Folks call me an entrepreneur and I would tell you I was full-a-manure.

 I cannot explain why it happened, but I figured out early that to make money I had to multiply my time and find something other folks wanted.  So, when I was about 7 I started competing in the Grainola District Fair.  The first thing I should tell you is I was always way too big for my age.  (see pic of our basketball team, Mr. Morris was the only person taller and the three littlest guys were the only ones my age, the others were up to 3 years older) The first thing I remember competing in was riding in bicycle rases during the fair and then I tried to learn canning from my mom so I could enter the canning contest.  Then there was the horseshoe contest and the greased pig contest and the big one for me was turtle racing.  

Now here is where it got good, I figured that winning depended on the turtle and not on my ability.  So, I decided to collect turtles and sell them to fellows wanting to race during the fair.  That was very profitable and I would attempt to keep the fastest turtle for myself but that did not always work.  

My next full-a-manure venture was when I decided to borrow money from the bank ($70) to buy two ewe lambs.  That is another story but I should mention I was 9 yrs. old when I went to the bank and asked Mr. Andrews for a loan.  Alright, I will tell the rest of the story.  He asked me how I was going to pay back the loan and I gold him we would have baby lambs and wool to generate money for the loan.  He asked me how we would have baby lambs if I did not purchase a ram.  I told him they were already pregnant.  He said, "then I will make you the loan".  I should also mention that dad never came in the bank with me but sat in the pickup.  I should also mention that I sold one of the first lambs to my sister and I thought I kept the best lamb for myself.  She won the Osage County Spring Livestock show, I did not.

This is getting long so I will tell more in the next story.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• Hard work and a little risk taking can get you ahead in life
• Being the biggest guy in the school was not cool, until later
• A college education can hinder a person from reaching their best
• Hard work and tenacity can overcome 

Thanks for listening,

gary

Golson21@hotmail.com