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Lawrence Regnier - Cowboy tough by Jake Fast If someone said cowboy tough You would think of Lawrence Regnier sure enough The rocks, the cedars, and the canyons shaped the man They said try to make a living here if you can The horses and the cattle had to have a will to live Because not too much supplemental feeding did Lawrence give Lawrence was noted for a voice that was strong He could let out a yell that was loud and long When you helped Lawrence he'd say be there at daylight That way we'll be done before it is night The ranch house set on the west side of a big ole bluff When the sun came up it was daylight, sure enough His place was located about 30 miles from town as the crow would fly To find it after dark you better not try It was a little hard to get a semi up to the chute to load out The corral plan was meant for a bobtail no doubt Each year his cows would bring in a pretty fair calf crop They learned how to graze on the hillsides, the canyons, and on top Lots of kick to the grass out by the New Mexico line With a little cake the cattle made it through the winter just fine Andy James for a whole bunch of years, I've kind of lost track Bought the Regnier calves, must have been good or he wouldn't have been back A signed contract it never did take Only agreement on price and a hand shake Lawrence's philosophy through good times or bad Don't accept government help, just live on what you had Their two kids were Kathy and John They made a hand even if it was a green horse they were on After awhile John went off to vet school And Kathy married Bud who worked on the Spool I don't know if Lawrence ever went to Sunday School But I think you could say he was a man who followed the Golden Rule If from '56 to '58 through Boise City High School you did pass You were probably in Carrie Regnier's class When the rains didn't come and calves sold cheap Carrie's job helped groceries on the table to keep For over 28 years he was on the board for the fair The third week in September you would find him working hard there Over the years he gave many a 4-H kid a helping hand Most important he taught them how on their own two feet to stand Lawrence came in to the chevy garage not exactly dressed in his Sunday best The owner said “If you were a little more dressed up at the Rotary you could be my guest He said, “Don't worry about it, its OK I am going to be the guest speaker there today” Some things have changed, some things stay the same But you still have to be tough to make it in this ranching game. January 2005
Boise City News |