Ansel signs in with Lagene
Dr. Dan, Ansel, and Anita
Now Ansel goes once a month, more for sort of a "well check" visit. It's been great to have someone tracking and watching his health from the inside out. The staff is like family to us. Lagene, Samantha, (Dr's wife) and Anita are terrific. So our recommendation to you is if you have anything health wise going on that is amiss... from the normal things you'd seek chiropractic care for, to nutritional needs and holistic care - make an appointment with Dr. Dan. ( for those of you coming from Burns, the office is super easy in and out. It's right on Greenwood on the right, just before the Arco station at the jct of 97)
Small world... Anita overheard us talking of San Ysidro, CA... and that Ansel's mother and father had a house there that is now a parking lot for the border crossing, anyway she said her family lived there too and that her father was the grounds keeper for "a" race track named Aqua Caliente... This was probably the track that Ansel raced the most at in his career. Her Dad and Ansel, unbeknownst to each other, were probably there at the same time in the 30's and 40's.
Hmmm, isn't it a small world. Next time I'll take our Caliente book in for her to see pictures of the track.
Lunch with Paul
Paul tries to come most Wednesdays for a visit and to have lunch with Ansel. Paul has been very helpful around the place here. He and friend Pate have hauled many a bale of hay for Ansel since he stopped driving. This week Ansel was telling Paul about Emery Fiske...
Emery Fisk: was a cowboy who was know to always use a bull whip to herd cattle and wrangle horses. He said one time Emery was up in the badlands of North Dakota and when this fellow came to pick him up, he found that the fellow had loaded his saddle and gear into his truck, and had removed Emery's bull whip from his saddle and had thrown it up on the porch... When Emery came out and saw that, he started to get his saddle out of the truck, the fellow said what are you doing??? Emery said, if my whip doesn't go, I don't go... So the fellow hustled around and got Emery's bull whip and put it back on his saddle.
Emery told of moving 300 head of steers and 76 saddle horses by himself in the badlands country. It took him 5 days and 5 nights, to move them the 100 miles and he never saw another soul and did it all by himself with his bull rope and the 76 head of saddle horses. (the horses traveled loose in amongst the herd of cattle) When Emery got to where he was going with those 300 head, he still had three hundred head with just himself, his horse and his bull whip and no dogs. He said he might ride five head of horses each day. He said as he rode along, if he wanted the lead to go to right, he'd just ride up on the left and pop his whip and they'd move right where he wanted them to. He made sure every night when he bedded down, that one horse was hobbled and saddled, so he'd be sure to not be left a foot.
Emery ended up working for Jackie Westrope's father grooming horses at Aqua Caliente. He eventually became a race horse trainer and that was where Ansel met him at the Aqua Caliente race track in Tijuana, Mexico in about 41.
Ansel taught Emery's son Bill to be a race rider (jockey) back in the early 40's. He was a real good rider and got good mounts to ride. The other boy he taught to ride was Doug Dodson from Burns. Doug did pretty good, he won the Preak Stakes, and he was second to Citation in the Derby [Kentucky] and he made the Jockey Hall of Fame. When he'd come home to Burns, he used come down to our Lawen place and hunt geese.
Emery ended up being a very well know deputy sheriff in San Bruno, CA. He solved a very prominent murder case, and was asked to become an agent with the FBI. He eventually retired from the FBI. His son, Bill was a very good jockey and did real well.
Then he told of prominent jockey, Jackie Westrope who is in the Jockey's Hall of Fame. Jackie Westrope was married to Hollywood actress Nan Grey. Nan eventually left him and married Frankie Lane.
