A black and white photo postcard of branding on the Y Lightning Ranch, owned by the Mosons in Hereford, Arizona. A cowboy is on a horse and has roped a calf and is leading it. Another cowboy and more cattle are also in the picture with mountains in the background. The postcard is unused, and the publisher is unknown. Eva Bradshaw Collection.

The Y Lightning Ranch was a functioning cattle ranch that offered visitors a taste of rural life on the western frontier. Spanning 25,000 acres, the ranch offered recreational activities which included horseback riding, mountain climbing, tennis, hunting and picnics in the Huachuca mountains. At the elevation of 4,880 it boasted the ideal climate for visitors. The price was 35$ a week ($734.40 in 2021) in 1934 and $50 ($522.14 in 2021) per week per person in 1957 with extra charge for the horses. The Y Lighting Ranch was featured in the September issue of Arizona Highways in 1947and the 1934 brochure Guest Ranches on Lines of the Southern Pacific. The ranch was run by Frank Moson who was the stepson of Colonel William Cornell Greene. Frank also worked as a manager and secretary for the Green Consolidated Company which operated the largest ranch in Hereford. Frank B Moson was born on October 18, 1878, his widowed mother remarried wed to Colonel William Cornell Greene in 1884. Greene became wealthy through the copper mines in Cananea and acquired large ranches in Mexico alongside business partner Frank Proctor. At its peak the herds totaled around 33,000 head of cattle. Frank Bennett Moson married Pearl Parker, on January 3rd 1902 in San Augustine hotel. He acquired the Y Lightning ranch in 1918. Ten years before his death Moson was injured when his horse tripped threw him off his bank and crushed his leg when he couldn’t roll out of the way. His shin was broken, and it took four hours for him to be found and sent to the Copper Queen Hospital. He died at the age of 81 at the Copper Queen Hospital.

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