Castello Family – Elk Grove

When Helen Anita Carr and Clinton Cantrell Castello were married in 1934 the branding Iron H/C (Helen/Cantrell) was created in the Levi Castello blacksmith shop on Main Street (EG Boulevard) in Elk Grove. The branding Iron was used to identify the beef cattle on the Cantrell ranch on Bandeen Road. The Guernsey milking herd of the Castello Golden Crest Fairy was identified using ear tattoos indicating ownership and ear tag numbers identifying the individual herd animal for production and calving records. In the early 1950’s the hot branding of the beef was discontinued and the beef cattle were also identified using ear tattoos and ear tag numbers. This method was much quicker since the tattoo device could be used repeatedly with no waiting time between uses while there branding iron had to be reheated often to give a clear crisp brand. This made the yearly project of branding and vaccinating the beef herd much faster and far less stressful for the animals.