As told by Francis Allen Esplin

Early in 1919 my half brother, Lawrence, six months older than I, and I were discharged from the service following World War I. Each of us had a wife and one child and were in need of an occupation or a job.


Father, although only fifty-one years of age had been anxious to retire from much of his work and responsibility for some years. Establishing homes and an industry in a new part of the country and especially during the war years had taken a great toll of his health.


My own brothers, Israel and James (or full brothers -- to use a common term of that period of time) where farming in Idaho. My older half brothers were established in their own sheep operations and Lynn, of course, was too young to be concerned about employment.

It was Father’s desire that Lawrence and I take over the sheep and equipment on a rental basis and sign notes for the grazing land to be paid for from the proceeds from the sheep operations. This arrangement seemed agreeable to Lawrence, who was by disposition easygoing, but I looked on the proposed arrangement with many misgivings.


In my early youth I had by preference been allowed to work most of the time at farming on various pieces of land Father had acquired up and down Long Valley. I did do some herding during summer vacation and prior to entering the service I herded for eighteen months, at sixty dollars per month to get money with which I hoped to go to college.

I suppose I was called particular or even fussy as many things had to be about right for me to be content, which I was not most of the time. Lawrence, on the other hand was content to read a great deal and not be concerned with the conditions around him. I have often thought that if there were two people less likely to be successful and happy working together than all others, we might be those two.

Father pointed out to me and I was aware that sheep raising was the only thing which brought money at that time. The small farming operations and few cattle raised helped out materially but it was the wool at first and later the lambs which brought in the money.

The fact was that I did need a job or an occupation other than herding sheep for wages as I had known others to begin that and remain only sheepherders for the rest of their lives. There was the opportunity of managing the Orderville cooperative store but this did not show much promise except that I could be at home with my family. In spite of these and other apprehensions, we decided to go along with Father’s wishes.


Father wished to help us and he did, very materially, but he had built up the industry over quite a period of years and, of course, had very definite ideas about how things should be done. So it was difficult for him to leave everything to Lawrence and me. At one time I was very embarrassed when I was trying to get a good price from a buyer to learn that Father had previously contracted the lambs to him.

Lawrence had very little to say and it was most difficult to get his opinion on anything or learn what he thought best to do so, as something had to be done, I am sure I displeased him many times during the autumn, winter and early spring when it was necessary to run the sheep together in one herd. We made many mistakes, I am sure, and there were many unpleasantries until I Insisted on a complete separation of the sheep and equipment after four years trying to operate together. After that time I had to double with someone else to make up a herd which could be run economically when not on the spring and winter range.

In dividing his range, Father had made all the division as to whom the various tracts should go without consulting anyone as to their preference and we signed notes for this at the then prevailing prices. The rent on the sheep was the top price being paid, which I think is as it should be. He helped us in many ways but was wise enough not to lay it in our laps and thus rob us of the necessity to develop habits of work and industry.

Some reasons for liking the sheep industry were: I loved horses and dogs -- they having been my only companions in childhood and early youth. I loved hiking and, in fact, living in the out-of-doors. I was very fond of ranching, irrigating and thus making things grow on otherwise barren land, building roads and in doing everything necessary to develop a new country. In this I resented the necessity to spend so much time caring for the sheep and probably spent too much time doing the things I loved when I should better have been caring for the sheep.

The thing I disliked most about tending the sheep was having to be away from my family most of the time. Next to that, I disliked the monotony of the work and the necessity of being always at the “beck and call” of the sheep and having to leave everything else I might wish to do when they needed my care. I guess I just resented being bossed by lowly sheep.

From the above experiences relative to choosing a vocation, I formed a that time a firm resolve never to use any pressure or means resembling force to try to get anyone to choose a certain means of gaining a livelihood. I would advise wherever possible, try to make plain the facts concerned but never use any manner of force or persuasion.