Like many Pacific Northwest sheepherders, Sebastian Etulain emigrated from Europe's Basque country. He arrived in Yakima, Washington, in May 1921, convinced that hard work could overcome a lack of formal education and other obstacles. That became his doctrine, and he advanced to ranch owner before marrying Mary Gillard Foster in 1936. The Etulain sheep ranch lay among the rock ridges, coulees, hills, and grasslands twenty miles east of Ritzville in eastern Washington. Isolated and sprawling across nearly ten thousand acres, it included a sturdy ranch house surrounded by hay barns, a water pump house, corrals, and pens for sheep, goats, dogs, and pigs. The spread also had a milking parlor and creamery as well as a blacksmith shop. The Etulains adopted seasonal rhythms: for part of the year, their pasture grasses provided sufficient fodder, and in the summer, they herded most of their animals up to mountains near St. Maries, Idaho. But in winter, the sheep and cattle needed purchased feed, and plenty of it. Sebastian's three sons reveled in a magical upbringing on the ranch-despite the demanding work. In Boyhood Among the Woolies, his youngest son, Richard, reveals the family's story, a rare look at life on an early eastern Washington sheep ranch. He recounts endless chores, lambing season, sheep shearing, efforts to keep animals safe, and fighting one of the greatest dangers-grass fires. He also describes family activities, relationships with hired staff, favorite dogs, brotherly pranks and shenanigans, schooling and church in Ritzville, Basque history, and more.

1900-1999, Adams County (Wash.) Biography, Américains d'origine basque Washington (État) Biographies, Autobiographies, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / General, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs, Basque Americans, Basque Americans Washington (State) Biography, Biographies, Childhood and youth of a p

The Lay of the Land and the Ranch Layout A Faraway Basque Dad and A Saintly Mom Dicky Comes on Scene Older Brother Kenny and Big Brother Danny Off to School Magic in Ritzville Going to Church Herders and Hired Men Lambing Season The Sheepshearers Are Coming Trailing-On the Road to Idaho Summers in St. Maries A Passel of Sheepdogs Other Animals Games and Pranks The End Is Coming And Then . . Back to the Ranch