Erica Learned
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Bert Reyes’ office walls are lined with sentimental archives of the glory days for the Texas Cattle industry. Though the San Antonio Union Stockyards have been closed for nearly 15 years, Reyes remains the sole cattle man in a building now full of eclectic small businesses.
Reyes, a former cattle auctioneer, expert and breeder has begun negotiations to place his extensive compilation of livestock memorabilia into the hands of the Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s collections department.
This assortment of historical relics will be displayed prominently within the gallery of the newly renovated Federal Reserve ‘Presidio’ building in downtown San Antonio.
The collection will tell the story of the Reyes family’s success within the cattle business dating back to the 1790s. It will include historic portraits, cattle bill of sales as well as various paintings of prominent cattle breeds.
“The best thing is getting an opportunity to view the collection while Reyes is still around,” said Stefanie Wittenbach, Texas A&M-San Antonio University Librarian and collections manager.
“Most of the time we aren’t able to speak directly to the collections’ owners..as we went through he was able to show me what some of his favorite things are,” she said.
Reyes was the son of a Mexican immigrant and one of 14 siblings. Against all odds, his father put all his children through college, a feat rarely heard today. The knowledge he obtained at Texas A&M University helped him to revolutionize the cattle industry.
Over his career, Reyes has gained international recognition for his ability to buy and trade cattle profitably. One of his most notable sales was that of Lyndon B. Johnson’s cattle after he passed away in 1973.
“I met with Lady Bird for breakfast every morning until the selling was over. She wanted to be updated on the cattle,” Reyes recalled about the former first lady.
His other notable accomplishments include introducing Simmental cattle to North America, holding the first pure bred and bilingual auction in history and breeding ‘Haven Oyster,’ a prized heifer from England that was knighted by the queen.
Reyes even played a role in bailing out the Witte Museum when it was about to go under. “I suggested a cattle auction and in two sales they were out of debt,” Reyes said.
The collection will be used by the university for research as well as a focal point in the new Federal Reserve’s gallery. All other collections that currently reside in the Brooks Campus’ gallery, including the holocaust collection, will also be relocated to the new facility.
The building is on track to open January 2017, but all collections will not be open to the public until later that year.
