Cow Creek Cedar keeps family cowboy tradition alive, ranching
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| Colby Shearer (sitting) and his wife, Meghan, their daughters, Terryn, 3, and Kellyn, 5, and his brother, Trent (standing) and his wife, Betsy, are all involved in Cow Creek Cedar. The furniture business that they operate on their ranch, 25 miles north of Wall, S.D., allowed Colby and Trent and their families to return to the ranch where they grew up and their dad, Glendon, and mom, Pam, still run a cow/calf operation. Tri-State Neighbor photo by Wendy Sweeter |
When Glendon Shearer, was only 20 he
purchased land on the banks of the Cheyenne River for his cow/calf operation.
Today, 30 years later, with some creative ingenuity, faith and an abundant
natural resource, Cow Creek Ranch is home to Shearer, his wife, Pam, and their
two sons, Colby and Trent, and their families.
Born into a long lineage of cowboys, Glendon says he never considered doing
anything in life but ranch. His great-great-grandfather was a buffalo hunter who
started calving out cows in the 1860s on a ranch in Texas. His grandpa and dad
started ranching in the Wall, S.D., area in the 1950s, only 18 miles from
Glendon's ranch, which is 25 miles north of Wall.
“A rancher is something you are - not something you become,” Glendon said.
“I wouldn't have a clue why I chose ranching. I was just born with it I guess.
It's part of my heritage.”
Like their dad, Colby, 31, and Trent, 26, wanted to make ranching their life's
work.
“I never wanted to leave the ranch. I did leave, I actually left for several
years and went to school ... then I was a reenactor in several movies - the fact
is, I just wanted to be here,” Colby said.
Cow Creek Ranch is 7,000 acres of what Glendon refers to as rough river breaks
along the shores of the Cheyenne River. He operates a 300-cow commercial
cow/calf operation. Glendon retains ownership and manages an
age-and-source-verified herd.
He says that at the time both his boys
graduated from high school and left the ranch, it could not have supported more
than one family. Then, about six years ago he got two phone calls that made him
start looking for unique ways to earn more money from Cow Creek Ranch.
“One of the boys called home and said there has to be some way that we can
make a living ranching - then a week later the other one called,” Glendon
said. “We are a praying family, so I spent a lot of time praying about it. God
kind of drifted us this direction - using the resources we had on our ranch.”
Cow Creek Cedar is born
The Shearer men decided to use their ranch's plentiful
resource of cedar trees - which grow wild on much of their and their neighbors'
ranchland - to build furniture and indoor and outdoor railings.
“Cedar, most places, except here, is called a weed,” Glendon said. “In
western South Dakota, we have a terrible time getting anything to grow.”
Glendon says that although they didn't have much experience building furniture
out of cedar, it seemed to come naturally. Trent built a cedar bed when he
was in high school - Colby says that for years they'd used it for corrals and
fenceposts.
“Cowboys have always been known to build things for themselves. They built
headstalls, created rawhide, basically they've always built different things -
wagons, furniture - things they needed to use,” Glendon said. “It seems the
boys have natural talent.”
Today, the brothers use cedar and cottonwood from their ranch to create
railings, bar stools, beds, end tables, rocking chairs, wine racks, bars, dining
room tables, poker tables, benches - basically if you can dream it, Trent and
Colby will custom build it out of cedar or cottonwood.
“It's a lot of fun working with cedar,” said Trent, who lives on the ranch
with his wife, Betsy. “Every piece is different, even if you make the same
chair or bed, it is different because of the different swirls and colors in the
cedar. I find myself setting certain pieces of cedar away for specific
projects.”
Of all the pieces of furniture that he and his brother have created, Trent says
his favorite piece thus far, is the flip-over poker table/dining room table.
“We made a poker table two to three years ago and everyone liked it at the
Black Hills Stock Show, but they kept saying, you can't eat off of it,” he
said. “So, we made one that you can eat off of. Since we custom build
everything, if someone comes up with an idea, we can go from there.”
Now that cedar trees are the reason Colby and Trent could return to their
family's ranch, Colby says he has a new found respect for cedar and cottonwood
trees.
“Everything changed once we started using it to build railings and
furniture,” Colby said. “I used to cut cottonwood for firewood, now I have
to be selective on what we cut for firewood,” said Colby, who lives on the
ranch with his wife, Meghan, and their two daughters, Kellyn, 5, and Terryn, 3.
As they need the wood, the Shearers cut down cedar or cottonwood trees from
their property - if they are in a bind, Colby says they contact their neighbors,
who are more than willing to get paid for cedar off their land. Once they have
the wood collected, they utilize a dowel mill to remove the bark.
To view the Shearers' creations, visit www.cowcreekcedar.com.
Along with Cow Creek Cedar, the Shearer family also guides hunts and plan to
open a bed and breakfast this spring.
“You gotta diversify to make it,” Glendon said. “I give credit to God. We
are a praying family and spend a lot of time praying. Anytime that I've had
hardships that's what we always go back to. I've always been that way, otherwise
I wouldn't have been buying a ranch at 20.”
Glendon says he wouldn't trade having the family close by for anything. He says
that when it's time to work cattle he's got a willing team of family ready to
saddle up and help.
“I love it. Having the grandkids running through the office every day and with
a family operation, everyone is here to help,” Glendon said. “My 5-year-old
granddaughter is always ready to go when I saddle up my horse.”
A Big Thank You to Lura Roti for writing this story and allowing us to use it.