For a retired man, Bob Watkins admits to being a busy man. After 27 years in commercial construction in the St. Louis area, he has spent the last 20 years back in his home area along the Phelps-Maries County line, raising cattle and working in the restaurant business. And that’s what he calls retirement.
“I was born about five miles up the road so I guess you can say I didn’t get very far,” he laughed easily. Folks in St. Louis in various schools, hospitals and other institutions he helped to build as well as the city’s transportation jewel, the Metro-Link, would surely disagree.
“I was raised on a farm and I’ve always had a few cattle,” Bob continued. “We have black Angus cows that we cross with Braunvieh bulls, and I really like that cross. They put more pounds on the feeder calves so they do well in the feed lots. The cows are good calf-raisers and produce lots of milk.”
He continued, “We’ve gotten into full blood Braunviehs the last five years and we’re building a herd, getting more Braunviehs each year. Right now, I have about eight to 10 full blood cows and three full blood bulls. It takes time but…” he shrugged, “that’s no problem. We cut our own hay and have lots of pasture. We raise and sell a few bulls but mostly we have feeder calves.” The Watkins have approximately 60 head of cattle on 160 acres.
Meanwhile, no grass is growing under Jean Watkins’ feet as she owns and operates Country Bob’s Restaurant, a family-style restaurant at the northern city limit sign in St. James, Mo., in Phelps County. “This is my fourth restaurant,” the St. James native added with a smile at the end of another busy lunch hour, “and we just had our first anniversary here at Country Bob’s. We serve a lot of farm folks. We have a bunch who are here every morning, sitting at what we call ‘The Round Table’ and they pretty much solve all the world’s problems. Restaurant work is kind of like cattle. It gets in your blood and you don’t ever really get away from it.”
Bob also works in the restaurant and calls himself “the oldest bus boy in the state of Missouri.”
Their family of two daughters and a son, six grandsons and one granddaughter plus six great-grandchildren also keep them busy. “All of our kids live locally and our next great-grandchild is on the way,” Jean added with a proud grandmother’s smile.
“Of course, we’ve met a lot of nice people, along the way in both the restaurant and the cattle business,” Jean continued. “We had people in Country Bob’s recently, traveling through from Australia.”
Jean said her favorite part with the cattle are baby calves in the spring, running around on that green grass. “You just can’t beat that,” she said.
Bob grinned, looking back over the years. “Cattle are kinda like a bad fever. Once you get it, it’s always with you, but it’s a good life. You got to remember, you’re building a herd but we sell ‘em by the pound and this Angus-Braunvieh cross puts the pounds on and at a dollar a pound at the feed lot, every pound counts!”
