By Patti Wilson, Contributing Editor

Generational transition can be difficult between one generation and the next. Sustaining that ability over 100 years is a remarkable achievement that the Cooksley family of Anselmo, Neb., has accomplished in spades.

I spoke with ranch operators George and Barb Cooksley in October. Many thanks are extended to the couple for a gracious interview.

Walter E. Cole

George Cooksley’s maternal grandfather, Walter E. Cole, is credited with founding the Cooksley Ranch. Cole’s story unfolds like a McMurtry novel. As a rambunctious teen, he suffered a horse wreck in the 1890s, leading to serious injury. His family loaded him into their only stable means of conveyance, a coffin, hauled him to nearby railroad tracks, flagged down a train headed east and got him to Lincoln. There he received excellent care from a competent physician and, later, was able to return to a relatively normal life. Hard labor was out of the question at that point, and Cole turned to order buying.

He ran steers as well, and needed a grass base to graze. The hills west of Anselmo were a practical and cost-effective area; Cole purchased the original ranch ground there in 1916.

George relates that his grandfather ran 2- and 3-year-old steers, shipping them from Wyoming to Anselmo via rail cars, where they were unloaded in town. The steers were notoriously wild, putting young children and clotheslines of freshly laundered bedding in jeopardy. This predictably sparked the consternation of local housewives. The stock were driven to the ranch, no doubt by highly entertained cowboys.

Cole also raised registered Herefords, showing carloads of bulls and feeder cattle at Denver, Kansas City and Omaha.

 

 

Winds of Change

George’s father, Steve, was also a die-hard Hereford breeder. The white faces reached their peak popularity in the 1930s through the ‘70s, leveling off with the advent of the “European invasion” of exotics coming into the United States.

George says that, after coming home from college, he began having trouble finding Hereford bulls that were hardy and efficient with the maternal traits he needed. Most British breeds had been caught up in the trend toward big-framed cattle. This began a transition that tested the time-honored tradition of Herefords on the Cooksley Ranch and a bit of head-butting over the kitchen table. Red Angus bulls were used on first- and second-calf heifers starting in the late ‘80s.

George found that Red Angus folks had not fallen into the trap of oversized cattle. He liked their color complement with Herefords and their heat tolerance. Calves that were retained and fed out produced a better bottom line for the ranch, and replacement heifers were hardier and longer lived. Hereford bulls were gradually replaced with Red Angus.

“Got sick and tired of having to defend good cattle [Herefords] that were selling at discounted prices,” he says. “I will always be a Hereford guy.”

2005 was the first year they didn’t use Hereford bulls on the ranch. “I ruined Dad’s cow herd,” George laments with a note of sadness and a slight smile.

They also moved calving to May and June. “It changed the dynamics of what you ask a cow to do,” he says.

Additionally, their band of 40 Hungarian broodmares began to dwindle as the operation relied more on motorized vehicles. This still bothers George, an avowed cowboy. He says they now only keep a dozen horses around to use, and he misses foaling out the mares in the spring. They were a part of the ranch’s buyout of the Army Remount Service after WWII, a unique part of the ranch.

The outfit now runs 800 cows. Calves are backgrounded and marketed to Nebraska feedlots.

Enter Barb

The 1980s agricultural recession touched everyone who breathed rural air. George remembers those tough times, hanging on and squeezing a living out of the ranch like blood out of a turnip. To make matters worse, he had found Barb Bush while standing up at the wedding of mutual friends. Times were too tough to plan a marriage, so the couple dated for five years.

In the meantime, Barb earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in range management at the University of Nebraska. She got a job working at the Natural Resources Conservation Service and filled positions at any office that needed her, serving the agency for a total of 14 years.

When economic stability resumed to the ranch in 1988, the couple married. George says they realized they were low-hanging fruit to bankers, and a good banker is the single-most important part of an operation.

The couple has one daughter, Sara Strecker. She is the medical assistant at the Orthopedic Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colo. Her husband, Adam, is the head athletic trainer for the Colorado Eagles hockey team.

George and Barb say if the Streckers would like to come back to the ranch some day, there’s plenty of room. They have a ranching alternative and a place for someone with a good attitude.

Why Ranch?

I asked George why he chose ranching as his profession. “That would be a good question for a psychologist,” he replies. “It is all I ever wanted to do.”

Barb shares his sentiment. The beautiful thing is, the couple complements each other. George’s love is livestock and Barb’s is range plants. Both have a mindset that “the ranch comes first.”
“There are no free passes,” George says. “The ranch is as much family as what family is. You have to understand that it is always here and always needy.”

Ranch Structure

George’s brother, Stuart, began his ranching tenure on the original Cooksley land, later expanding to his own place in Cherry County. The two operations run as a family ranch, sharing resources and opinions as needed. One of Stuart’s sons, Ben, lives on George’s home place and will eventually take over management. He’s the fifth generation on the ranch, has a family with three children and has been a staple of the operation for 23 years. Ryan, the oldest of Ben’s children, has joined the operation as the sixth generation. George’s sister, Susan, and her late husband, Gib Neal, have done spring fencing at the ranch for decades.

Good employees are a treasure. Shaun Christen is the second generation to work for Cooksley Ranch Company. He lives with his wife and two children on the home place.

Barb and George have deep appreciation for their crew, who enable them to be involved in civic and political organizations. They also recognize George’s parents, who stayed home in their early days to hold down the fort.

Cattle Organizations

From the start, the Cooksleys were involved in organizations protecting and promoting the beef industry. Barb took over her dad’s membership in the Nebraska Stockgrowers Association at a young age, inheriting from her parents the desire to be involved in the industry. Likewise, George began with the Stockgrowers. This evolved into more intense involvement with Nebraska Cattlemen (NC) and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), which are still mainstays for the couple.

“We have a responsibility to give back for what we do,” George asserts.

They believe they have two families – “our own family and the family that we choose, friends you respect. It is worth all the bad times.” For the Anselmo couple, that is NC and NCBA members.
They see the necessity of lobbying with elected delegations and have developed good relationships with officials and staff.

 

 

“We have a responsibility to give back for what we do.” – George Cooksley

 

 

Future Plans

In a display of simplicity, the Cooksleys didn’t hesitate to tell me their future plans. “I’m going to keep on cutting cedar trees, be here and just smile, Barb says.”

George plans on “being a rancher until they give me a blanket and tell me to go sit on a hill.”

“If you live within your boundaries, your boundaries become borders. Live without boundaries,” George sagely advises.

 

Cooksley Fire

On April 12, 2023, a grass fire erupted on the southern edge of Cooksley Ranch. It was allegedly started by a passing train. Weather conditions allowed an enormous blaze to ignite that ravaged 34,000 acres over two days. Dubbed the Cooksley Fire, it included nine adjoining ranches. Cooksley Ranch alone lost 10,000 acres.

Over the next two days, fire departments arrived from 70 Nebraska towns. Help poured in from everywhere; some people showed up with only a shovel. It is reportedly a miracle that no one was killed – some firemen took refuge in stock tanks when the fire overtook them. “By the grace of God, they are all here,” George Cooksley says.

Businesses let employees leave work to fight the blaze, and the local grocery store and co-op stayed open 24 hours to help supply the firefighters.

The fire burned through Cooksley’s summer range, making livestock loss minimal. The family considers themselves lucky. The cattle that were at the home place were fed normally the following morning; neighbors arrived with side dump trailers full of silage, hay, corn and distillers.

Barb Cooksley says it will take years for the grass to fully reestablish because their light, sandy soil and sand species simply take time to regenerate.

The couple is grateful for their supportive neighborhood and thankful there was no loss of human life.