From the open skies of Wyoming, here’s this month’s short story about ranch life, an insight I learned from my family, and a piece of trivia, along with a bit of book news.
Story
My great-grandfather, Isaac, was born in 1844 on the Danish island of MØN in the Baltic Sea. This farming region had only 84 square miles, and the arable land was already claimed by existing owners when Ike was young. Because Denmark practiced male-line primogenitor and Ike wasn’t the firstborn son, he couldn’t inherit any estate from his father. He knew early on that he’d have to look elsewhere to make a good living.
In 1865, twenty-one-year-old Ike took off for the United States and later settled in Rawlins, Wyoming, where he stayed for the rest of his life. During that time, he built and sold several businesses, served four years as county sheriff, became a bank president, and was Rawlins’s first mayor. In 1874 he married Ada Kirk, and they had six children, a family as large as Ike’s had been in Denmark.
As the owner of a major sheep ranching operation in Wyoming, Ike helped build the wool industry for decades. In 1911, near the end of his life, he was driving a two-horse team across the ranch with his teenage daughter Katrina when she asked him if he would ever sell part of the ranch. Ike said no.
When he passed away the following year, his children’s inheritance included the I Lazy D Ranch, a property three times the size of the island where he had been born.
Insight
From Great-Grandfather Ike: It’s important to always take care of your family—and to make any necessary sacrifices if required. Family first.
Trivia: Did you know?
Even though Ike was a property owner, sheriff, mayor, and successful business man, it wasn’t until 1887, more than 20 years after he first arrived in the States, that he completed the process for his certificate of US citizenship.
Book News
The audiobook edition of my memoir, A Sometimes Paradise, is now available! My huge thanks to Tantor Audio and award-winning narrator Danny Campbell for bringing my story to life. It’s the perfect listen for a long drive. Check it out here.
Happy New Year!
Until next month,
Mark Miller
“While the ghosts of our evolving topography may no longer recognize me, I will never forget the ranching heritage my great-grandfather started—or the lineage he bred.” From A Sometimes Paradise.
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