By Jean Schurman
Many who knew Vernon Woolsey thought of him as the water commissioner for the Bitterroot River, or the man who drove the nice black team in the Creamery Picnic parade. But Woolsey was a true cowboy. Not one of those fancy dressin’, high rollin’ type cowboys; but a cowboy in the truest sense of the word. He rode good horses, knew cattle inside and out, enjoyed a good joke, and most importantly, did what he said he would do, no matter what. Woolsey, who passed away in 2006, has been selected as a legacy member to the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Woolsey was born in 1919 in the Bitterroot Mountains up Ambrose Creek. His parents were Bitterroot pioneers Earl Clayton and Elizabeth Hayden Woolsey. The place he was born on is only about 10 miles as the crow flies from the Haywire Ranch on Middle Burnt Fork where he spent his life.
His love of horses began at an early age. At age eight, he had his first job riding horses about 12 miles up into the mountains to Burnt Fork Creek where they were constructing a dam. All of the heavy work was done with draft horses. He would mount on one horse and have the second horse tied to the tail on the first horse and take off up the creek to the construction site. His instructions were to ride up there and not get off. After he made the 12-mile trek, he would then spend the night and then come back with different horses. He earned enough that summer to buy his first horse, Blackie.
When Woolsey was about 12 years old he helped work on the Big Ditch. At first he just watched but then was asked to help out with the big draft horses. Ernie Patterson, also from Stevensville, showed him how to handle the lines and drive the draft horses. This was when he got draft horse fever. He went on to become one of the top teamsters in the state and incorporated driving into everything he did with horses. This experience of living and working on horseback enabled him to become the horseman he was. He broke and trained a lot of horses in his younger years and he was known for handling problem horses. One of the many things he did with these horses was teach them to drive because ‘you had to teach a horse manners and also teach them whoa!’ His daughter, Carola Mielke, said this sometimes created havoc while feeding cattle. He and Irvin Wortman, another Hall of Fame inductee who lived on South Burnt Fork, had many adventures teaching horses ‘whoa’ on the Burnt Fork.
Although he participated in rodeos throughout Montana and Idaho, his rodeo crew career came to a halt after losing a good friend in a bull riding accident. He continued to work on ranches throughout the Bitterroot, working with cattle and horses.
He served in the United States Army from 1941 to 1946 where he became a master sergeant while in Germany. It was there Woolsey met and married Maria Kantrowicz, the love of his life. He brought Maria and his daughter Verna home to the Bitterroot and set about establishing a life on the ranch on Middle Burnt Fork. He had made payments on this place throughout his time overseas. In addition to Verna and Carola, they had one son, Vic.
One of the first things he did was buy a horse from Patterson so Maria and the kids could learn to ride. Woolsey didn’t have just any one breed of horses; he had several different breeds throughout the years. Woolsey raised Morabs, a cross between Arabians and Morgans. This hardy cross made good trail horses with smooth gaits. He and Maria even had a pair of Morabs, Pet and Doll, who they square danced on at events throughout Western Montana.
The Woolseys were founding members of the St. Mary’s Saddle Club and traveled around doing Gymkhana type events. They had a reputation of being a tough team to beat. Woolsey bought a quarter horse stallion and bred him to some good Arabian mares and quarter horse mares. Some really good ranch horses came out of this combination but even then he was hitching them up and driving them.
He then bought a Percheron stallion, Bouncer, who was 17 hands tall and weighed about 1900 pounds. Next to arrive were some Percheron mares and a couple of thoroughbred mares. The ‘Thurcheron’ colts were mainly sent back east for fox hunting. The quarter horse and Percheron cross offspring were used as smaller teams.
During this time Woolsey and Maria helped establish the Bitterroot Draft and Driving Club. He enjoyed helping the younger horsemen, whether it was riding or driving. He would help at draft shows by riding in the classes with the younger members. They began showing in draft horse shows and in 1995 he won the senior driving at the Northwest Draft Horse Show in Sandpoint. One of the younger people he mentored was Shelley, his granddaughter. You can imagine how proud he was in 1996 when she won the junior driving at the same prestigious show
True horsemen never stop learning and that was true of Woolsey. In the mid sixties he began team roping and spent a lot of time with Wortman, Carola, his son Vic, and the neighbors. He was generous with his horses and if a kid wanted to horse but couldn’t afford it, he found a way for them to afford it. He told Carola, “If you learn to care for a horse and truly make him your friend, you’ll know how to deal with anything that comes along in your life, and you’ll never be alone.”
Woolsey guided hunters, furnished horses to the Forest Service, did dryland grain farming where he often used the horses in the early years to plant and harvest. They raised Hereford, Charolais, and even Brahma cattle. There were dogs, chickens, pigs, and everything that went along with farm life. The family was involved with 4H, FFA, and everyday neighborhood events. And through it all, Vernon Woolsey led the cowboy life. A quote in the program for his obituary said it best, “Cowboyin’ is not just what you do. . . It’s who you are.”
The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame is located in Big Timber, Montana. Other members of the class of 2015 are Frank Mason of Corvallis for the living award, and CB Rich of Seeley Lake for another Legacy award.