As the sun comes up over the Wind River Mountains in Daniel, Wyoming, riders can be seen moving cows along the fence line into the sunrise toward the east.
As Norm Pape, 94, reflects back on countless days of riding that range on the family ranch, it’s moments like these that he remembers best and that make a simple, hard-working life in Wyoming worthwhile.
It is also why he continues to live the cowboy life when so many would have retired decades earlier.
Branding time is especially memorable.
“I would see all those riders and cows and that beautiful sheen of the clouds and the sunrise and the mountains,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “And then the people would begin to arrive with their horse trailers and their trucks, and they let the grandkids out of their cars, and we got the cows in the corral without any problems.”
Even at his advanced age, Norm continues to work. Cowboys don’t quit, and they certainly don’t retire.
Barb, 90, his wife of 66 years, used to help with the meals during branding season while Norm would oversee the branding.
In recent years, he has slowed down some and stays out of the action. His role over the past six years had been to stay by the propane heaters in case he has to turn them off in a hurry because of a wreck with the six ropers and 11 sets of calf wrestlers.
“My first brandings, I remember the smoke because everybody used old fence posts or wood that they'd gather up and they would heat the irons with wood fire,” he said. “Today, that's no longer part of the branding. It's just the propane heaters or some people use the electric branding irons.”
The heaters used to heat up the brands are vital to the branding operations on the Pape Ranch.
“But this year and last year I said, ‘You know, I'm going to brand a calf,’” he said. “I'm coming on to my 95th birthday in August, and I'm going to leave these propane tanks, and I'm walking out there and I'm going to stick an ‘M-E’ on one of those calves.”
So Norm did just that.
He got in among the working cowboys and stuck his brand, M-E, on a struggling calf. Just like old times.
“Our ranch is a working ranch,” he said. “Some people say, ‘Gee whiz, it just looks like “Bonanza” here.’ Yeah, well, you know, but it's not ‘Bonanza.’ It's a working ranch.”
The Pape Family Brands
The Pape family has been ranching in Wyoming for more than 120 years and has been branding their cattle since that time.
The original brand, still owned by the family, was created by Norm’s grandfather who chose a simple W that he would brand the calves with on both hips.
“I grew up with that brand when I was a little kid, and I just hated it,” Norm said. “You get it branded on the right hip, and then you had to flip the calf over to get the brand on the other hip. It was tough to turn those big ornery calves, and lots of times you couldn't help but turn them loose.”
When Norm asked why they had to brand both sides of the calf, his grandfather said that he wanted this brand so when they were riding through the cattle, it was easy to read the brand from a horse. No matter which side of the cow you were on, you could read the W.
The M-E brand was the creation of Norm’s father and was placed on the left ribs of calves. Over time, this brand became the main ranch brand, and people would ask what it stood for since it didn’t appear to be anyone’s initials.
“I’m not really sure,” Norm admitted. “I think my dad said that it's just the brand that he recorded in the early days, and he just drew a brand M-E that stands for me.”
So much had changed in the past century, but Norm said the wrestling of the calves is much the same as it was when he was young. The ropers would capture the calves from horseback and drag them to the wrestlers.
“I wasn't very big, but those big old calves would really rough us up,” he said. “In those early day, we didn't have the great big group that we have now, and now it's turned into a special event in Sublette County the Saturday prior to Memorial Day.”
Some come during the big branding just to visit and get to see how a real old branding takes place — and to enjoy the good food.
The Meals
Norm describes the branding as a big party, but one that is all business. After the last calf is branded, it’s time to eat, and that is where his wife Barbara takes over.
“It started out when I first got married,” she said. “My mother-in-law cooked, and our crowds weren't quite as big at first. Over the years, they grew into anywhere from 50 to 100 people who would stay and eat, and people would bring their girls and the neighbors that were helping us around would help furnish desserts or rolls or something with the meal.”
Barb grew up on a farm in Worland, Wyoming, and was a home demonstration agent. She knew how to cook and said that she took over the job because it was what was expected.
Like Norm, years ago she handed over the bulk of the cooking to her own daughters-in-laws and granddaughters. It is currently her granddaughter who is overseeing the cooking while Barb stays busy making sure that everyone is well fed and enjoying the meal.
“The nice part are our friends,” Barb said. “All those people that started helping got older and older, but then their children and their grandchildren are still helping us. It is not just our family generations at these brandings, but our friends' generations.”
The Ranch
The original family ranch was founded in 1904 when Norm’s grandfather came to the Green River Valley area looking for a homestead.
He and his wife came from Kansas, where they had been farmers. A drought had them looking for greener pastures and that was when they arrived in Wyoming.
“My dad was 6 years old when they arrived in the Green River Valley,” Norm said. “They learned to ranch and in 1917, my dad went to World War One. When he came home, he ranched with his dad.”
It was then that Norm’s dad decided he needed a brand. He drew up the M-E and had it recorded in Cheyenne.
In 1927, he married Norm’s mother, and they bought a homestead that Norm’s great uncle owned. He had been hurt in a horse accident and forced to retire. His mother had two sets of twins and a single birth, tragically losing one as an infant.
“There was no running water or electricity,” Norm said. “They pumped the water and carried it into the house. I look back to those wonderful people that first helped build this ranch and I wonder just how in the world did they do this?”
As the family unit grew, so did the ranch. Over time, the Papes bought out their neighbors and continue to honor their memories to this day.
Barb and Norm Pape have been married for 66 years and still live on the Pape Ranch in Daniel, Wyoming, working alongside the next generation of ranchers. During the spring branding, Norm, 94, was determined to brand at least one calf himself with his brand, M-E. (Courtesy Ranae Pape) 
Norm Pape’s family has kept a diary about the Pape Ranch in Daniel, Wyoming since the early days and Norm continued the tradition. The family now has over 100 years of journals that help them know the history of the ranch as well as the best time to plant the fields in their region. (Courtesy Ranae Pape)
Never Forgotten
As neighbors sold out for one reason or another, the Pape family would name these parcels of land after the families who once made them their livelihood.
“The ranches began to be formed in those earlier days when my parents would buy a homestead from somebody that said, I've had enough of this for medical reasons or just tired of it,” Norm said. “My parents then named all of these homesteads after those families like the Rashawn Place, Rosen Place, Jacks Place, Lynn Place and Margaret's Meadow.”
The family has also preserved the brands of their neighbors and family. Norm’s sons, David and Fred, each now have their own historical brand they personally use.
“David's is called the C-M and it was from a ranch that we bought in 1946,” Norm said. “Cyrus Mershon owned the ranch but had to sell out after he fell off the haystack and broke his neck.”
His son Fred inherited the W-F brand from his great uncle who wanted to keep the brand in the family.
One other way the Pape family remembers the past is that diaries have been kept by Norm’s family for over one hundred years. When his father died in 1975, Norm took over writing in the family diary and there is now a library of bound books that contain notes from every day on the ranch.
“They still refer to those days,” Ranae Pape, their daughter-in-law, said. “They have a guideline for what they're going to do over the years by knowing the best time to plant grain or put up hay.”
Norm and Barb’s home is also a reminder of their history. It was built in 1919, and additions were made over the years including a kitchen, bedrooms and a pantry.
“We were married in ’59,” Barb said. “Since then, we added a family room and another bathroom on the house but it's still the same home that Norman grew up in.”
Norm Pape is pleased to be surrounded by family and is determined to keep working on the ranch.
“Age wise, I'm fortunate that I'm where I'm at,” he said. “Barb and I are both able to get around, and I can still chase the cows on the four-wheeler. I still hope I can get out there and stick an M-E on one of those ornery calves next year.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
