To the EDITOR:

No matter what the weather; hot, cold, wet, fog, sleet, or blinding blizzard, a tall staunch figure of a man could be seen daily trudging east or west on East Lincolnway. Noticed by thousands and known by few, this man became a moving landmark to the residents of East Cheyenne . . . And now we shall see him no more.

He was a mere man. He was a proud man; He was a self-educated man walking daily to his world of knowledge -- the public library, and he had great tolerance and understanding for the modern world he walked in.

He had no one, but he would tell you he had everyone .....

He had nothing, but he would tell you he had everything.....

He said so few words, but he said so much when he spoke.....

I am one who feels privileged to have been able to converse with Ross E. Wickham. I will never know what prompted me to stop one snowy day and ask him if he would care to ride... It was bitterly cold. His remark was--

"I walk for a purpose, you know. It is so good for the body and the mind. Thank you. Today I shall ride for a purpose, for I twisted my ankle yesterday and I do feel it."

From the moment he got into my car, I felt the greatness of purpose in this man. His eyes and mind were visionary, his humor young, his memory sharp and keen. He read at the library daily. He was well informed. For a half a century he had been a cowboy working the range country he loved so much. He was proud to have been in two "cinemas" having worked at the Remount Ranch when "My Friend Flicka" and "Green Grass of Wyoming" were filmed there.

His esteem for woman was fantastic... "The keener of the species," he related. "Check your History, my girl, (I am in my forties) and you will find that the female outdoes the male in every instance...the Almighty intended it this way," he continued. "Perceptivity is the difference and we men have fought it since the beginning of time. I only hope I live to see Her in the Presidency....and She will you know."

What a privilege to have listened to this man with more than eight decades of vision behind him! He walked each day with the future.

I shall miss this figure on Lincolnway. I shall miss the occasional visits that were sheer happenstance. I always intended to have him for dinner -- Now, I never shall.

He was always alone to the observer, but within himself he was always in a crowd--sharing the world and all that’s in it, physical and psychological. Of all the hundreds of times I passed this man, I wish I’d stopped more often. He had so much to offer the passing community and he chanced to share it with so few.

HE HAD NO ONE, BUT HE HAD EVERYONE........
HE HAD NOTHING, BUT HE HAD EVERYTHING..
HE WAS OF LITTLE MEANS, BUT SO VERY WEALTHY.....…

Ross married Anna Barber (1882-1948) in 1909 in Newark, New Jersey. There he worked as a claims adjuster at the insurance company begun by his father, so he was gone during the week. They owned a farm in Branchville until 1922. At that time they moved because Anna’s mother lived with them. He was a good carpenter. Anna, who had traveled quite a bit before they were married, played the flute in an orchestra.

He walked 14 miles daily (lived 7 miles outside Cheyenne) and was walking that distance at age 81, when he died. In a public library in Cheyenne is a clock we gave in his memory, has a plaque with his name, dates and ‘Cowboy Wyoming’ (in main reading room).

This photo is also in the booklet published by Union Pacific Railroad, "Dude Ranches Out West."

DUDE RANCHES OUT WEST

The "Dude Ranch" vacation, annually becoming more popular, is as much a part of Americana as the Pony Express and Wells Fargo. Shortly after the turn of the century, some of the ranches in the Union Pacific West began accepting "paying guests" during the summer months. These "guests" in many instances, were people whose nerves had frayed and grown weary of the bustle and din of city life, and who, through mutual friends, arranged to take advantage of the delightful informality of the ranch life, and the dry, clear, exhilarating air of the western country.

From: "Dude Ranches Out West", p. 12

REMOUNT RANCH. Location: 25 miles west of Cheyenne, near Granite Canyon. Setting for Mary O’Hara’s novels "My Friend Flicka" and "Thunderhead." Take Union Pacific to Cheyenne where ranch car meets guests by appointment, without charge. Elevation 7,500 ft.

Accommodations: Six guest rooms in ranch house and individual cabins, with tile bath, shower and fireplace. Central dining room and bar.

Activities: Riding, fishing.
Rates: On request to Remount Ranch, P.O. Box 536, Cheyenne, Wyo.

ROBERT ROSS WICKHAM (1910-1972) was a salesman and an accountant. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and swimming. He married Martha Wood, a stenographer for many years in Albany. She died September 1986. They had one child, Robert Ross Wickham, Jr.

Robert Ross Wickham at his sister, Barbara‘s wedding, August 24, 1941. Pictured here are Ross E and Anna, Robert and his wife, Martha, the Matron of Honor, and her parents Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wood. Eleanore was expecting son, Ken, in six weeks so was NOT the Matron of Honor!!

BARBARA WICKHAM (1912-1/26/88) married Philip Decker who died suddenly on the operating table for minor surgery at the age of 40 in 1951. Barbara was an elementary school teacher for 35 years. She was a fine pianist and organist who enjoyed traveling. She was a sportswoman who enjoyed ice skating and tennis, and was an avid swimmer. In later life she had leukemia, then a stroke and subsequent memory loss.

Barbara and Phil had three children, James, 1945, and Jean and Joan, twins, born in 1947. In 1963 Barbara married Stanton Allen (1911-1974).

Barbara with second husband, Stan,
whom she outlived by 14 years.

ELEANORE WICKHAM, b. 4/26/18, married Fred Bowman, b. 1/9/16. Eleanore began working in 1968 as a typist for the Division of Parole, where she worked for 24 years. Fred was a certified genealogist and was the author of eight books on genealogy—research type—which appear in many libraries throughout the United States.