Member Profiles - Ralph Trussell (by Reed Stone)

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Many of our fellow Rotarians have stories and interesting life experiences that we don’t know about.  This is the first in what I hope will be series of articles featuring some of our Rotary associates, starting with our oldest active member, Ralph Trussell.

Ralph was born on June 30, 1915 in the Texas panhandle community of Kelton (Wheeler Co.).  The oldest of 5 siblings (2 sisters and 3 brothers) Ralph lived a true country childhood.  His family operated a small country store, but lived on a 640 acre farm where they raised cotton, corn, and maize.  The home had no electricity, and water was pumped from a well by windmill.  Ralph attended school about 2 miles from home and can truthfully tell his grandkids about walking to school through sleet and snow.  Ralph’s panhandle memories include cold winters, windy summers, and hiding in a storm cellar when tornado (called cyclones by locals) conditions occurred.

In 1925 Ralph’s father tired of farming and decided to try ranching, so the family moved to a 1400 acre ranch ten miles south of  Lampassas.  The local school was now ten miles from home, too far for even Ralph to walk.  So Ralph’s dad bought a used Model T coupe with glass windows for Ralph to drive himself, a brother and sister to school and to use for personal needs.  Can life be better than that for a fourth grader?

Ralph lived in Lampassas until ninth grade when the family moved again to Burnet, where Ralph completed high school in 1933 (before Reed Stone was born).  Yes, Ralph played football, end on defense and running back on offense.  The team had only about 15 players so everybody played double duty.  How good was Ralph?  Well he was good enough to attract the attention of one June Duncan, who was one grade behind Ralph.  They would marry in 1944.

In 1941 Ralph joined the ArmyAir Corps and was assigned to pilot training as an aviation cadet.  Upon earning his wings in 1943, Ralph was commissioned a 2nd Lt and assigned to fly the C-54 , the Army’s primary four engine long range transport.  After the war ended in 1945, Ralph remained on active duty in Bermuda where he operated the passenger and air freight terminals.  This experience led to several later assignments both in the U.S. and South America.

In 1948, the Soviet Union blockaded the city of Berlin in an effort to drive the Allies from the city.  The Allies responded with what was called the Berlin Airlift -- round the clock cargo flights into three airports in Berlin.  The primary U.S. airplane was the C-54, and Ralph flew his first mission about one month after the blockade began.  His primary cargo into the city was coal, carried in canvas bags, each weighing about 100 pounds.  A C-54 could carry about 150 of these bags, each loaded and unloaded manually, and could be loaded or unloaded in about twenty minutes.  Flights into Berlin were spaced at 3-6 minute intervals with all aircraft flying at the same altitude.  Crews had one attempt at landing.  If they missed the runway for any reason, the plane remained in queue and returned to West Germany and started all over again.  Ralph flew a total of 66 missions and was then assigned to liaison with the French at Tegel Airport in Berlin until the end of the blockade in 1949. After Germany, Ralph was assigned briefly to an Air Force Base in Massachusetts until the Korean War started in 1950.  From 1951 – 54 Ralph flew C-119’s from bases in Korea and Japan.  By the end of Ralph’s flying duties he would log more than 3000 hours.

In 1954 Ralph was assigned to his only Texas assignment, Kelly AFB in San Antonio.  This assignment was followed in 1956 by two years with the Brazilian Air Force in Receife, Brazil.  His job was to facilitate US Military flights in and out of Brazil, primarily in support of space and missile launches out of Cape Canaveral.  His family (June and two sons ages 10 and 6) joined him there.  Ralph proved resourceful in Brazil.  Good food (steaks and lobster) were plentiful, but pasteurized milk was unavailable.  So Ralph bought his own milk pasteurizer at Sears in the U.S and had it shipped to Brazil.  The idea caught on and soon Ralph was producing milk for Brazilian families as well as his own.

In 1958, Ralph was assigned to McGuire AFB in NJ where he was an airlift control officer.  From NJ, Newfoundland was a first stop for flights to Europe.  A lifelong hunter, Ralph took the opportunity to go on a two-week hunt in Newfoundland for moose.  He bagged a bull moose weighing about 1200 pounds.  Unfortunately for Ralph, he made his kill more than a mile from the nearest road.  It took him two days and more than ten trips to carry and drag the dissected moose to his car, and it was the hardest work he ever did.  Ralph ate and gave away moose meat for over a year.  Ralph killed exactly one moose in his hunting career.

In 1963, Ralph retired from the Air Force and took a job with Hughes Aircraft in Los Angeles.  Then, in 1965, Ralph moved to Washington, DC, to work for the Navy Dept as a civilian.  His title was Naval Control Officer for Airlift Fleet Support.  The job was to arrange flight clearances to and from foreign countries, a job in which Ralph had lots of experience.  Upon leaving the Navy Dept. in 1979, Ralph took one more foreign job, this time in Western Australia where he again facilitated airlift missions to and from Australia.  I think Ralph left Australia because of the food.  A staple was canned “meat pie and sauce” (mutton) which even the Aussies didn’t like.  Ralph hasn’t eaten mutton since.

In 1980, Ralph decided it was time to return to Texas.  His family still owned property in Burnet, but Ralph and June chose Austin.  His first love remained ranching so Ralph purchased 400 acres in Liberty Hill, which he named Liberty Bell Ranch.  The ranch still uses the “Rocking T” brand that Ralph’s father registered in the 1920’s.  Ralph’s herd consists of about 300 sheep and goats, 40 cows, and one happy bull.  Ralph is still a hands-on rancher.  He takes livestock to auction in Llano and Taylor, hauls feed and seed and fertilizer to produce most of the feed needed for the winter.  NWAR enjoyed several summer picnics at the Liberty Bell Ranch.

Ralph joined NWAR in 1985 and I’m proud to say I was his sponsor. !  Ralph is a three time Paul Harris Fellow and has twenty years perfect attendance.  He and June hosted a Rotary scholar from Brazil, a high school exchange student from Mexico, and two Russian women in their home.  He regularly attends our Bi-District Conferences.  He is also a par producer in every year of our fruit sales, and has won more than his share of 50-50 pots.

Ralph and June are world travelers.  Foreign countries they have visited include the Soviet Union, China, Tibet, India, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, New Zealand, Greece, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and all the countries of Western Europe and South America.  He and June have even been to the Galapagos Islands.  Ralph is a lifelong country music fan and still goes dancing at local dancehalls every week.  In a life full of unexpected adventure, perhaps we should not be surprised by a more recent claim to fame - Ralph made money in Enron!  From driving a model T to school, to moose hunting, from being “ein Berliner” with JFK, to pasteurizing milk in Brazil and eating sheep pies in Australia, and seeing most of the world firsthand… what a grand and fascinating life he has had!