings;
Terlingua, Presidio, and Ojinaga; Santa
Elena Canyon; Fort Stockton; fishing trips to
Balmorhea and the Pecos river."
Though they continued to oversee park
operations, the Tippits family leased out
Mitre Park in 1937, which continued to be
run by a third party until the property was
sold to the Girls Scouts in 1946. According to
Scobee's 1960 article, the Scouts held their
first camp in 1947 with 56 girls in
attendance, the number growing to 648 in
1960, including three two-week sessions and
two one-week sessions. The Girl Scouts of
the Desert Southwest continue to operate
Camp Mitre. For more information on
current programs or to arrange a visit go to
www.gsdsw.org.
In 2018 Big Bend National Park recorded
almost a half-million visitors. Tourism and
outdoor recreation comprise a growing and
profitable industry in the Big Bend. Jack and
Mollie Tippits were some of the first to
recognize the value of this landscape and the
draw it would have, attracting visitors from
around the world.
The Tippits’ hospitality and stewardship of
the land near Mitre Peak are part of a lively
tradition, reaching back to the first
indigenous societies drawn by this awe-
inspiring peak and its promise of water,
sustenance, and beauty.
Circa 1940, a year-round spring fed natural pool, currently part of Camp Mitre Girl Scout Ranch. Archives of the Big Bend - Sul Ross State
University.
Cenizo
Winter 2020
27