A native of Tomales, Wes Jamison was two months old when his
family moved to a 180-acre ranch in Bennett Valley on which Shropshire
sheep and Guernsey dairy cattle, hay, grain, prunes, apples, pears, and
grapes were raised. He attended the old Strawberry Grammar School and
Santa Rosa High School before enrolling at UC Davis where he was assistant
to the shepherd and scored national honors in livestock, dairy cattle, and
dairy products judging.
Following his graduation, with a BS in Animal Husbandry, in 1930, Wes became a cadet teacher in the agriculture department at Santa Rosa High School. He took over the department in 1937, remaining in charge until his retirement in 1968. During his tenure, he coached championship judging teams and saw many of his students become American Farmers, the highest degree awarded in FFA. In 1956, he became an honorary American Farmer himself at the National FFA convention.
When Wes was 10 years old he pulled his first lamb. In the years that followed, he bred a flock of nationally-recognized Hampshire sheep, first on the family ranch, then in Middleton, on Putah Creek, and eventually in Dixon. His yearling rams and registered ewes were sold throughout the country and he was one of the major consigners at the California and Dixon Ram Sales, where his animals commanded top prices at the auctions and through private sales.
He served as a director of both the American and Hampshire Sheep Breeders Associations, and was a 57-year member of the California Wool Growers Association. From 1927 to 1960 he was active in staging the California Ram Sale in Sacramento. As livestock manager of the Sonoma County Fair, Wes built the open division sheep exposition into one of the top shows on the county fair circuit. In 1979 he was hailed for his contributions to the American sheep industry and named the Redwood Empire's "Sheepman of the Year".