Charles Leonard Priebe and his family moved to Denver, in 1916. Leonard’s father died when he was quite young. He had to quit school in the 8th grade so that he could join his brother Lester to support the family of eight. He worked on farms, ranches and in the Denver stockyards. It was there in 1925 where he met Sy Kelley. Sy had purchased a herd of cattle and needed help getting them to their new home at the Kelley Ranch in Daniel, WY. Sy needed cowboys and a cook. So, Leonard, Lester, and one of their sisters Mary, said they could get the job done. Within a few days they had the cattle, horses, and their personal gear loaded on rail cars and ready for the start of their new life in Wyoming. The rail went as far as Opal, where they unloaded and started the cattle trail drive home with Leonard, Lester, and Sy cowboying and Mary cooking. Leonard stayed working for Sy for ten years.
Ranchers would send a cowboy to help on the Green River Drift. Sy sent Leonard each year where he stayed all summer until the cattle came down in the fall. This is where he worked and became very good friends with Rex Wardell who was the cow boss for the drift. Leonard enjoyed telling about all the good times and hard work they shared. We remember the fun stories told by Leonard, one including roping a grizzly bear and a wolf but cannot recall who roped them exactly. There was also a story Leonard shared about a pulling contest between Rex and himself. They tied a saddle rope horn to horn, dropped the coils, and rode off to see who had the strongest horse. Rex won.
In 1936, he met Verna Belle Steele from Boulder, Wyoming, at a dance held at the Bronx School. In 1937 they married and he moved to Boulder to work for his father-in-law E.P. Steele. He only worked for E.P about a year.
In 1938 he went to work for John Vible. They lived on the Lovatt place for a couple of years. They moved to the Steele homestead to help take care of E.P. and raise their family while still working for John. Leonard would ride his horse 10 miles to work and back every day, no matter what the weather. Some months out of the year when the cattle were at the Vible Homestead, it would be an even longer ride each day. John and Leonard built Divide Lake Dam and ditch deep in the Wind River wilderness. All of the equipment and materials had to be packed in by horses and mules up a nasty trail over 12 miles from the ranch. They brought in a two-horse Fresno and a four-horse Fresno, which is still up on the mountain to this day. In the meantime, Leonard and Verna had their own cattle, sheep, and the Steele’s Mineral Hot Springs Pool to run. They continued this for 30 plus years.
Leonard was known for his horse training abilities even before moving to Wyoming. He always said that his true love was training horses. His horse training abilities were known throughout the county. Sy Kelley’s daughter Ruth was crippled from polio when she was a young girl. She loved horses and dearly wanted to ride so Leonard decided he could make this possible for her. He trained her horse to lay down so that she could easily mount and carefully get up with her in the saddle. He also trained his daughter Melva’s horse to kneel down for her to get on easier (he was a little too tall for her to get on).
As a pickup man, for both the Pinedale and Big Piney rodeos, he was known for being able to get cowboys safely off of rank horses. He was also known for his ability to break any horse. People said if he could get his foot in the stirrup, that colt or rank horse would be rode that day. He broke numerous horses throughout his lifetime for himself and other cowboys throughout Sublette County.
Leonard was also an extremely good roper and did most of the roping at the brandings in the Boulder area. The herd was always quiet and easy to handle. He could keep four sets of wrestlers busy all day, even having to wait on them sometimes. He broke his last horse Spider at the age of 72.
Back in 1945, Leonard ran the mail route from Boulder to Midland. During the winter months, he worked the route with a team of horses pulling an enclosed sled with a wood burning furnace inside. The sled was later donated to the Sublette County Historical Center. In fact, the mail continued to be delivered on and off by Leonard, his wife Verna, and daughter Melva until 1989.
Leonard served as a brand inspector for over 20 years in Sublette County and owned a shoe/harness repair shop for around five years in Pinedale. In his lifetime he made several saddles. He did a lot of braiding, making hackamores, bridles, and reins for his family and for the community. He made breast collars and headstalls for his son-in-law Rob and daughter Melva which are still in use today. Leonard always put other people’s happiness and needs before his own. This is how he earned his nickname ‘Uncle Charlie’.
In 1976, Leonard and Verna were awarded the Green River Cattlemen’s Association Lifetime Membership Award. Leonard also received the Old Timer Award at the Cattlemen’s association banquet presented by Jep Richie.
Leonard and Verna had five children and raised their family in the heart of Boulder, including the historic E.P. Steele Ranch. Leonard is survived by his two daughters Carlta Witthar of Riverton and Melva Post of Pinedale.