Charles Anthony Falen, born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1821, spent several years on the high seas in the Swedish navy. Then, with his Irish wife, Margret (Cummings), and young son, he immigrated to the USA in 1844, moving on to San Francisco by way of the Isthmus of Panama in 1850. Their second son, Frank Falen, was born in San Francisco in 1855. Charles left his family in California, eventually making his way to the gold mining towns in Montana-Bannock in 1862 and later, Winston. He became a US citizen in 1876 and homesteaded his own land that year, raising cattle, vegetables and berries to sell in surrounding communities. In 1881 his son, Frank, came from California and homesteaded next to him.
The Hammons family traveled by covered wagon from Colorado to Helena, Montana, a mining town of few cabins. Their daughter, Clara who may have been the first baby girl born there, was married to Frank Falen in1884, and their second son Charles Francis Falen, was born in Helena in 1887.
Ethel Pickett, of May Day, Kan., moved with her family to Clyde Park, Mont., where she taught school before she married Charles F. Falen in Livingston, Mont., in 1907. In 1910, they loaded all of their possessions in a 1908 Brush car and relocated to a homestead near Jordan Valley, Ore.,-making a stop in Chalice, Idaho, where their second son, Leslie Falen, was born before traveling on. Leslie grew up on ranches in the Jordan Valley area and married Letha (Phipps). Their son John, born in 1937, was five years old when the family moved to the L-F Ranch 40 miles south east of Jordan Valley. It is there that John's youngest daughter, McDermitt Combined School Alumni, Johnna (Falen) Bruhn, remembers going to visit 'Grandma and Grandpa' Falen.
Johnna's mother, Sharon (Franklin) grew up in North Idaho and met and married her dad when he was a student at the University of Idaho. Johnna, their fourth child-following Cindy (Sherburn) (MHS teacher) Orovada; Frank Falen (MHS 1981) Cheyenne, Wyo., and Judy (Kershner) (MHS 1984) McDermitt-joined the family on March 20, 1970, in Wilder, Idaho, where they owned a feedlot. While there she remembers, at three-hitching a ride on an employee's back bumper, holding on to the tail gate. At a nearby stop sign he looked in his rear view mirror, saw the little girl, and nearly had a heart attack.
They moved to the Spivey Ranch near Oreana, Idaho the year Johnna started kindergarten, 15 miles from a bus stop. Her sister would drive them to the stop and the bus took them 20 miles to Grandview where Johnna went to kindergarten mornings, then traveled with the teacher another 20 miles to Bruneau for afternoon sessions. Thankfully she only had to go two days a week!!! Finally arriving at the Home Ranch in Humboldt County, Nevada, Johnna attended the Orovada School from 1st through 6th grade.
Transferring to McDermitt for seventh grade, she thought Mrs. Sue Russo was an amazing teacher and she loved being able to play sports. When her eighth grade basketball team coached by Mindy (Sherburn) Northrop won the Tri-County Championship it awakened knowledge that she and her teammates could do great things.
She looks back and reflects that the next six years, traveling the 33 miles to school every day with her sister Cindy, who was one of her teachers; her coach; as well as one of her best friends; was a blessing-not many people are that lucky! She was also fortunate to have coaches Neil Stevens and Bob Pace (head basket ball coach) during those years. Johnna says that today she finds herself comparing those involved with her kids to the coaches she had. People who played sports might see better coaches than they had, but she never has! In the 26 years since she graduated only one has met their standards and she is excited that her daughter, Kaylee, will play for him next year.
Another favorite teacher was Darlene Albisu for English, but says, "Alas Darlene! I still can't diagram sentences!" She believes that Elmer Porter taught her good computer skills at a transitional point in technology, and she loved wood shop with Mike Taylor-she still has one of the wooden rocking horses that she made.
During her junior year the Lady Dawgs lost only one basketball game, but like the vision following their eighth-grade triumph, they went on to win the state championship her senior year! She loved the four years that she participated in high school rodeo (coached by brother-in-law Loyd Sherburn), earning a spot on Nevada's team at the 1988 National Finals in cutting-developing a life time passion that she is passing down to her children. Johnna also played volleyball; was a cheerleader; and a member of the Academics Olympic team and student council. She firmly believes that working on the ranch, in construction, and at the Amex Mine, during her school years, along with sports, set life foundations for hard work and accomplishment.
Receiving a diploma in 1988 from her Dad, a school board member, and following a senior trip to Orlando, Florida, Johnna enrolled at UNR, majoring in business administration. While there she made two lifelong friends Melinda (Britton) Sarmen and Melissa (Munoz) McCoy. Her junior year she and Melissa participated in the National Student Exchange Program and attended Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) for a semester. It was fun, and she would often run into Nevada kids from High School Rodeo. Even though told, "Don't go down there and meet someone who won't transplant!"-in only three weeks she met Tommy Bruhn. Tommy was fith generation on a ranch in Eastern New Mexico, and since no one else could measure up to him, they married August 15, 1992, and Johnna moved to his family ranch near Logan, N.M.
With her Business Administration degree she entered the job market with zeal only to realize that eastern New Mexico did not have the thriving mining boom, nor business industries of Nevada. She returned to classes at ENMU (120 miles from home) and received Business Education and Secondary Education degrees, then began a teaching career in Computer Science (80 miles the other direction) in Dalhart, Texas. She also drew on skills learned from her MHS coaches and coached freshman girls basketball. In her 'free' time, she was an Adjunct Instructor at Mesa Lands Community College in Tucumcari, N.M., teaching Quick-Books and computers-all this while obtaining her Masters in Education Administration degree in 1997.
An entrepreneur, Johnna began her own ultra-sound business-evaluating seed stock cattle for carcass merit, before being recruited by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA). She began working for them after her daughter Kaylee was born in 1999 and eventually, growing tired of traveling with a portable crib and a nanny, she sold the ultra sound business. After her son Gage was born in 2001 she bought some vending machines and developed a side business in 'gum balls' and 'capsule toys'. Still under-challenged, she opened a garden center called 'Ever Blooming Thing' in 2002 under the guidance of her college friend Melissa who owns a successful garden center in Susanville, Calif. Demands of vending, due to its success and miles it covered, forced her to sell the vending business after seven years, concentrating on her NMDA job and her garden center.
Growing children and demands of the family operations prompted the sale of the garden center after nine successful years in 2012. In 2010 Tommy and Johnna, after dabbling in guide hunting for several years, started an outfitting/hunting business called Canadian River Outfitters which boomed in 2012. As well as on their own property, they hold leases in New Mexico for guided hunts for a variety of game.
Still working full time for NMDA, Johnna is the policy/plan analyst for the soil and water conservation districts. Her office is in her home but she travels extensively to communities in her district, which covers the Northeast quarter on the state.
Johnna's daughter Kaylee, just finished her freshman year in a school about the size of her mom's Alma Marta, with generations of Bruhn pictures adorning the hallways. Kaylee loves basketball but like her mom, she thrives on high school rodeo, participating in barrels, goat tying and team roping. She is active in FFA and enjoys the Vet-Tech as she plans to be a veterinarian. Gage, now 12, participates in junior rodeos, plays football, basketball and baseball (In his last game he hit a grand slam). Both kids hunt with Dad and Mom, having antelope, elk, turkey, as well as trophy whitetail and mule deer to their credit!!
Always seeking a challenge, Johnna felt that they had reached a peak, and then they made the decision to buy out Bruhn Ranch and Farm during the worst draught in NM history! Tommy and Johnna recently signed a lease on a place in Ada, Oklahoma and will soon have some cattle there as well as their home place. Johnna says that if she ever decides to retire, she will fill her time providing financial counseling through her church and taking grandkids to rodeos.
She was honored to be invited back to MHS as a guest speaker a year ago when her niece, Sharon Sherburn, graduated and personally delivered her advice to the graduating class. "Avoid as much college debt as possible-don't fall into the trap of incurring a lot of debt to get your degree. You don't have to if you are willing to work. I 'cash flowed' my graduate education and I believe that establishes a habit for a debt free life-at least until you buy out the family ranch!!"
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