Over the years, many people have wondered where the Flying G Ranch name came from so I am here to answer that question. My dad’s first name is Gary so the Flying Gary has been a common guess, but this is not the case. Gary actually married into the family and brought the Flying G Ranch back to life. Our story dates back to the early 1920’s when my great-grandfather, Adolph Gold, settled in Texas with his new bride. Adolph and Mary Gold started the Flying G Ranch in 1925 in the rural community of Caldwell, Texas. The couple bought 210 acres and built a house that still stands on the property today. They had three children, Henry, Lillian and Mildred. According to my grandmother, Lillian Gold Piwonka, they “had to walk to school uphill three miles both ways in the snow,” which sounds fishy considering it is south central Texas!
Bob and Lillian Piwonka,, 2nd Generation of Flying G Ranch
As Lillian tells the story, Adolph and Mary bought 600 additional acres in 1930. The family lived and worked farming cotton, growing row crops, chopping wood and raising animals. The Gold’s owned 2 horses, 20 mules, 50 sheep and 100 head of cattle. When the depression hit in the 1930’s, Adolph had to take out loans from friends to keep the land and animals that he and his family worked hard to obtain. By the start of World War II in 1941, Adolph had worked off the loans and saved enough money to buy a total of 352
more acres. The family decided to start raising chickens as a new source of income. The Gold’s bought 3000 chickens from Tennessee and had them delivered in boxes by the rural mail system. The family sold the eggs for $1 a dozen and by the end of 1941, they had enough money to buy their first gas-powered vehicle for a total of $800. Lillian described the truck as “a one seater, but it had room for two if you were skinny!” When Aldoph died in 1953 the land was divided between the three children. My grandmother Lillian received 332 acres where her and my grandfather, Bob Piwonka, started their venture into cattle. The young couple bought 20 cows and 1 bull. Bob and Lillian had two children, Pam and Lisa, and made the move to Bryan, Texas to raise them. During this time they kept up their cattle business eventually buying 50 registered Hereford cows and two registered Hereford bulls.
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Flying G Ranch Production Sale | 3.30.14
Built in 1925, the ranch’s original home still stands on the property.