Gene Wollen was born Douglas. He was the youngest of four children and he was born to be a cowboy. He had a great love of horses. He learned to walk at the early age of nine months and his mother would catch him headed to the barn and corrals where the horses were. Gene was raised on the homestead located northeast of Bill. He attended Converse County Rural Schools and later went to school in town. He graduated in 1953. When he was not in school, he worked along-side his father helping with the care of the Thunder Basin Grazing Association Community Pasture. When he was 14 years old, he asked his dad to shoe his horse. His dad told him that he knew where the shoeing supplies were and this started his career in shoeing his own horses. He later worked for Herman Werner of 55 Ranch, Glenrock; Morton’s Fiddle Back Ranch, northeast of Bill; the Lee Moore Ranch, Douglas; and the VR Ranch in Glenrock. He met Esther Grant in 1953 and they were married the next year. While waiting to enter the Army, he continued to break horses for his father-in-law, John Grant and his brothers. He entered the U.S. Army, June 1, 1955, and he was stationed at Fort Hood, Killeen Base, in Texas. Even though he was serving his country, he found a ranch in Texas where he could ride and break horses. He learned leather craft, making belts, wallets, purses, and spur straps. After his discharge from the Army, he went to work for Hugh Duncan in Glenrock and then the Bill Hall Ranch north of Douglas to be closer to the family ranch. In 1973, Gene and his wife bought the George Carothers’ Wagon Hound Ranch, south of Douglas. They raised Hereford and Angus cattle along with registered quarter horses. He continued breaking the new colts and shoeing all the horses.
Byron Eugene Wollen
