Weinzapfel, retired president of the Muenster State Bank and former mayor of Muenster, knows a sound investment when it crosses his desk. The second-generation banker is a long-time supporter of Noble Research Institute and also a ranch owner.
“I just enjoy going out and driving around, and I enjoy fishing,” Weinzapfel says of his ranch. “I used to enjoy hunting, but I really don’t care to kill anything anymore. While my wife was still alive, we always went out, had picnics, a fire, roasted weenies, s’mores, and that kind of stuff. It’s just a great place to go out and hang out.”
Weinzapfel’s interest in landownership stemmed from his father, who purchased 1,000 acres of Texas ranchland in the 1930s as an investment. He remembers his father leasing the land to a local rancher for many years. When that rancher retired, Weinzapfel and his brother-in-law tried their hand at managing the ranch, an experience Weinzapfel looks back on and chuckles at now.
“We asked my dad if it would be all right if we took over the ranch and see what we could do with it,” he explains. The duo hired a man from town to take care of the place. He didn’t realize his error in hiring a man with little ranching experience until his father-in-law, a successful rancher, questioned why the ranch was selling off cattle.
“We were told the cattle were old and needed to go, so we listened. My father-in-law knew differently. He said ‘they’re not old, they were just thin and underfed.’ Well, we decided then that we were not cut out to be ranchers,” Weinzapfel said with a wistful sigh. “So, Dad leased the place out to someone, then he finally sold it a few years later.”
Despite his unfortunate early foray in ranching, Weinzapfel never let go of the idea he’d been introduced to as a child — cultivating something beautiful and valuable from the rugged Texas landscape. He purchased his own piece of Texas dirt in the late 1980s.
Weinzapfel recalls the first time he heard about Noble Research Institute, then known as The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. “I guess back when I was 8 or 10 years old, I remember my dad took me to a plot where (Noble was) doing experiments and planting different stuff.” It was a place his father, and later Weinzapfel himself, could find trusted advice.
Since then, he’s heard folks talk about Noble and tried to keep up with the organization’s research and findings. He even trekked back to Ardmore a few times.
Over the years, Noble has become a resource for Weinzapfel. “I went up there for a couple of different seminars over the years,” he says. “(Noble has) all these experts and scientists with PhD’s and master’s degrees. And so, it’s just a world of knowledge.”
The decision to support Noble through a financial gift was easy. When Weinzapfel received a letter from Noble a few years ago, he mailed back a check. Since then, he has regularly supported Noble through financial contributions. He’s making an investment both in the organization and in the future of the land.
Ranchers across the country have access to Noble’s ‘world of knowledge,’ as Weinzapfel calls it. But it’s the rancher in his backyard who reminded him of the impact his gift has.
During a recent mailbox chat, his neighbor shared that his son spent three days in Ardmore at a Noble course.
“They’re doing a lot of work cleaning up the place,” Weinzapfel said of the neighboring ranchland. “It’s quite similar to mine; it has a lot of trees, some hills and creeks. It’s a nice place, and they’re taking a real interest in doing their own cattle operation. It will be interesting for me to watch and see what they do.”
At 90 years old, Weinzapfel has had time to reflect on his land and the care he’s given it. While he wishes he would have done some things differently, he’s hopeful for the future of ranching. It’s a generation he’s investing in to get it right.
