Gary Zakotnik, the son of a coal miner, was born in Kemmerer, in 1945. He liked to tell people that he was born with coal dust in his veins and slack in his pants. Gary was not born into a western lifestyle, for some reason ranching was in his blood. He has been fortunate to have had outstanding mentors including sheepmen, Don Julian and his father-in-law Charles Jamieson, and cowboys Ira and Ike McWilliams, Tom Griggs, and Dave Hollings.
He spent the summer of 1957 as a 6th grader living in a sheep camp, herding sheep for his uncle. He also designed the brand he still uses when he was in the sixth grade. Gary spent weekends and vacations helping his friend, Truman Julian on their sheep ranch until he was a sophomore. He then began working for Dearth Jamieson Sheep Company in the summer of 1960. His fate was set at that point.
Gary married the “rich rancher’s” daughter and the ranch changed from sheep to cattle, but he and his wife, JoAnn Jamieson, have allowed that ranch to remain in the family. He attended Northwest Community College and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in animal science. In college he participated in rodeo.
As college students, in 1966, Gary and JoAnn obtained an FHA loan to purchase 125 cows and shares in the Little Sandy Grazing Association. Weekends were spent traveling from Laramie to Eden to take care of the cows and help on the family sheep ranch. After graduation he worked together with his in-laws to help manage the family ranch.
Gary was responsible for managing the cows and Charles took care of the farm. The cows grazed on mostly unfenced BLM allotments and all of the cattle are moved from pasture to pasture, routinely checked and sorted on horseback. This is how it’s still done.
In the late sixties, Gary trailed his cows 60 miles from Eden to the ranch at Fontenelle at Christmas time and then back in the spring. One of Gary’s fondest memories is spending the fall with the Little Sandy Grazing Association, sorting around 1,200 cows on horseback.
In addition to spending many hours in the saddle taking care of cows, Gary learned to shoe horses and for a few years he shod outside horses for a little extra spending money. He was able to start and break colts, all coming from his own breeding operation. He has been a brand inspector for 47 years. He can tell you the brands of most of the operators in this area and probably remembers the original owner.
Gary’s cowboy legacy continues in his children, grandchildren and many others as they have spent many hours in the saddle riding with him, hearing his stories and learning the traditions of the West.