Charles T. Kimura
Year Inducted: 2003
Parker Ranch | Hawai'i
Charlie’s 47- year career as a Parker Ranch cowboy began when he was only 12 years old and signed-on as a summer hire. By the time he retired in 1996, he had been Livestock Manager for 18 years. Some would say his destiny was pre-ordained, as he followed his Father, Yutaka, who spent his entire 49-year career as a Parker Ranch cowboy, herdsman and livestock breeder. Charlie says his father “put him on the right track” by telling him both the positives and negatives of his own accomplishments. They would have discussions about ranching long after others had left the dinner table. On one such occasion, the father told his horse- loving son, “This is not a horse ranch. The horse is just a working tool”, and Charlie respected that advice.
When he was in high-school, Charlie wrote that his career would be in Animal Husbandry. True to his word, Charlie later began working with the Ranch’s registered Hereford herd and then became foreman of the herd and the Makahalau and Paaukau sections. It wasn’t long before he was given the additional responsibility of marketing the cattle. Then he became Mana Division superintendent and then Ka`u Division Manager.
But the highlight of his career came in 1978 when Charlie was promoted as the Parker Ranch Livestock Manager. That was where he had his “big opportunity”, he says. He found that crossbreeding was the answer to genetic improvement of the stock. That was only the beginning. In his words, ”you cannot express genetic potential without the proper environment”. Charlie’s enlightened approach led to holistic resource management as the ranch’s operational goal. They say that the cowboys who worked for Charlie “loved him”, that he brought a lot of change in a “graceful” manner, and he was successful as a manager because he started as a cowboy.