MORE THAN A
LIVELIHOOD
HANSON FAMILY LEADS THROUGH SERVICE AND LOVE FOR THE RANCHING WAY OF LIFE by Managing Editor Stevie Ipsen
About 15 miles north of Susanville lies the picturesque Willow Creek Valley, a ranching haven with a plethora of landscapes. Lush green pastures with sagebrush-lined highways. There are timber covered mountain meadows to the west and rocky hills spotted with juniper trees to the east. The valley is home to some of California’s most historic ranches and ranch families. Jack Hanson, of the historic Willow Creek Ranch may be surrounded by life-long ranchers but he isn’t shy about saying he is a first generation, city-raised rancher who at first didn’t know a heifer from a steer. Hanson was a University of California, Berkeley, economics graduate who started his career as a stock broker in the Bay Area. Hanson arrived in Lassen County after a stint ranching in Tehama and Siskiyou counties. He had taken a liking to the rural culture and settled down on the Willow Creek Ranch that had been purchased by his parents in 1982. Just down through the pasture and down the highway lived Frank and Bernice Hagata, another one of those reputable life-long ranching families. Jack says there isn’t a day that goes by that he isn’t grateful his path crossed with Frank Hagata. The legendary Lassen County rancher took a liking to Hanson and invited him to dinner. Hanson arrived wearing not looking anything like a ranch cowboy and Frank’s daughter, Darcy. Jack says didn’t seem very impressed with his slacks and penny loafers, but the two eventually became an inseparable pair and have been
54 California Cattleman August 2024
partners on the Willow Creek Ranch, where they raised their sons Wyatt and Brad. They purchased the remainder of the Willow Creek Ranch from Jack’s parents in 1996. Darcy recalls their story differently and says she was impressed by Jack’s interest in their way of life despite his knowing so little about it. “Jack was immediately enamored with our family operation,” Darcy said. “My dad was taken aback by Jack’s quiet professionalism and it didn’t take me long to see what my dad did.” When Darcy and Jack met, she had returned from Cal Poly where she studied Ag Business and was currently working for the Lassen County Fair. Jack and Darcy have spent the last four decades as proactive producers running a successful cow-calf and hay operation. As a rancher’s daughter Darcy came equipped with plenty of ranching knowledge but Jack isn’t ashamed to admit he had a steep learning curve and credits a lot of credits a lot of his education to some great veterinarians and to the University of California Cooperative Extension for providing materials, workshops and advisors to help ranchers like him expand their knowledge about cattle ranching. “I took every opportunity I could to learn from anyone who could teach me about running cattle,” Jack said. “I was a devoted student of the extension service and gleaned a lot of knowledge from my father-in-law and our local ranchers, who are some of the best around.” Today the Hanson Family run about 500