skills working at his father's general store in Socorro County, New Mexico, which was partially converted into a 10-room hotel. This was followed by varied experiences, including a stint as a representative in New Mexico's first State Legislature, and a career decision to become a banker.

He intended to buy a bank when he arrived in Texas at the height of the Texas oil boom. In 1919, he bought his first hotel instead, the 40-room Mobley Hotel