Charlie & Esther Shaul
Charlie Shaul was born in 1894 near Wood Lake, Nebraska, the fourth child of Annie & Ivan Shaul. He went to rural schools in that area and later attended the Wood Lake School. He enlisted in the Army on February 20, 1918 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and served until the end of World War I. He was a corporal in the 79th Division of Company C – 304th Field Signal Battalion and was on the front line in France when the Armistice was signed. Following his discharge on June 6, 1919 he decided to give Wyoming a try. His sister Cecile Michael and her husband had already purchased a place out here. He like the country so well that he purchased a farm 4 ½ miles northwest of Alva from James Reel in 1920. After a few years of “batching” he met a young lady named Esther Anderson who was then working at the Hulett State Bank.
Esther Anderson was born in 1896 at the home of her parents on Oak Creek near Aladdin, Wyoming. She was the youngest child of Andrew and Albertina Anderson. She attended the Oak Creek School and later Spearfish Normal College. She taught several rural schools in the Hulett area – Cotton School, Dirks School, Moore Hill School, Proctor School, Svoboda School, and the T-Cross School.
One of the first dates Charlie had with his “to-be-wife” was on the Fourth of July to a celebration at the Devils Tower. Charlie borrowed his brother-in-law’s new car for the occasion to make a good impression on his girlfriend. He was to pick her up about 10 a.m. but it got to be 11-12-1-2-3- and 4 o’clock. In the meantime, Esther’s temper was mounting steadily. She was sure she had been stood up by this dapper young man. So when he showed up her temper was at its peak, but when Charlie contritely explained that he and his borrowed car had been stalled in the first of four river crossings below town, matters were brought to a peaceful settlement. The 4th of July celebration proceeded as planned and the romance continued to grow.
Charlie & Esther were married at Lead, South Dakota in 1923. Charlie leased out the ranch and they lived in Hulett for three months and then made their home in Denver for the next three years. They returned to Hulett in 1926 to care for Esther’s ailing parents and helped them care for their small place until their death. In the late 1920s and early 1930s they both worked at the Hulett Mercantile Store which was owned by Esther’s sister and brother-in-law, Lydia and Charles Hauber. During this time Charlie also drove the local doctor, Doc Bostwick. These were in the days when doctors made house calls and often it involved many hours of fighting muddy roads.
Their only child, a daughter Peggy was born at Belle Fourche in 1932. The little family returned to the ranch near Alva in 1933 in the midst of the depression and drought. At one time they raised a lot of hogs and they sold for next to nothing – some of the smaller ones would not sell so he gave them away if he could. Some he had to butcher before people would take them. Because of the hogs and the low prices, Charlie and Esther names the ranch “The Baconrind.” Grasshoppers and Mormon Crickets were an additional threat. Peggy remembered one hot day in 1937 – at that time Charlie had a fair filed of oats out west of the house. As they were eating dinner they looked out and saw an army of the Mormon Crickets marching up the road by the house. Charlie and Esther went out with old sacks and tried to turn them, but to no avail. The crickets continued on to the oat field and soon destroyed it. When Peggy was ready for high school in 1945, they bought a home in Belle Fourche and moved there. The ranch was operated by Francis Stafford and Charlie continued to help with haying, harvesting, etc. They returned to the “Baconrind” in 1949 and in the spring of 1950 they purchased the neighboring ranch from John Dirks. Peggy was married to Bruce McAmis in 1950 and they joined her parents in the operation of the ranch. Charlie always enjoyed attending auctions and probably held the world’s record for being able to sit longer than anyone else in the hard benches at the cattle sales.
In 1959 Charlie & Esther retired and returned to their home in Belle Fourche. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1973. Esther passed away the next year, Charlie died in 1981. P eggy said of her parents – “The older I become the more impressed I am with the fortitude, courage and optimism of my parents and the others who weathered the Depression. They were a special kind of people and I salute them.!”
Charlie Shaul was born in 1894 near Wood Lake, Nebraska, the fourth child of Annie & Ivan Shaul. He went to rural schools in that area and later attended the Wood Lake School. He enlisted in the Army on February 20, 1918 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and served until the end of World War I. He was a corporal in the 79th Division of Company C – 304th Field Signal Battalion and was on the front line in France when the Armistice was signed. Following his discharge on June 6, 1919 he decided to give Wyoming a try. His sister Cecile Michael and her husband had already purchased a place out here. He like the country so well that he purchased a farm 4 ½ miles northwest of Alva from James Reel in 1920. After a few years of “batching” he met a young lady named Esther Anderson who was then working at the Hulett State Bank.
Esther Anderson was born in 1896 at the home of her parents on Oak Creek near Aladdin, Wyoming. She was the youngest child of Andrew and Albertina Anderson. She attended the Oak Creek School and later Spearfish Normal College. She taught several rural schools in the Hulett area – Cotton School, Dirks School, Moore Hill School, Proctor School, Svoboda School, and the T-Cross School.
One of the first dates Charlie had with his “to-be-wife” was on the Fourth of July to a celebration at the Devils Tower. Charlie borrowed his brother-in-law’s new car for the occasion to make a good impression on his girlfriend. He was to pick her up about 10 a.m. but it got to be 11-12-1-2-3- and 4 o’clock. In the meantime, Esther’s temper was mounting steadily. She was sure she had been stood up by this dapper young man. So when he showed up her temper was at its peak, but when Charlie contritely explained that he and his borrowed car had been stalled in the first of four river crossings below town, matters were brought to a peaceful settlement. The 4th of July celebration proceeded as planned and the romance continued to grow.
Charlie & Esther were married at Lead, South Dakota in 1923. Charlie leased out the ranch and they lived in Hulett for three months and then made their home in Denver for the next three years. They returned to Hulett in 1926 to care for Esther’s ailing parents and helped them care for their small place until their death. In the late 1920s and early 1930s they both worked at the Hulett Mercantile Store which was owned by Esther’s sister and brother-in-law, Lydia and Charles Hauber. During this time Charlie also drove the local doctor, Doc Bostwick. These were in the days when doctors made house calls and often it involved many hours of fighting muddy roads.
Their only child, a daughter Peggy was born at Belle Fourche in 1932. The little family returned to the ranch near Alva in 1933 in the midst of the depression and drought. At one time they raised a lot of hogs and they sold for next to nothing – some of the smaller ones would not sell so he gave them away if he could. Some he had to butcher before people would take them. Because of the hogs and the low prices, Charlie and Esther names the ranch “The Baconrind.” Grasshoppers and Mormon Crickets were an additional threat. Peggy remembered one hot day in 1937 – at that time Charlie had a fair filed of oats out west of the house. As they were eating dinner they looked out and saw an army of the Mormon Crickets marching up the road by the house. Charlie and Esther went out with old sacks and tried to turn them, but to no avail. The crickets continued on to the oat field and soon destroyed it. When Peggy was ready for high school in 1945, they bought a home in Belle Fourche and moved there. The ranch was operated by Francis Stafford and Charlie continued to help with haying, harvesting, etc. They returned to the “Baconrind” in 1949 and in the spring of 1950 they purchased the neighboring ranch from John Dirks. Peggy was married to Bruce McAmis in 1950 and they joined her parents in the operation of the ranch. Charlie always enjoyed attending auctions and probably held the world’s record for being able to sit longer than anyone else in the hard benches at the cattle sales.
In 1959 Charlie & Esther retired and returned to their home in Belle Fourche. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1973. Esther passed away the next year, Charlie died in 1981. P eggy said of her parents – “The older I become the more impressed I am with the fortitude, courage and optimism of my parents and the others who weathered the Depression. They were a special kind of people and I salute them.!”