Ken Olson selected as GECG Outfit's 2014 Carbon County Pioneer

Saratoga area native and life-long rancher Ken Olson has been selected as this year's Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering (GECB) Outfit Carbon County Pioneer.

He will be honored during intermission of the Cowboy Poetry and Music show Saturday night in the Grand Encampment Opera House. The event begins in Encampment this weekend.

Ken was born Dec. 2, 1932 on the 4 Bar ranch (now owned by the Kerbs family) west of Saratoga and lived there with his parents, Swan and Margaret Olson and younger sister Elva, for several years.

As a young man, Olson attended school in Saratoga and graduated from Platte Valley High School in 1950, the same year his parents purchased the Pick Ranch on the Upper North Platte River, seven miles north of town.

While in school he was a member of the glee club. He played the fiddle most of his life and still sings in the Presbyterian Church choir. He also played his fiddle with several local bands.

As a youngster he attended Sunday School at the Presbyterian Church and is now a member of that congregation. Ken attends Bible study and worship service at that church and has been both an elder and deacon, serves on various committees, sings in the choir and provides treats for the fellowship following worship.

Ken joined the Army in 1953 and served as a fire control mechanic in Korea during that conflict. Cpl Olson was honorably discharged in 1955 and returned to the family ranch.

He married a Rawlins girl, Mary Eley, in 1960 and the couple had two children, Pam (now Bartlett), of Saratoga, and Dan, who died in 2006.

Mary suffered from MS for many years and Ken faithfully took care of her until her death in 2000. Many folks remember Ken taking Mary to church and around town or visiting her in the nursing home.

Ken and Mary were active in many community groups including the Eastern Star of which they were Worthy Matron and Patron. He is a 60-year member of the local Masonic Lodge, belonged to the American Legion Post, served on the Saratoga Historical & Cultural Association (Saratoga Museum) board of directors, is a reliable ranch historian who is willing to share his vast knowledge of the area as a tour guide for valley historical treks, a well-traveled individual, and a tireless cowboy.

In his own way, Ken also helps many other folks and organizations with his time and anonymous donations.

The local rancher learned to bake and cook from his grandmother, mother and wife. A skill which came in handy when he had to cook for Mary and the kids.

Friends love it when he takes his homemade yeast coffee cakes to various functions. He enjoys making biscuits for his breakfast each day and at various times provides a big pot of ham and black-eyed peas for dinner guests. He says he has a real sweet tooth and loves to share his cooking with everyone.

Ranching has been almost his whole life. He can remember driving a tractor at an early age and haying with a team of horses. As a youngster he helped his dad with horses, cattle, dairy cows, chickens, turkeys, sheep, and haying, which, he says, came in handy when he was operating his own ranch.

In 1937, he and his family took an extended trip to Sweden to visit grandparents and relatives. He has many pictures and fond memories of that time.

When they returned to Saratoga, they operated the Cedar Creek Ranch for nine years. In the fall of 1950 Swan and Margaret Olson purchased the Pick Ranch and moved their family there. It was home to Ken until 2006 when he sold the property to the TA Ranch.

In a recent interview, Ken says he decided to sell the ranch in 2006 after the death of his son, Dan. He has since purchased a house in Saratoga where he lives.

An article by Anne Wickstrom in the Saratoga Presbyterian Church newsletter notes, "Ken Olson is a tall man, but he is soft-spoken, gentle, and a little shy. He has worked hard all his life. He now lives by himself, cooks for himself and continues to be independent. Despite some bodily aches and pains, he never wants to complain and is thankful for his many blessings. He also does not want to brag about himself. He is a caring, wonderful man whom I look up to for inspiration and wisdom."

 

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