Bandera - the Cowboy Capital of the World – will celebrate the National Day of the Cowboy on the 26th of July with a parade.
In 1874, Bandera was the staging area for the last cattle drives on the Great Western Trail. The herds were large, up to 2,500 cows or more. It took at least 10 cowboys to move them. Cowboys in 1874 lived by a code that boiled down to grit, teamwork and care for each other. Called The Cowboy Code, it shaped the Old West and protected cowboys on often dangerous trips, herding cattle 650 miles from Texas to Kansas or 800 miles further north to Nebraska. In 1874, cowboys were 15 to 25 years old.
They came from all walks of life. Among others, they included ex-Civil War soldiers, freed slaves and a few women. The Cowboy Code they lived by still exists in Bandera.
This is the story of two young men living like cowboys in Bandera today.
In 2018, they shared a double barrel dream. Start a business and work hard to make it a success so they’d have the funds to regularly donate to charities. Joshua Pistone was 22 years old. His brother Caleb was 20. By 2024, that handyman business — Reddy Pros —was a construction company with a wide range of homeowner services.
Joshua and Caleb were home schooled and born in Bandera — a town their parents chose for an important reason. Its values matched theirs — “Be humble, stay teachable, and find a way to help others along the way.” Caleb says they live every day like working cowboys, shouldering their varied, hard tasks and burdens together from dawn to dusk.
“Tackling difficult projects and working with people often feels daunting, but with respect and clear communication, even the most complex issues can be easily solved.” Joshua says it’s the Cowboy Code.
“We built something from nothing, not because we were handed opportunities but because we sought opportunities out and built a team along the way. We took risks, made mistakes, and kept pushing forward when things got hard. Bandera is a place that rewards resilience. And we are proud to be part of that legacy. Success here isn’t given — it’s earned. And just like the cowboys who came before us, we didn’t wait for the right moment, we made it happen.”
They care for their “team” like cowboys in 1874. They pay their employees good wages with insurance, benefits, raises, bonuses, and making sure every project meets safety standards. Living by the Cowboy Code hiked their overhead costs compared to their competitors. But they never wavered.
They got excellent advice and support from good people along the way. Charlie Stancil, a retired Naval officer, a businessman and a true Texan, was an early client who became a close friend and adviser. Stancil died in 2021. Joshua says his influence continues to this day.
“He always encouraged me to push forward no matter what…and always reminded me that the reward for resilience is success…he was sure I would succeed if I kept working hard and stayed true to the standards that set me and my business apart.”
The Cowboy Code inspired other Bandera businessmen – Bill Beedle and Brett Morris – to help them too.
Beedle says it’s his “heart’s joy to work with the younger generation.” He’s a contractor, artistic woodworker, and a Bandera High School teacher. His business, BNK Wood Script makes hand sculptured items with “old world artisan quality and craftsmanship.”
Beedle taught a home-schooling high school industrial class Josh and Caleb attended. It taught them the fundamentals of marketing a business, managing its finances, its services and products and how to bid for jobs.
For 33 years, Brett Morris was an assistant Bandera high school football coach and teacher. He retired in 2013. He continues his “life’s calling” of “coaching and teaching” in his local painting company. Josh and Caleb worked for him before opening their own business, learning how to run a business day to day.
The Cowboy Code inspired them all Joshua and Caleb Pistone, Charlie Stancil, Bill Beedle and Brett Morris “to be like the working cowboy full of courage, optimism and plain ol’ hard work.” Cowboy ethics in Bandera, both historic and modern, represent the best of America and the best of us as a people.
Contact the Bandera Bulletin about people helping others. The paper’s dedicated to telling the stories of people living the cowboy code in Bandera.
