From the back of a horse, Norman Hanks showed
how to care for animals, people, and the country
Lisa Phelps
Posted 10/16/24
CASPER – This past weekend, a number of iconic cowboys and cowgirls were inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame, including Norman C. Hanks, who was inducted as an Albany County Cowboy, …
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Cowboy Hall of Fame:
From the back of a horse, Norman Hanks showed
how to care for animals, people, and the country
Norman C. Hanks ranches in the Laramie Mountain Range near Garrett and Wheatland.
CASPER – This past weekend, a number of iconic cowboys and cowgirls were inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame, including Norman C. Hanks, who was inducted as an Albany County Cowboy, but was a big part of the fabric of rural Platte County for decades.
The Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame seeks to highlight and document the cowboy history of Wyoming and share their contributions to the state’s culture and history.
Norman’s daughter, Norma Jean Hanks, submitted his nomination form, which shared the following history:
Norman Hanks was born in Jay Em to Harvey and Ruth Hanks in 1931 and was the eldest of six kids, who he would come to help raise and mentor throughout his life. Norman grew up on a small place there, tending a small herd of ranch animals and learned how to work and train a team of horses which were later used on a small ranch and sawmill when the family moved to the Laramie Peak area when Norman was a boy. Norman continued working at the family sawmill and taught his younger brothers how to drive a team and care for livestock, working alongside his parents. He left the place to serve in the Army during the Korean War from 1953 to 1955 and after being honorably discharged, he returned to his home March of 1955 to continue working in the family business.
In 1964 Norman married Jeannie Kafka, the daughter of long-time ranch family John and Lucille Kafka. Norman and Jeannie continued to work and live near his family’s business and help with his father-in-laws family ranch until he accepted the position of ranch forman for the Bard Ranch Company’s McFarlane Ranch in 1970. Norman moved his wife, young son, and baby daughter to the ranch just four miles from where his wife grew up. In 1980, the couple became partners/owners in Mrs. Hanks parent’s 75 Ranch in addition to Norman being forman of the McFarlane Ranch owned by his employer.
Hanks and his wife worked tirelessly on both ranches and their children Rex and Norma Jean attended a rural school on the ranch property. Hanks managed a herd of 300 cow/calf pairs year-round. Hanks also helped his aging father-in-law feed and manage another 200 pure bred polled Herford cattle during the harsh Wyoming winters: including feeding hay with a horse drawn sled and horse drawn haying equipment in the early 70’s.
In 1974, Norman was nominated by ranch partner Matt Johnston for “Albany County Ranch Hand of the Year.” He won that award and continued work to work tirelessly to help build the ranch and improve operations.
In the late 70’s the ranch owners decided to convert from a cow/calf operation to running yearling steers and increasing the number of cattle grazing and size of the operation’s ranch lands. In addition to the main place, the ranch leased property from the two adjacent ranches and began running 5,000 head of yearlings and two-year-old steers during the summer months. Hanks over saw two to five ranch hands, collaborated with other ranch owners to maintain good working relationships and did all of the book keeping including working with the local BLM to manage leases. He also oversaw and cared for a remuda of 10-20 horses and helped young ranch hands break and train those horses and horse management duties including shoeing and minor veterinary care when needed.
Hanks purchased wild mustangs from ranch neighbors and worked with ranch hands and his children to break and train a young horse named Oscar. Hanks was instrumental in helping with his children’s ranch experience teaching them how to rope and ride and maintain the ranch. He helped Rex and Norma Jean break and train a young horse they raised as a 4-H project. Each year, he taught his kids to help with calving out the heifers and how to look for and “doctor” sick cattle and horses, as well as drive ranch machinery to put up hay, feed and irrigate and to be good stewards of the land where he and his family worked and lived.
Hanks loved gathering and caring for cattle and preserving the lands where they grazed and lived and where he raised his family. Each spring he happily helped neighbors brand and was always there to offer a helping hand in any time of need. Norman enjoyed training and the company of his cattle dogs, most notably Rowdy and Old King who literally saved Norman’s life when an old bull got on the fight and ran a horn through the chest of one of Norman’s favorite horses. The dog latched on to the tail of the bull and spun in circles in anger which distracted him long enough for Norman to escape with his life. That well trained and loyal dog literally saved his master’s life even though Hanks lost one of his treasured horses that day.
Hanks was known for his tough spirit and kindness. He spent hours and sometimes days riding the mountain pastures looking for the lost and stray from a herd of literally thousands of steers, not resting until each and every one was accounted for. He was well known for his honesty and integrity making certain stay cattle and horses were returning to neighboring ranches and if they were sick or injured, they were cared for until they could be returned to their rightful home.
Hanks was known for helping neighbors search for lost cattle, brand, gather and rebuild broken fences, equipment, corrals and even irrigate and tend to cattle when neighbors were sick or injured.
One late fall day, Norman was riding a newly broke, three-year-old colt searching for steers with his ranch hand. The two separated and agreed to meet at the gate. Norman and his trusted dog, Russell, rode for hours despite the cold temperatures and two inches of fresh snow. The wet snow was perfect for tracking steers he would say and hunger would often bring the lost down from the mountain to graze in the pastures making them accessible to gather. Norman was riding down a valley when a clod of snow flew out of the hoof of the young horse hitting its underbelly and caused him to blow up and run away. Hanks managed to ride it out until the young horse firmly planted both front hooves in the dirt and tying up his hands in the reins throwing him headfirst into the frozen ground.
Hanks lay unconscious in the fall cold for an unknown amount of time and awoke several times to note that his horse was gone and watch his dog Russell chasing coyotes away, who smelled the blood from his head injury and thought they might find a free meal. Hanks finally became fully conscious, stood up and began walking. His dog would run ahead and come back in worry to check on Hanks, but the young dog finally found his ranch hand and led him back to Hanks (who despite injuries was doing his best to walk home to the home place more than five miles away).
The ranch hand galloped his own horse home, got the truck, and took Hanks to Wheatland, where his wife was staying while his now older children were attending high school. In his tough cowboy way, Norman did push-ups to “prove” to his wife that he would be okay, while waiting to hear results back from being checked at the emergency room. Less than an hour later doctors called and told his wife to bring him back in immediately because Hanks had suffered a broken neck: and one wrong move could cause complete paralysis.
Hanks was rushed by ambulance to Cheyenne and when they went to do surgery it was discovered he has a blocked heart valve, it was believed he could not survive the surgery to repair his broken neck without first having a heart valve replacement. Hanks was taken for emergency surgery where two teams worked to replace his heart valve, remove a rib, and repair his broken neck. Hanks not only survived, but endured wearing a neck brace for six months, make a full recovery and after 11 months went back to working on the ranch.
Hanks encouraged many other patients and staff during his own recovery. He was well known for his strong will, Christian faith and encouraging and helping others. He was a dedicated family man and took his niece and nephew Heather and Justin Brooks under his wing when their mother passed away at a young age. He was an active member of the Wheatland VFW and often invited Veterans and their families to the ranch and he and his wife hosted “Church on the Mountain.”
Hanks was mentor to the men who worked with him on the ranch, his fellow veterans, his children and his extended family. He worked 59 years, loving and living the cowboy life until he was killed in an accident working on the ranch he loved in January of 2006.
His patriotism and cowboy way touched all he knew. On the day of his funeral services hundreds of people attended and shared stores of how Hanks touched their lives. Most notably touched was his young grandson who was nine years old when Hanks passed away. Grandson Jordan Lee Hanks accepted Norman’s Honor Flag on behalf of the family at his funeral ceremony. Nine short years later, that young man, so moved by the pride of his grandpa’s cowboy way of life and service to his county, stepped on the golden footprints and joined the United States Marine Corp on his 18th birthday. Norman’s only grandson still serves his country nearly 10 years later, in honor of the man who taught him to love his country.Norman C. Hanks lived the “Cowboy Way.” From learning to break a team of horses, to teaching hired hands how to care for sick cattle, helping his children learn to be stewards of lands that have been in their family for nearly 100 years, he always approached it with love the land, the animals in his care, his family and his county. As his daughter, I learned about life on horseback, as my dad taught me the proper way to care for all things that God had blessed us with. My dad, Norman Hanks is my hero, a friend to all he knew and the epitome of the Cowboy way of life. It is my hope that he will join the ranks of the amazing people who are honored as the building blocks of our great State of Wyoming, as representative of the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Chugwater’s long-time cowboy Alva Miller was also inducted into the WCHF this year. For more on his story, see the Oct. 9 issue of the Platte County Record-Times.