Arizona Daily Star
In 1939, a group of Douglas-area ranchers and their wives started getting together to dance.
Sixteen women in the circle of friends decided to call themselves "The Cowbelles," adapting a picture of a cow's head with a bell around its neck as its logo.
Chapters spread to other counties under the banner of Arizona State Cowbelles in 1947. The organization then went nationwide, spanning 28 other states, shedding the Cowbelles name in 1986 to become known as American National CattleWomen.
The Arizona affiliate has retained the Cowbelles moniker.
Starting off as a group meant to support fathers and husbands who were ranchers, the Cowbelles evolved into an educational arm of the beef industry, promoting it to the public. The group stages ranch tours, holds beef cookoffs, educates teachers about the beef industry and names Beef Ambassadors - internlike students who assist the organization in its publicity efforts.
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"Our goal is beef promotion," President Suzanne Menges said. "We take that to heart, and do all sorts of activities."
The Arizona State Cowbelles boast more than 230 members, including a 105-year-old original member who lives in Douglas. There's a Cowbelle and Santa Cruz Ranching Museum at the 1904 Santa Cruz County Courthouse in Nogales, Ariz.