Veterans in agriculture honored

Thermopolis FFA Alumni gathered on Saturday for their annual Harvest Moon Ball at the Hot Springs County fairgrounds.

In the past, they have honored families and individuals in the AG community for the length of time spent farming and ranching in the county, but this year, with the event being held on Veterans Day, they broke tradition and honored Vets in Agriculture instead.

Sergeant Joe Campbell

Joe Campbell was born and raised in Thermopolis. He has lived here all his life except for his time at the University of Wyoming and his military service.

Joe received his degree in Animal Production from the University of Wyoming in December, 1955. He had been a member of the Wyoming National Guard and was discharged Oct. 15, 1956. On Oct. 16, 1956, he began service in the regular Army; traveled to Butte, Mont. and went by train to Fort Ord, California for processing.

From there he was dispatched to Fort Carson, Colo. for basic training. Then came a furlough and home for Christmas. He received orders to report to Fort Knox, Kentucky.

In 1957 at Fort Knox he received 15 weeks training as a Track Vehicle Mechanic. Following this course he and one other GI were kept at Knox at the Armor School as Track Vehicle Maintenance Instructors.

Joe was quite chagrined that some of his group received orders for Hawaii!

At Knox he met Barbara Alvey who was in Civil Service working as a secretary/stenographer. To make the story short, Joe and Barbara were married in Prichard Place Chapel at Knox in June 1958. Joe was honorably discharged from the Army in July, 1962 and returned to the ranch with his bride.

Joe worked summers for Durward Jones growing up. Then his family bought the Whetstone Ranch in 1947 and he worked there and for neighbors.

After his Army service Joe became manager of the ranch. He innovated with crossbreeding Hereford and Simmental cattle, artificial insemination, choosing topline bulls for AI, and bought extra acreage. Joe also became a private pilot, cutting time and expense checking irrigation, location of cattle, dropping salt, and even dropping lunches for the children when they were riding. Joe still enjoys flying for work and pleasure.

Joe found time to serve his community by serving as president of Hot Springs Farm Bureau and president of the Northwest District Farm Bureau; serving on the Weed and Pest Board and membership in Wyoming Stock Growers Association, president of Hot Springs County School board for several years; director of Tri County Telecommunications approximately 12 years. He was also a realtor for a number of years.

Joe was inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame in September, 2016.

He still has an active role on the ranch, still putting in many long hours.

Joe and his wife Barbara have five children: Carolyn Conner, Chris Campbell, Kathy Campbell, Connie Hoffman and Belinda Moore.

Corporal Charlie

Towers

Charlie Towers served in the FFA from 1961-1965 in Nebraska with numerous projects including swine and beef.

He then enlisted into the Marines in infantry and served 13 months in Vietnam.

When he returned home he worked on a farm and decided to get his CDL and moved to Montana to drive truck. He worked on two ranches in the 10 years of living in Montana before he decided to make Wyoming home in 1974. He worked as a plumber and in a machine shop.

Charlie has always had an interest in plants and turned a hillside of weeds into a beautiful yard with grass, flowers, shrubs and trees. He will be planting berry bushes to make homemade jam and jelly along with planting watermelon and cantaloupe and learning how to transfer them for a longer growing season.

Lance Corporal

Kenny Au-France

Kenny Au-France grew up on a farm outside of Douglas. He assisted his mom with the farming duties. Growing up he spent his summers helping at the Daniel's farm and also working for Eddie Shaffer at the HD Ranch.

In the 11th grade Kenny joined the Delayed Entry Program. After graduation he joined the Marine Corps in 1987. He served four years with his last duty station at Quantico, Virginia. After the Marine Corps he spent the next 22 years in Virginia raising three boys and turning wrenches in his own shop.

Once returning to Wyoming he started working back on the Daniel's farm for his uncle, Bill Daniels.

Specialist Jerry

Johnson

Jerry Johsnon, in 1969, was drafted into the US Army. He did his basic training in Fort Lewis, Washington. He says he has never been so cold in his life. After graduation from boot camp he went to Fort Ord, California for AIT.

After AIT training he was sent to Germany for six months. After that he was sent to Vietnam for two tours of duty. He saw and experienced all sorts of different cultures and tragedies.

When he returned home in the spring of 1972 he went back to doing what he loved. That was ranching and raising animals. Currently his wife and Jerry are engaged in a livestock and haying operation since 1973.

Jerry and his wife actively ranch in the Lucerne valley.

Johnson was unable to attend the Harvest Moon Ball.

Petty Officer

3rd Class

Tom

Anderson

Tom Anderson served in the US Navy from 1971 to 1975. Tom was a Navy Aviation Electrician. In 1975, after Tom's discharge from the Navy, he married Colleen Russell. Tom and Colleen left Thermopolis and went to college at the University of Wyoming. Both graduated college in 1981 and moved to Hobbs, New Mexico.

Tom worked for Conoco and moved around due to the job. They resided there from 1981 to 1983.

In 1993 Tom started his own business called Gas Ventures. They then moved to Casper until 2003 and then to Cheyenne until 2006. In all the years Tom would travel back to Thermopolis every weekend to help on the Russell Ranch.

When Colleen's father passed away in 1993 they took on more responsibility for the ranch, while both holding full time jobs. They leased out the ranch but kept 50 head of cows and ran them with the lease.

Tom and Colleen moved back to Thermopolis in 2006. Tom and Colleen have one daughter, Heather Arcand, and three grandchildren of Thermopolis.

Sergeant Mike Messenger

Mike Messenger was drafted and inducted into the US Army on August 19, 1969. Basic training and advanced infantry training at Fort Lewis, Washington. He arrived in the Republic of Vietnam on January 21, 1970. Assigned to a support command in DaNang where he worked in the headquarters company, which coordinated all logistics for I Corps. He volunteered for Operation Lon Song, which was the invasion of Laos from near the DMZ with North Vietnam; served from early January, 1971 until returning to the US and Honorably Discharged on March 21, 1971 as Actins Sergeant E-5. Awarded the Army Commendation Medal and Bronze Star.

Corky and Mike moved to Thermopolis in 1975. They purchased the upper part of the ranch on Owl Creek in 1983 and the adjoining lower part in 1990. Both places were very run down – poor fences, fields weedy or all weed; irrigation conveyance ditches and laterals were in disrepair or non existent; access to the house was by 2.5 miles of dirt road, the house was unlivable; we remodeled the house, eventually got river run gravel and the road base gravel laid for the road.

They have rehabilitated most of the fields for alfalfa or grass production and grass pastures for grazing. They have installed a pump in the Dempsy Canal, buried pipe and used gated pipe for water conservation, more efficient water management and erosion control.

Previously, they ran a combined cow/calf with sheep/lamb operation, but now just have about 20 cows which are managed with a lessee of the land and his cow/calf operation.

Messenger thinks his contributions to agriculture in this community have been to improve the land and make it productive; to buy as much material and services locally as possible, to keep the money in Thermopolis and Hot Springs County; to raise Kate and Nate on the ranch where they learned the value of hard work and love of the land and outdoors; and to participate in the Jr. Livestock Auction.

While many people have helped them over the years, they especially thank Carol and Martin Bader. They got them into agriculture and were tremendously helpful during the early years.

Other veterans from the area who are involved in agriculture were also mentioned and honored during the Harvest Moon Ball.