My dad typically hired young boys to help on the ranch, and our relatives were no exception. My stepson, Shawn, and his cousin worked for him one summer, but they mostly played. They also got into things they shouldn’t have, as young boys do.

My dad typically hired young boys to help on the ranch, and our relatives were no exception. My stepson, Shawn, and his cousin worked for him one summer, but they mostly played. They also got into things they shouldn’t have, as young boys do.

When I was a young boy, we built pasture fences and corral pens all over the ranch. Our shearing pens were centrally located, and secure corrals were critical there for holding livestock between moves from pasture to pasture. One year, a couple of us dug scores of holes three feet deep to sink treated railroad ties as corral posts, which gave added strength to the pens. It was back-breaking work. Sticky sweat dripped into our eyes and poured down our bodies in dust-clogged rivulets. To make ...