Steve Cranfill
Wendy Corr:
Well, hey there, folks. Welcome to the Roundup. We are a Cowboy State Daily podcast, and our focus is on interesting people in the Cowboy State. And today's guest is more interesting, more interesting than even I knew. And I have known this man for 25 years. So this is really going to be a very fun conversation today.
First though, I want to make sure to tell you about another podcast that's really great. If you're a business person in Wyoming, you don't want to miss out on all the great things you'll learn from the Wyoming Business Alliance “Business From the Basement” podcast. It is just filled with great people and great ideas and great information for anybody who's a business person in the cowboy state. So the Wyoming Business Alliance, “Business From the Basement” podcast, check it out.
But check out ours first. Don't go away, because today's guest again, like I say, I have known this gentleman since 2001 and a little bit before, when he was the city attorney for the city of Cody. We're talking today to Judge Steven Cranfill. Judge Cranfill, I knew him before he was a judge, but he took on the judgeship in 2006 at the District Court, fifth district court here, based out of Cody.
And he's got such an interesting series of stories to tell about how he got to his current position, what he's doing now with The Wyoming Community Foundation, and there's just so many great things that we're going to catch up on today. Judge Cranfill, hello, hello. So good to have a conversation with you today. How are you?
Judge Cranfill:
Thank you, Wendy. I'm just really excited to be part of this. I watch what you do with other folks, and so I'm really honored to be part of your collection of interviews. You do great stuff, great stuff.
Wendy Corr:
Well, thank you very much. You know, we have collected some great interviews at Cowboy State daily over the last year and a half that we've been doing these podcasts. But I have to say, I'm not sure that I've talked to anybody who has so many interesting stories that we're going to try to cram into this episode today.
Because you and I started talking when we were kind of previewing and kind of going over the information for this, and like, you did that, you did that. Wait a minute, you met who? And just really fun stuff.
Judge, let's start off with, you are Wyoming born, but your childhood took you away from Wyoming, but you were born in Greybull. And tell us a little bit about your very interesting childhood. Your father worked for Halliburton, and that took you a lot of different places. Tell us about that.
Judge Cranfill:
Okay, well, I'll start, I'm the only one not born in Oklahoma. My mom and dad were both born in Oklahoma. My older brother Jack, who actually died in January of this year at 84, born in Oklahoma. Mother and her twin sister were the youngest of 16. Albany, Oklahoma, an unincorporated area. They'd run out of names, so the family doctor named them. My mother was Ola Okla, and her twin sister was Nola Homa.
My dad, Joe Paul Cranfill, that's southern, my brother, Jack Harold Cranfill. Doctor Albert Cranfill was the first white doctor on the Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma, 1875 to early 1900s. So lots of connections there. But they married, and Dad eventually went to work for Halliburton, and that involved moving around.
And so we were in Greybull waiting for me to be born - I was waiting as well - June 11, 1950 and then two days later, we moved to Casper. We lived in Casper for two years, and then dad was transferred to Vernal, Utah. We were there until 1958.
I mentioned to you that it was in Vernal where I learned my - I don't know what you call it, but that I did not hesitate to approach people who'd been in the news. And the Fourth of July was led one year by the Lone Ranger and Tonto, and we lived next door to the LDS Church, which had a big assembly hall, and Tonto spoke.
And I snuck in the back, and Jay Silverheels and his beautiful leather outfit, then went down to the parade with my dad, and the parade was over, and the Lone Ranger is walking down the street, probably with his agent or somebody. And I go up and I said, Can I have one of your silver bullets? He leaned over, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, No, my son, I may need these later today. And I just, you know, had my mouth open, and it was the Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore, for crying out loud.
And I've got a little autograph that says ‘To Stevie from the Lone Ranger,’ which is very special to me. Because I've had some great men in my life, including the Lone Ranger and Al Simpson and Ed Herschler, both who decided that my moniker would be Stevie. I would not have picked that for myself.
Wendy Corr:
But Al called you Stevie??
Judge Cranfill:
He did, right,
Wendy Corr:
That's grand.
Judge Cranfill:
Hey, Stevie. How are you pal? Governor Herschler did too. So I went through the second grade. We moved to Worland, 1958 Dad was transferred and was there, stayed with Halliburton for the rest of his 40 year career. My mother worked at Montgomery Wards for 30 years.
We did not have a lot of money, but I had everything I thought I needed. Two wonderful parents, both in the community. Mother was, well, she knew how to fry chicken and catfish like nobody's business, and you can catch catfish on the Big Horn River in Worland, a little known fact.
Anyway, so I had a great education in Worland, and started Student Government early on, was the student body president in middle school and in high school, ran track, had some success, went to Weber State in Ogden, Utah, as part of the track team there and student government there as well. For all, all four years.
And I was, there had been some federal legislation called the law enforcement education program, which resulted after the the riots in Watts back in the early 60s, and they wanted to attract people to law enforcement. And I just happened to have seen the 1968 movie ‘Bullitt’ with Steve McQueen, and knew that's where I belonged, was in a dark green Mustang as a police officer.
And so I got this way to pay my way through school, and it did, and but about halfway through, I realized I didn't want to be a police officer, and I got a degree in psychology. And then I had worked summers at the Wyoming Boys School, State Correctional school for boys, used to be called the industrial Institute there for a long time, and worked there as a counselor, worked with kids over in Gillette, in the Buffalo area, and It was a great job.
And did that, and then had the bug. School board had an election, and I got back and thought, why not? So I ran for the school board. I did not get elected, but a week later, the fellow resigned, who moved out of state, and they appointed me. So at 22 I was the youngest school board member in the state of Wyoming.
Wendy Corr:
That's so cool. Oh my goodness, yeah, yeah.
Judge Cranfill:
And it was great. It was great. Loved that. And one of the things that I so appreciate about this state, we have a small population, but that equals more opportunities for more people, and you can do about anything you want to do.
Wendy Corr:
That is the truth.
Judge Cranfill:
To serve at every level. It's open. You just have to, you know, work hard but it's there. And I have always enjoyed going to high schools and talking to government classes and telling young people, you know, everybody's so anxious to get out of the state. Well, there's so much you can learn and do here and we it's just a great, great opportunity.
So did the school board and learned some things there. And then decided, why not? And ran for the legislature. I was a Democrat then, because it was Watergate and things were happening. And so I had been an independent. My folks were Republican, but I became a Democrat, and Washakie County was about five to one Republican.
And a wonderful guy, Quick Kelly, who had been in that position. And Quick, I don't think he thought I stood a chance, and he wasn't worried about it. And so I thought, well, that's fine. So I went door to door, and and got most of the county and son of a gun, I won.
Wendy Corr:
And so five to one, Republican to Democrat, and you won. And how old were you at this time? Because you were very young.
Judge Cranfill:
24, and we went to Cheyenne, and in the capital, there were two of us, John Vinich from Hudson, myself. John was two days younger than I was, and the makeup was 32 Republicans, 29 Democrats and one independent. Bill Holland, a lawyer from Johnson County in Buffalo.
Wendy Corr:
So even so, evenly split in that time.
Judge Cranfill:
And the Senate was 16-14, and of course, Ed Herschler, that was his first term as a Democrat governor, and the next term, and I managed to make another term, and the Senate was 15-15, and I want to tell you, the atmosphere was wonderful. It was what it should be. Civility was the watch word of the day.
There were big, important issues that were going on. We were exploring severance tax and all those opportunities that could create and just a lot of things. And that doesn't mean that people didn't have deep beliefs and stood by those, ran on principles. It just meant that once you got to Cheyenne, we'd all been elected to represent a county, but to represent the state of Wyoming.
And you worked hard during the day, and people have tempers, sure, but by the end of the day, you were at the hitching post or at Little America for a reception put on by someone and things were about, hey, how are the Cowboys doing this year? It was just a whole different atmosphere, so much more personal, fortunate to have been part of so much more.
Wendy Corr:
You dealt with each other as people rather than an ideology.
Judge Cranfill:
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And Al Simpson was part of that. He was still in the house, and I was very fortunate to be on the same committee with him, corporations, elections and political subdivisions. And he worked hard. He worked hard. And there was never, every debate ended the same way, with, Al would look around and he sat in the back row, and at six foot seven, he would stand up, and he would more or less outline what was before us and what he thought we should do.
And I, as I recall, more times than not we went with his advice. So he was, he was very sage, and it was a remarkable leader then. And he's often said that he credited his success in the US Senate to his years in the Wyoming Legislature.
Wendy Corr:
There's a reason that he was such an icon when he went to Washington, DC, for sure.
Judge Cranfill:
Absolutely, absolutely great man, funny man. And so I did get elected - the second time they came after me. They were upset that this kid got elected. And Stan Hathaway was personally recruiting people to run. And Benny Clark, who's a wonderful sugar beet farmer, Lutheran family, related to half the city, wonderful families there, the Shermans and and on and on.
And Benny was selected to run, and I worked extra hard. And then a funny thing happened on election day. I was working for probation and parole as an agent, and there was a bank robbery, at the state bank, and this man had gone to the hotel Washakie. He bought a ticket for the noon bound South bus to Cheyenne. Took his briefcase, which was full of adult magazines, but locked about 15 people in the vault and filled that up with money there.
And the FBI sent from Riverton, an agent came to negotiate a release, and I heard about it, and we were issued firearms then, and I had a .38 Smith and Wesson and I showed up, and some police officer was like, oh my god, Cranfill is here. He said, Go get behind that car and you aim at the doorway, but don't shoot. Don't shoot.
And so I did, and I'm visible. And I had increased my radio ads that day, tripled them, and so everybody's listening to the radio to see what's going on with the bank robbery. And after an hour and a half, he surrendered. And it ended with a lot of traumatized people, but also people who'd been listening to radio ads about every 30 seconds where you, ‘Elect Cranfill.’ And I won by 69 votes.
And so I go back to Cheyenne.
Wendy Corr:
Wow, that's a grand story.
Judge Cranfill:
Oh, my God. And I think like a weekend after the session, Senator Taggart from Big Horn County, former mayor of Lovell, and six four and a strikingly handsome man and quite intimidating. And he came over to the House floor and he said, I had the guard go get Cranfill. And I said, Good morning, senator. How are you?
He said, Well, I want you to know my daughter is here working for the Judiciary Committee. And back then, you know it was, you meet for two months. And so they hire people from all over the communities to staff the legislature. It's a part time position. And his daughter, Dana, had graduated from Utah State and wanted something to do, so she's working for Ross Copenhaver, who was the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
And we met, and lot of social stuff going on. Anyway, we met and we got engaged in a week.
Wendy Corr:
In a week? Back up, you got engaged in a week.
Judge Cranfill:
We did. We did, yeah, and then got married five weeks later in the rotunda of the Capitol, February 27 1977.
Wendy Corr:
But that's a great story. How is it that you could secure getting married in the capitol rotunda? That's not something that usually happens.
Judge Cranfill:
Well, Dick Sedar, a Democrat who owned the colonial lounge in Casper. That was Cal's best friend. That was another byproduct, and my best friend was Pat Meehan, Republican chairman of our committee from Casper. And Sedar knew the governor very well and he he just said, we're going to have a wedding and we're going to do it in the Capitol.
And I didn't have anything to do with it. Those guys took over. He went to the governor, and the governor said, Fine, that's great. And they borrowed the state seal from the entry to the governor's mansion. They put that in the rotunda of the Capitol. There'd been a, we were supposed to be married the day after the session ended, but there was a computer failure, so we had a session on a Saturday, and then Sunday, our wedding, and then folks returned to the Capitol on Monday to end the session.
We had a 12 O'Clock wedding, about 350-400 people in the capital. The engineers were concerned, because there hadn't been that many people there in a long time, and they thought the second floor might collapse, but it didn't.
And Roger McDaniel was the best man, Warren Morton, who was the majority floor leader Republican, he read the lesson. It was an Episcopal wedding. Dana's church, they prefer not to have weddings on Sundays. So I was Episcopalian and and Gene Todd performed the service.
And so I, not ironic, but just so, I don't know what the word is, Wendy, but I was just recently there to honor Al, and he lay in state in the rotunda. Kind of full circle, and his coffin was exactly in the same place where Dana and I were married some 48 years ago.
Wendy Corr:
You've seen so many interesting memorable points of Wyoming State history. You've met so many interesting people and been friends with so many interesting people throughout your career as a legislator, as an attorney.
But let's go to that next step, because you went to the legislature before you had any legal training, and what changed your career direction, your career trajectory after being at the legislature?
Judge Cranfill:
So I don't know how that came up, but I had always been, well - well, there we go again. I lived next door to Judge Harkins. I used to mow his yard, and growing up, I became friends with Judge Joffey. Hal Joffey, both incredible men, very, very different.
Harkins was five foot, five and 120 pounds, and he was a halfback for the University of Wyoming. He was a tough little nut, and, and he encouraged me to do it, and he said, to be a good judge, there's only one thing you've gotta do. You just gotta put your glasses down and fold your arms. And if you can do that, you can be a judge.
And I'll tell you a side story about that. So I did, and Judge Joffeey and I played tennis together, and I admired and respected him, and I just thought, you know, this is really what I want to do.
Wendy Corr:
So you went into the legal field with the intention and the purpose of, at some point, becoming a judge? Not for the purpose of being an attorney, but to be a judge eventually?
Judge Cranfill:
Not necessarily. I didn't know what I was going to do, really. You know, I went to the University of the Pacific, which is located in Sacramento, California. The insurance company that Cal worked for, and I worked for him for a couple of years, Cal Western Life, It's where their home office was.
And I met a lot of people who had gone to McGeorge, and they had an evening program, four years, and it made sense for me. And so I did that. And then Dana worked for a law firm, and then I went to work for a law firm that did lobbying, a small firm, and so became a lobbyist.
And I'm going to school at night, and there were legislators in my class, the eventual Attorney General, Bill Lockyear, for many years, was in my first criminal law class, and it was a wonderful atmosphere. Sacramento was kind of a small town still at that point, and McGeorge was not that big, and it was, it was really quite a lovely situation. We were both making money.
Wendy Corr:
It was starting off well.
Judge Cranfill:
And yes, so I worked for this law firm and got to experience the California Legislature, which is nothing like the Wyoming Legislature. Full time, obviously, and much larger and lots of serious issues, but wonderful opportunity, and had the chance to be part of a lobbying team that got the first prescribing authority for physician assistants in the United States.
Wendy Corr:
No kidding? So the very first opportunity for physicians assistants to prescribe medication was because of something that you worked on?
Judge Cranfill:
Correct, correct. I was a small part of it, but I was there. I was there, and I had mentioned to you that fundraising is obviously a big part of the legislature, and so we were invited to lots of things, and the assembly health committee was the focus of our efforts.
And Tom Hayden was a member of the assembly health committee who'd had a rather distinct background and had been involved in a lot of things, but here he was, a member of the California Assembly.
And he had a little riverboat thing, and I went down to the boat, and there was his wife, Mrs. Hayden, who happened to be Jane Fonda. And, oh, wow, stunningly beautiful woman, and really intelligent. And, you know, had quite a remarkable life. Still has, but of her own, PBS is doing some stuff now, and they describe her as the most loved and hated woman at the same time, her participation and being vocal about Vietnam and everything.
But anyway, we had just adopted Meghan, our first daughter, May 1, 1984, and I'm at this reception, and I said, I can't stay very long. We've got a new baby at home. And her sister had just adopted a child. And so there I am talking to Jane Fonda, of all people, about adoption. Not about her husband, or what a great legislator he is, about adoption. And it was a one on one experience, and I saw her several other times, and she was very gracious.
And so, yeah, that's what happens in Sacramento. I got on an elevator, I'm the only one on, with Ed Asner, Lou Grant, and he was there to lobby for somebody. And I stuck my hand out, said, Lou, how are you? How are you buddy? Good, good, good. You never knew who, who you were going to meet.
Judge Cranfill:
Yeah, yeah, okay, well, first of all, let me, then I'll speed up. So I did graduate, but I did not pass the bar. I missed by 1%. They had a brand new bar scenario. They went from two days to three days in a new thing called the practicum. And nobody knew what it was, how to study for it, and it was the lowest passage rate in the bar that they'd had. And many of my classmates, most of them, didn't pass.
And I was studying to take that again, and Mick McCarty called me, Cody lawyer, and said, Hey, I'm starting a new firm. You want to come out? And I said you bet, you bet. And so I switched to studying for the Wyoming bar.
And just as a matter of comparison, when I took the California bar, we all had on, not name tags, but photo IDs, and there were armed guards in all the restrooms. They wanted to make sure you didn't have access to any notes or anything. There were 3000 people at McGeorge that day taking the bar and serious, serious stuff.
So I only had to take the essay part again. So I'm studying to take that, I show up in Laramie. There are like, 25 of us, and the guy’s down in the beginning, and he's reading a book, and he's, ‘okay, get started.’ And, you know, an hour and a half later, I'm done and and just go down and hand in my test and walk out. No guards, no photo IDs. They called me in a week. You made it. You made it.
Wendy Corr:
So that's what got you, that's what got you back to Wyoming, was just Mick McCarty saying, hey, why don't you come join my law firm, and then you can pass the bar here.
Judge Cranfill:
Yeah. So March 15, 1985 we arrived with Cody, and so I was in private practice for 21 years, and then got appointed as a judge for 11 years. And Dana's mom and dad were still in Lovell then, and we started a series of cruises, and his dad had a bad back, and so that was an easy way to have the family travel.
Judge Cranfill:
So I became a judge, and it was, you know, a lot of it is, it is, I understand a lot of it wasn't me. It was the position that people respect, and you hope that you honor that, and that they begin to feel you're qualified to do it. But there's so much respect for the position.
And I think that's why the rule of law is so important in the history and the heritage that we have in our country and the way we - I know there's a, I don't know if there's introduced legislation, but there's a lot of talk about how we select judges.
And we adopted the Missouri plan years ago so that a judge applies, or an applicant, a wannabe judge, applies. It goes through a committee. They select individuals, and then we have a committee that consists of three lawyers, three lay people, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. They do the interviews, and then they narrow that down to three people, they give it to the governor, and the governor makes a selection, and then you are retained by a public vote.
And I think it's a great process. We don't spend money on elections, because when you spend money, nine times out of 10, it's not your own. You don't have that kind of money, and so you get it from groups who are interested in certain things, and there's an attachment, and we don't have that. And I think it's a great process, and you are reviewed every so many years, and either up or down retention.
So it's a great process, and I hope we keep it. So that's one thing I learned in particular, is really how people feel about the judiciary. And there's a lot of respect there. I love to do jury trials, and going back talking to jurors afterwards, they're so involved, and they believe in the system, and they took this responsibility with great enthusiasm. And fear, a lot of times, you don't want to do the wrong thing, but they respect it, and they love it. And so that was a great opportunity.
And we are confined in so many ways about how we can operate, but in so many ways, we're not. And like with adoptions, our adoption of Meghan in California was really quite sterile. We were in a judge's office. He signed a document. I don't even think we made eye contact, and we were out of there. And that's just wrong. That's just wrong.
And so I always made a habit of getting a selection of - most of these are kids, you know, and kids like animals, stuffed animals, and so I bought those by the dozen, and would give them an opportunity to take what they wanted. If they were old enough, I would have them actually sign the document.
I'll never forget when we adopted Macey, they had a lot of people there, and she said, Papa, the judge wants me to sign, but I can't do cursive. And I said, That's okay, honey, you can print it. And so she did. And so they're just, I still get letters today from from people who want me to know about their children and share their success and appreciated what we did.
Wendy Corr:
What a lasting legacy right there.
Judge Cranfill:
Yeah. And I am so appreciative of that. And between adoptions and the naturalization, that was decided by the people in Denver. And I don't know why they picked Cody, but they did, and I'm grateful. So I did about 30 of them. And so I think I probably did, you know, 300-400 people throughout my time, and always picked a different speaker and tried to do something meaningful for them.
I was thinking just the other day, I'm sure you remember, in our parades, our fourth of July parades, we had the fellow who was actually at the museum, I think, walked on stilts and wore the Uncle Sam suit. So we had, I don't know, 15-20 people from all different countries, and I had Uncle Sam stashed in the hallway. So we, traditionally, we have a speaker, and then I'd swear them in and allow them to speak, and then we'd celebrate. So after they had all spoken, I said, I have a special guest for you. I went around the corner and brought out Uncle Sam, who, you know, is seven feet eight on these stilts.
And there was a small, tiny Asian woman who just broke into tears, ‘Uncle Sam! Uncle Sam!’ It was very touching to them.
Wendy Corr:
Awesome. Oh my word.
Judge Cranfill:
So instead of just signing the document and saying, Hey, you're an American, I wanted to make it special.
So in that time, I became acquainted with the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center there, and they did a major reconfiguration over there, built a beautiful little museum and displays of the barracks. And it's, it's quite a remarkable thing. And met Norm Mineta, who was a good friend of Al's, and actually met Tom Brokaw, who was there many times to watch.
And I thought, Wow, what a powerful venue, for people who really lost their citizenship, to swear in some new citizens. So I talked to the people in Denver and said, What do you think? And they said, We think that's a wonderful idea. So Al and (brother) Pete and Shirley Haguchi, who's the chairman of the foundation out there, spoke, and had PBS come and filmed it, and had the high school band there, Larry Munari and his folks, and I don't know, 150 people or so, and about a dozen new citizens.
And it was, it was really a remarkable day, remarkable day.
Wendy Corr:
You've had so many of these remarkable moments in your life and in your career. What to you, Judge, stands out? Is there anything that stands out kind of head and shoulders above all of this, because you've got all these amazing high points, and really colorful moments in your life. Is there anything that kind of stands out above everything else?
Judge Cranfill:
No, not really. They're all just great. They're all great. It would be, it would be hard to pick one out. I know I I learned towards the end, when I decided it's time. I've, you know, we live five minutes from the courthouse, so I'd come home for lunch every day, and I'd have a sandwich, and I'm sorry to say it, get in front of the TV and take a 10 minute nap and then go back to work.
And so I'm watching the end of ‘In Cold Blood,’ really great movie to watch while you're home for lunch, and I'm watching this one segment about one of the accused talking to his lawyer about what they did. And of course, it was an awful, awful crime, and I'm thinking to myself, that it's just, just an unspeakable, unspeakable act. How does that happen?
And then I kind of had a switch that said, ‘Hey, dummy, you've got the same thing going on in your courthouse right now, you're getting ready to. or you have sentenced some people who did a very similar act.’
And I realized that I had really compartmentalized a lot of the the real ugly drama and a lot of crimes to the back of my head with the focus being, but my job is to make sure that this process is conducted in a fair and an objective manner, being very sensitive to you know, you not only have the families of the victims, but you've got the families of the accused who are going through a lot of trauma themselves, and so to try and just be respectful of the group, and to maintain the dignity in the courtroom, and to respect that.
And I realized I'd put a lot back in the storage locker, and it was probably time. And it was, I think it was, so I ended on a high note. Towards the end, we did another, the final naturalization ceremony we did at the Veterans park out by the airport. And it was on, I think it was around this time, and I can't remember, the whole federal delegation was there for another reason, but there was a flyover at noon.
And so, of course, I let the newly naturalized citizens know that I had arranged that for them, to honor them, that we had this flyover, of course, and then we had a remarkable speaker, fresh faced young guy who had been in the State Treasurer's Office. I think his name is Gordon, maybe Mark, and he came and spoke and delivered a wonderful welcoming to the new citizens. And so there you go.
Wendy Corr:
A great way to end that and that career.
Judge Cranfill:
But I'm not done.
Wendy Corr:
No, you’re not. You've kind of switched to another focus, which is the Wyoming Community Foundation.
Judge Cranfill:
No, no, no, wait a minute, Wendy, I'm back on the bench.
Wendy Corr:
Oh, drug court. Drug Court, right!
Judge Cranfill:
Yes, I've had about six months now. In fact, I'm getting, when we're done here today, I'm going to go to a staffing and then we'll conduct a review tomorrow. So I've done that for about six months, and it's not been a lot of time, but it's all really powerful, sensitive time, 30 folks or so.
And I had run the drug court before, when I was in the District Court. And so it's been, it's been great. And you know, part of that has been, we lost Meghan, our daughter, to addiction. And so I come with some credentials that I didn't have before, that I wouldn't, necessarily, really, I don't want them, but I've got them, and people understand that.
And so I think there's a little different feeling between me and a lot of those folks now, an understanding that, and I, before I get to the foundation, I did want to say one thing about that, if I could please.
She died of addiction, and she had had some 20 years of really awful struggle. She had a beautiful life growing up, a gifted athlete, great sense of humor. And I don't know what happened. I don't know what happened, but I do know that I made it a goal of mine to share some of that process.
And I went to the State Bar convention in 2023 and spoke to some 300 folks about what had happened and shared that with them. And I try to do that whenever I get an opportunity, because I think it's ironic that one of the biggest challenges of life is dealing with death, and so everybody does it differently, and I certainly don't compare my experience to anyone's, other than myself.
But the trauma, or not the trauma, the fatigue that comes is overwhelming. It's not just being tired. It's being physically and emotionally exhausted, and it's just, your tank is empty, you're drained. And at some point, I knew, I gotta get some help. I got, I really do, I need to. And, you know, as a judge, hell, I appointed people into counseling. I didn't. I don't need to do this. Well, I did.
And so I got some help through a physician. I got some medication. That was, like a month long thing, but it, but it helped. I had a sleep study because I wasn't sleeping, and got a CPAP, so I'm getting some rest, and I've got a professional counselor. And it was a really, a good experience for me to be able to just sit down and open up with someone about everything.
And I've learned that lawyers are the worst about thinking that I can guide myself through this crisis. Well, if you can, okay, but if you can't, get some help, it's out there, it's available, and it's going to, it'll work, it'll work.
But understand that I thought, after a year, okay, this is going to be - well, it's not. After a year, the clouds have dissipated, and you relive the whole thing with a clear head, and which is really worse than the first time. And so we're coming up on three years, and we're doing better. We're doing better.
Wendy Corr:
But thank you, thank you for that, and thank you for letting us know that this is something that, it doesn't matter what your station in life, or what your status or what your career is, things like this will touch you, and to get help is so, so important if you need it.
Judge Cranfill:
So if you're out there, give me a call.
You want to talk about something, the Wyoming Community Foundation. I am finishing my second three year term as a, two year term as chair. It's been one of the great thrills of my life. It's a beautiful board. There's no drama, there's no personal agenda, there's just meaningful dialogue about who needs help, and how do we do it.
This group has been around for 35 years. They put $120 million back in nonprofits throughout the state. We've got six regional boards, four advisory boards. Our board is 17. We've got a staff of some 21 in Laramie and in Casper. And the real thing that we can, that we get to do, is help other nonprofits find their way. You know, there's so many people that have a great idea. They get a lawyer. They get a 501c3, okay. What do we do now?
Wendy Corr:
And how do we get that money? How do we actually put that money to work?
Judge Cranfill:
Well, one thing you can do is invest it, or not invest it, you deposit it with us, because our, we can give you access to a return on some of those funds that you would never get just being a small, beginning nonprofit.
And so we have, we help 400 funds that people throughout the state have created to honor someone, and we manage those funds, and we've helped a lot of other nonprofits throughout the state. So it's a remarkable, remarkable group.
Wendy Corr:
And how did you get associated with them?
Judge Cranfill:
Of a friend of Dana's, her husband was on the board, and they knew I had retired and that I might be interested, and by golly, I was. And so it's, it's been a great thrill for me, and you have to get off after six years. I think term limits is a good, good thing on any board. You know, you gotta show up and then you gotta leave when it's time to leave and let somebody else have the opportunity.
But ours will welcome you back after you've had a little time off, if you want to do that. I don't know if I'll do that. I'll be 75 in a couple of weeks, and I think I'm just going to celebrate what I've done and then see what happens after that.
Wendy Corr:
Will you going to go cruising like your family did with Cal?
Judge Cranfill:
I’m going to go fly fishing.
Wendy Corr:
Oh, perfect.
Judge Cranfill:
I don't know that we will, I don't know, we'll see. We'll see. This is the first time we've really had an empty nest in ever, ever. So it's a whole experience. And our daughter, Laura, is here with, she has three beautiful children, and she has, God love her, she's dealt with some addiction of her own and beat it back.
She ran in the New York Marathon last fall, and getting ready to run in the Chicago Marathon. So she's found a way through exercise to really vent a lot. And a great mom, and we're very proud of her, and and Macey, who I said was Meghan's daughter that we adopted when she was nine, and she's just finished her freshman year up at Rocky, and doing well. So we've got a lot to celebrate around here.
Wendy Corr:
Time to focus on family after what an amazing career, and so many people that you have touched, that you have been involved with their own growth. Judge Cranfill, this has just been a fantastic conversation, and I'm so glad that we got a chance to do this, and to bring your story forward.
I mean, like say, you and I have known each other since you were the city attorney back in 2001 at the City of Cody, and I was working at the city in the municipal court there as the municipal court clerk. So to be able to have this conversation, I learned so much that I've just never known about you.
So this has been great, and thank you for all that you've done for all the people in the naturalization ceremonies, through adoptions, through all of these different methods. We're so grateful to have you as part of our Wyoming story.
Judge Cranfill:
It’s not over yet.
Wendy Corr:
No, not at all, not all. You're still out there. You're still doing things.
Judge Cranfill:
Well, thank you. Thank you. You've had a remarkable little stint yourself, young lady, and I'm really proud to know you and see what you have done. But I'm always more tickled to hear you sing. So anyway, well, thank you. It's been a real pleasure for me
Wendy Corr:
Thank you very much, Judge Cranfill, and thank you folks for tuning in today to the Roundup. Once again, the wealth of knowledge, the wealth of contacts, the way that Wyoming comes together, and we're just one big community. That's what the Roundup is about, and we're so glad to highlight these people who have made themselves such a part of our Wyoming story.
So thanks for tuning in. We've got another great guest next week, so don't forget to tune in to the Roundup. Go back to see if some of our archived podcasts, they're always relevant. So folks, have a marvelous week. Judge Cranfill, thank you so much. We'll see you soon. Bye, bye.
