What prompted Kenneth Hatch Holbrook (1890-1963), born to a prosperous merchant family in Newton, MA, to move west? His granddaughter, Pattie Holbrook Oliver, doesn’t know for sure, but she does know that her father, Bill Holbrook, followed his parents to Arizona.
On a visit to Oregon in 1911, 20-year-old Kenneth met 19-year-old heiress, Jean Kerr, at Hood River. Three months later they eloped and Jean’s father, Alexander H. Kerr, owner of the Kerr Glass Manufacturing Co. (mason jars) was not pleased. Alexander was mollified when the couple married again in a church, and Kenneth agreed to learn the family business and settle in Portland. [Los Angeles Times, 9/2/1911]. Kenneth and Jean’s first son, Walter Thomas, was born a year later.
By 1914 the couple had moved back to Massachusetts and Kenneth was working for his father’s cotton goods (clothing) company. Sons Kenneth William “Bill” and Robert Kerr were born in 1914 and 1916 respectively. By 1930 Kenneth had assumed the presidency of the family business. After Kenneth’s father died in 1933, he and Jean retired to Santa Cruz County and later Tucson. They owned and raced horses in Tucson and Del Mar (CA).
Bill Holbrook grew up in Newton, MA, near Boston. He followed in his parents’ footsteps by eloping with Jane Bishop, the only child of a prominent auto dealer in Brooklyn, NY. [Hartford Courant, 7/8/1934]. The couple settled in Garden City, NY and had two children, Patricia Jane, born in 1937 and Kenneth William, Jr. “Bucky,” born in 1939.
Bill’s occupation in the 1940 census is real estate broker. Their daughter Pattie noted that both Bill and Jane also worked as models for the John Robert Powers Modeling and Acting Agency. In 1941 the family moved to Patagonia where they purchased a ranch on Harshaw Road they named the KJ Ranch.
Bill quickly learned the ranching business and became involved in community affairs. He joined Rotary, volunteered for the Santa Cruz County Fair & Rodeo Association (SCCFRA), and established the Santa Cruz County 4-H program in 1947. Pattie and Bucky attended the Harshaw one-room school through 3rd grade and completed 4th through 8th grade in Patagonia.
Bucky graduated from Patagonia High School and the University of Arizona. Pattie wanted to stay in Patagonia for high school, but her parents insisted that she attend a private high school in Palm Beach, FL.
In 1957 Bill and Jane sold the KJ Ranch to Anne and Floyd Stradling and moved to Patagonia where they operated the Holbrook Agency (insurance & real estate). [Arizona Daily Star, 8/8/1957]. Pattie noted that one reason her parents sold the ranch was because “they lost their cowboys (Pattie & Bucky).” The sale of the ranch did, however, free up time for politics and civic engagement.
Bill served 20 years on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors (1957-1963; 1968-1980), including as chairman. He was instrumental in the planning and construction of the Holbrook Overpass that connects Highway 82 to Grand Avenue, and of the Santa Cruz County jail. He served on the Arizona Highway Commission (1963-1968) and served as chairman (1967-1968).
Local projects completed during his tenure on the Commission included expanding the section of Highway 82 through Patagonia and improving Highway 83 between Canelo and Parker Canyon Lake. Bill died in 1980, age 66. After Bill’s death Jane remained in the Patagonia/Sonoita area. She died in 2001, age 86.
Special thanks to Pattie Holbrook Oliver who provided information and photos for this article.