That was quite a ride!. I reckon I only have one question, Was Baxter Black correct about the wind in Wyoming?I'm the oldest here, at least on this thread. Turned 76 last September. Do I win a prize?
Married young to a young rancher whose folks had a small place in WY.
We were in the right place at the right time and were able to lease a ranch
in 1965 by running cattle on shares. It was a good place, great irrigated hay meadows, and the years were good. It sold and we left there in 1973 and went to a grass and cake outfit in WY. 72,000 acres. The owner passed away in 1975 so we had to leave. It was either find a place or go to work for someone. We found a small place in SW Montana and left our family and friends and moved there. We were there until 1993 when we moved to SE Montana. Bigger place. We ran Hereford cattle at the first place (WY) because it was a Hereford Ranch. We moved those cows to SW Montana and in 1979 we bought our first Black Angus heifers. Eventually our cattle were all Black Angus. We ran 200 head in SE Montana. I became a Vigortone mineral dealer in 1994 and it was life-changing. So I'm going on 28 years as a dealer. What an education we got; learned so much we didn't know that helped us and helped our neighbors and friends there. We always put up hay except for the 2 years on the grass and cake ranch. The SE MT ranch had some land in CRP, so that helped make the payments. We paid that place off and retired in 2016 and moved back to WY where our family is. I say, after being gone for 40 years that "we came home to die." Good people and good friends in Montana for sure, we had just been gone from our family too long. So we still put up hay on our little place here, but have no cattle or horses; just one cat that is 19 years old. I have to mention, we always had good cowdogs and we appreciated them all. They sure made working cattle easier.
Go to photo contest forum with and cattle today family pics thread. Still there. It's locked up. Gonna take someone with mod rank I guess.
This is why it's locked and with permission only to AlisonB (or whoever else may be assigned control over it) It is not 'broke' either.a'll broke it!!! Oh my!! I could have posted Chevy all day, talked about Chevys, and ranted even hypothetically punch dogs and slapped grannies...but ya'll broke the family pictures.
We had a 79-year-old that was here (probably 80 now) but the Mod, that had full control at the time, did not like his politics and he is no longer here. He was a good guy and gave me a lot of sage advice. I just wish I had gotten his contact information before he was exiled. I sure do miss him, and I hope he is well. If anyone has his contact info, please private message me. I remember last year when he was worried about getting hay to some of his cattle that were several miles away during the Tx cold spell.I'm the oldest here, at least on this thread. Turned 76 last September. Do I win a prize?
Married young to a young rancher whose folks had a small place in WY.
We were in the right place at the right time and were able to lease a ranch
in 1965 by running cattle on shares. It was a good place, great irrigated hay meadows, and the years were good. It sold and we left there in 1973 and went to a grass and cake outfit in WY. 72,000 acres. The owner passed away in 1975 so we had to leave. It was either find a place or go to work for someone. We found a small place in SW Montana and left our family and friends and moved there. We were there until 1993 when we moved to SE Montana. Bigger place. We ran Hereford cattle at the first place (WY) because it was a Hereford Ranch. We moved those cows to SW Montana and in 1979 we bought our first Black Angus heifers. Eventually our cattle were all Black Angus. We ran 200 head in SE Montana. I became a Vigortone mineral dealer in 1994 and it was life-changing. So I'm going on 28 years as a dealer. What an education we got; learned so much we didn't know that helped us and helped our neighbors and friends there. We always put up hay except for the 2 years on the grass and cake ranch. The SE MT ranch had some land in CRP, so that helped make the payments. We paid that place off and retired in 2016 and moved back to WY where our family is. I say, after being gone for 40 years that "we came home to die." Good people and good friends in Montana for sure, we had just been gone from our family too long. So we still put up hay on our little place here, but have no cattle or horses; just one cat that is 19 years old. I have to mention, we always had good cowdogs and we appreciated them all. They sure made working cattle easier.
I'm the oldest here, at least on this thread. Turned 76 last September. Do I win a prize?
Married young to a young rancher whose folks had a small place in WY.
We were in the right place at the right time and were able to lease a ranch
in 1965 by running cattle on shares. It was a good place, great irrigated hay meadows, and the years were good. It sold and we left there in 1973 and went to a grass and cake outfit in WY. 72,000 acres. The owner passed away in 1975 so we had to leave. It was either find a place or go to work for someone. We found a small place in SW Montana and left our family and friends and moved there. We were there until 1993 when we moved to SE Montana. Bigger place. We ran Hereford cattle at the first place (WY) because it was a Hereford Ranch. We moved those cows to SW Montana and in 1979 we bought our first Black Angus heifers. Eventually our cattle were all Black Angus. We ran 200 head in SE Montana. I became a Vigortone mineral dealer in 1994 and it was life-changing. So I'm going on 28 years as a dealer. What an education we got; learned so much we didn't know that helped us and helped our neighbors and friends there. We always put up hay except for the 2 years on the grass and cake ranch. The SE MT ranch had some land in CRP, so that helped make the payments. We paid that place off and retired in 2016 and moved back to WY where our family is. I say, after being gone for 40 years that "we came home to die." Good people and good friends in Montana for sure, we had just been gone from our family too long. So we still put up hay on our little place here, but have no cattle or horses; just one cat that is 19 years old. I have to mention, we always had good cowdogs and we appreciated them all. They sure made working cattle easier.
Thanks for that story.I'm the oldest here, at least on this thread. Turned 76 last September. Do I win a prize?
Married young to a young rancher whose folks had a small place in WY.
We were in the right place at the right time and were able to lease a ranch
in 1965 by running cattle on shares. It was a good place, great irrigated hay meadows, and the years were good. It sold and we left there in 1973 and went to a grass and cake outfit in WY. 72,000 acres. The owner passed away in 1975 so we had to leave. It was either find a place or go to work for someone. We found a small place in SW Montana and left our family and friends and moved there. We were there until 1993 when we moved to SE Montana. Bigger place. We ran Hereford cattle at the first place (WY) because it was a Hereford Ranch. We moved those cows to SW Montana and in 1979 we bought our first Black Angus heifers. Eventually our cattle were all Black Angus. We ran 200 head in SE Montana. I became a Vigortone mineral dealer in 1994 and it was life-changing. So I'm going on 28 years as a dealer. What an education we got; learned so much we didn't know that helped us and helped our neighbors and friends there. We always put up hay except for the 2 years on the grass and cake ranch. The SE MT ranch had some land in CRP, so that helped make the payments. We paid that place off and retired in 2016 and moved back to WY where our family is. I say, after being gone for 40 years that "we came home to die." Good people and good friends in Montana for sure, we had just been gone from our family too long. So we still put up hay on our little place here, but have no cattle or horses; just one cat that is 19 years old. I have to mention, we always had good cowdogs and we appreciated them all. They sure made working cattle easier.
Gosh, you make it sound like he'll be traveling home soon. He's doesn't get a prize until he completes his last 20 year chapter of his best life to come.Thanks for that story.
You lived a good life. Enjoy your return home.
We all doGosh, you make it sound like he'll be traveling home soon. He's doesn't get a prize until he completes his last 20 year chapter of his best life to come.
I been around. I seen some things. Most of my stories probably not appropriate for a 'family forum'.