Forest Stanley is listed in 1880 census in Crooked Creek Pr, Lake County, Oregon; the 1990 census in Hamilton, Ravalli Co. Montana occupation, cattleman, farmer. Forest Stanley was born in Lakeview, Oregon to a cattleman and rode horses as soon as he could fit in a saddle. He went east rather than West by covered wagon from Oregon to Wyoming. He lived in the area around Sheridan Wyoming and in south central Montana, working as a cowhand. He was known as the best roper and bronc rider in the area. His son, Loyd, remembers watching as the cowboys made bets on who could rope the most calves without missing. roping calves meant slipping the lasso around the two hind legs of the calf. It was a difficult task, often ending in the cowboy tangling his work horse in the rope. Forest invariably won the bet. Loyd said he would watch him rope three or four days lassoing up to 300 calves without missing. Loyd remembers only one bucking bronco that Forest was unable to ride. After he was thrown several times he got up, dusted off his britches and said, "no one will ever ride that one!" and he was correct. Although Forest was did not ride bucking broncos for show, when anyone had a horse he absolutely couldn't break, he was told, "Take it to Shep Stanley, the horse hasn't lived that he can't break". Cowpunchers would round up calves in Spring for branding and castration. This roundup was done be sections. Nearly all the cattle rounded up were on the owners own property as natural boundaries, such as rivers, creeks and mountains kept them from wandering. If a calf was with its mother, and the mother was of a different brand, the calf was nearly always returned to the rightful owner. or branded where it was found with the correct brand. Another roundup was held in the Fall. The beef cattle (four years olds) were cut out of the herd and shipped off to Omaha or Chicago. The cattle who were not doing well were rounded up in the winter and brought to the ranch where they could be fed. The good cattle were left to roam the range. Line camps were set up two or three miles apart where a couple cowboys would stay during the winter months to be sure the cattle were doing well. Forest worked at all of these jobs and also rented 100 acres to farm. After acquiring a few head of cattle, he rented 200 more acres.. He also kept several sheep. Forest came across a fiddle and taught himself to play it. He was soon in demand to play at all the local dances. Forest's older brother, Loren's, widow, Ina Dayton Stanley, came to live with Forest's family in Wyoming after the death of her husband in Colorado. Two years later, she and Forest were married. Forest was called 'Shep'. I made inquiries as to how he came by the nickname. I received the following letter from Alice Stanley, the widow of (Bob) Grove Stanley, who was the son of Forest.: "Bob was going to write to you as he did know why Dad Stanley was known as Shep in Montana. You know (or else your dad can explain how a sheepherder will motion with his hands to his dog and say, "Go out around them up Shep, bring 'em in." Well, one morning Dad Stanley had to go somewhere quite early. He went on foot into the field to round up the horses so he could catch his favorite saddle horse. Time and time again he would get the horses up to the corral gate only to have them break away and return to the pasture. Some of his buddies started teasing him , waving their hands and and calling out, "Go out around them, Shep, Bring 'em in Shep." No one would help Dad. They thought it funny and kept teasing. Finally Dad Stanley did get the horses into the corral. he caught his horse, saddled up and then opened the gate and drove the remaining horses to the far side of the pasture. He was so angry that the others would not come to help him that he made them round up their own horses when they needed them. From that day on, he was known as 'Shep' Stanley. Bob told me this when he got your letter, so I can pass it on to you." The following stories were told by Earnest Stanley, my father, the son of Forest Stanley.: "I don't know what it was about the springtime, but every spring Dad would take a notion to drive the car. The car had no top and, of course, was manual shift. One time Dad took it down the old dirt road that had deep drainage ditches down both sides. Over he went down into the ditch. The Dryer kids came along in their horse drawn wagon and pulled the car back onto the road. Dad didn't touch the car again until the following spring. He got into the car and made it into town this time. He filled the car with some of his buddies and headed for home making it all the way back. He pulled up the the cook shed where the car was kept. Along the shed was a trough where the garbage was thrown and saved for the pigs. When Dad neared the shed, and needed to slow down to a stop he yelled "WHOA", but the car failed to obey his command. It hit the garbage trough causing the pig slop to fly up into the air, over the windshield and into the car, thoroughly covering his passengers." "My brother, Loren, was chopping wood for the teacher, a job the school boys took turns doing. Loren swung the star axe up over his head, ready to drive in a wedge, he struck the base of his skull and the blood was gushing out. Ina, his mother, Loyd and Bob, Loren's brothers, did all they could to staunch the flow, but nothing worked. Loren was bleeding to death. Then the boys spotted Dad on his horse from a distance. They knew it was Dad by the way he rode, always standing more than sitting in the saddle. They raced to him to bring him to Loren. Dad quickly ran into the teacher's house and gathered up all the tobacco from cigarette butts left by Mrs. Noyes' (the teacher) brother. He stuffed the tobacco into Loren's wound and the thus stopped the bleeding. Loren stayed at Mrs. Noyes' house because he was too weak to be brought home." "Dad was plowing one day when suddenly as he turned the horses pulling the plow they bolted and had to be settled down before he could continue. It happened again when he got to the far end of the field. He couldn't figure it out. Every time he got to the spot where he made the turn, the horses bolted. It went on all morning. Finally he came in for the lunch my sister, Helen, had prepared for him. He commented to her about the problem, 'I just can't figure it out. Every time I get to the far end of the field and head back, the horses bolt. It happens every single time.' Dad finished his lunch and went back to plowing. He got to the far end of the field and heard 'Yoo-hoo' coming from the house. There was Helen with a mirror flashing the reflected light into the horses eyes, and they bolted." "One of Dad's best friends was P. R. Krone who had several daughters, but no sons. Dad would always rib Krone saying, 'he wasn't man enough to have sons'. It bothered Krone, but he never let on. One day Krone met up with Dad and offered him a cigar. "Here Shep, have a cigar, I finally have a boy." Dad took the cigar and replied, 'A real man would have had a boy first.' Again Krone put up a good front trying not to let Dad know the remark stung, but when Krone got with his pals at the pool hall he let loose, " That Shep Stanley pushed me a little too far this time, just a little too far.' The word got back to Dad and the next time he saw Krone, Dad really turned the screws, 'So I pushed you a little too far, eh? heh-heh-heh'. "Dad worked as a cowboy for various outfits in the Montana area. Finally, in 1926, Helen and her husband, Ivo, coaxed him into going to Borger, Texas, where jobs were plentiful in the newly opened oil fields. Dad sold his holdings in Montana and was ready to head down to Texas when he ran into P.R. Krone. Krone extended his hand to Dad and said, 'Well, Shep, I wanted to be sure to say good-bye to you and to give you a bit of good advice before you head off to Texas.' Krone had Dad's full attention, Krone continued, 'When you get to Texas, Shep, just remember that those Texans are proud people, yes sir, they are mighty proud people. You know we've had a lot of Texans come up here to Montana to work and they are sure proud people. So, when you get to Texas, Shep, whatever you do, please don't ever tell them you are a sheep man!' P. R. Krone had his revenge. Dad had to force a laugh, but he was furious. There was no insult worse than calling cow man a sheep man. Though Dad had worked with cattle all his life he had also worked up a good sized herd of sheep. When Dad came home he started grumbling, 'that Krone! He's got a lot of nerve!' Mom had heard all about the encounter but she played dumb and kept asking him why he was so upset with his old friend. The more she went on the more upset Dad became." "Dad found plenty of work in Borger, Texas which was one of the last of America's wild boom towns. There was such a huge influx of people that Dad was so busy building that he never did work in the oil fields. The family stayed in Borger about one year then Mom, Loyd, Preston and the girls left for Oregon with Loyd driving. Loyd had never driven a car before, so when he pulled into a gas station he hit the posts holding up the sun shade roof and the whoa thing came tumbling down. Dad, in the passengers seat started whipping the side of the car like it was a horse, "Get going, Loyd, get going" They finally arrived in Oregon where Dad farmed, proving he was very gifted at making things grow." "Dad always worked at the polls at election time. He was a Democrat and with one exception always voted that way. When the Democrat candidate was Al Smith, Dad voted for Herbert Hoover because As Smith. His continual line after that was, 'the only time I didn't vote for a Democrat, and what did I get? Herber Hoover!" "Dad never went to church and didn't hold much in the way of religious views, except that he was very much anti-Catholic. However one of his best friends was a Catholic priest. There were no public schools in that part of Montana, but his Catholic priest buddy assured him that if his children attended the St. Xavier Catholic school, they would not be taught Catholicism. So, Dad allowed the Stanley children to go to the Catholic school. It wasn't long before the we kids came home reciting 'Hail Mary full of grace'. Dad went to the school board and ranted and raved until a school was built nearby. Only 10 children attended, but Dad was satisfied it wasn't Catholic." Loyd Stanley claims that family tradition is that Henry M. Stanley of 'Stanley and Livingston' fame was adopted by merchant Henry Morton and is of our family. I have done very little research in this area, so I do not know if it is true. Forest was 6 feet tall, Had a full head of hair.