David F. Cook papers, 1917-1991

Dave Cook was foreman of the Warren Live Stock Company’s sheep operation for 41 years. In his later years, he became a prolific writer, completing four books and numerous articles for The Fence Post, a farm and ranch newspaper out of Ft. Collins, Colorado. Born David Franklin Cook in 1896, he grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming. After graduating high school in 1917, he went to work with the Warren Live Stock Company, south of Cheyenne. In 1921, he became foreman of the Northern section, the sheep operation, based out of Pole Creek Ranch. Cook’s sister, Elizabeth, married Fred Warren, son of Governor Francis E. Warren. During his 41 years as foreman, Cook was active in the sheep industry and spent much time abroad, especially in Australia, New Zealand, and the Orient.

Cook is also credited with organizing the first Boy Scout troop in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1916. He was also president of the Trap Shooting Club, which he helped organize in 1952. After the death of his wife, Wilma, Cook turned to writing. The proceeds of his first book, Uncle Dave’s Bedtime Yarns, were donated to the Daughters of the Nile, in memory of his wife, for use in the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. Cook went on to write three more books, two more children’s book and a history of the sheep industry, and become a frequent contributor to The Fence Post. Cook’s interest and experience in the sheep industry in southeast Wyoming culminated in the publication of The Way It Was!, which documented the industry from its beginnings and centered around the Warren Live Stock Company.