Dr. Larry Olson - living on Beaver Creek

 

Dr. Larry Olson – living on Beaver Creek

For some reason Larry was always little, like dad, and I was always big like Uncle Olie (Minnesota Uncle).  Larry use to pick on me until I was about the 2^nd grade when I got bigger than him.  The doctor told my folks I would always be small because I was so sick as a little boy but by the time I was in the second grade I was taller than Mrs. Casselman, my teacher.  It was kind of embarrassing.  As soon as I was able, Larry stopped pestering me.  That means I retaliated. 

Larry and Dad but mostly Larry, taught me to hunt and fish.  Dad was especially good at teaching me to work.  Larry could milk a cow by hand faster than anyone I remember except Grandma Annie Lane.  Dad was pretty good too.  I was so glad we got rid of the dairy, but it left us with Jersey (our milk cow) and she had to be hand milked every day, twice a day.  I hated milking and I was not good at it.  She could handle two calves and still provide all the milk we needed.  I should mention that when the cow would slap Larry with its tail or the hobbles would get loose and she would kick-the-bucket (literally), Larry could rally cut one loose with words.  Many of you know what I mean and especially all those folks from Edisto or South Carolina who knew him. 

Ok, back to fishing and hunting.  Larry was the smart one and always talked me into acting like the bird dogs and walking down in the creek to jump the quail (we never had bird dogs).  That allowed him to get a better shot.  He hunted mostly with a 410 or Dad’s old 20-gauge bolt action and he was patient and accurate.  Billy Snyder would hunt with us on occasion (he is first cousin and Gladys’ son and Suzie’s brother).  They were the same age, and I still got the dirty work of crawling up and down the creek bed.  I actually loved it. 

I should also tell you that Larry and Bill were squirrel hunters, and me as well.  We had those big red squirrels and we never got skunked.  On occasion we would kill one and it would crawl into its nest.  NO problem, we always needed firewood as our house was mostly heated with firewood.  Dad would never let us leave a squirrel in a tree.  We had to cut it down and split the logs and of course carry it to the house.  One of those trees could supply a lot of wood.  To say the least Larry was great with a chain saw and so was dad.  I was the splitter (we did not have one of those fancy log splitters) and I did it the old-fashioned way with a sledge, steel wedges and an ax.  I would load the trailer.  Do you notice that Larry always got the easier part of the job?  Ask Becky Davis at Edisto, she would agree with this, or Bob Webb.  Bill and Larry always had really cool 22 rifles with scopes and I would have a Ruger 22 without a scope.  They were great shots.  Fishing, we will get to it.

I suppose I should go and get some work done.

So, what do you learn in the Osage?

• Some folks get handed the books when God made them and some get the looks, go figure
• God made some of us humble and some of us prideful, go figure
• Time spent with family is more important than who was best

Thanks for listening,

Gary

gary@mylifelegacy.co

A Brother worth having, Dr. Larry Olson

 

Larry Olson

We were raised on Beaver Creek 1 mile north and 3 west of Grainola, OK.  On a few hundred acres plus leased ground of a few sections.  He was the oldest and I think he was perfect in every way.  As a younger brother by 3.5 years he was my teacher and boss when Dad was not around.  We were always work aholics (is that a word) in work and play.  If we were not working with the cattle, hogs or chickens we were fishing and hunting up and down Beaver creek and I should say for hours and hours at a time.  Mom never worried about us as she knew we would come back if we got hungry. 

We raised registered Herefords and commercial cross cattle and what seemed like thousands of hogs.  It was not.  We also raised row crops like maize and corn plus alfalfa and wheat.  Every year we raised and showed cattle and hogs for the Osage county livestock show.  I would say the highlight was when Larry won the grand champion steer and I won the reserve grand champion steer.  Of course, Larry was an excellent livestock judger and until he graduated high school and started judging at OSU, he was the best, but he taught me to be the best after he left.  One year while on the OSU livestock judging team, he was also one of the judges who took judging the orals at livestock shows.  He gave me the worst score I ever received only to find out it was the best score he gave.  I was mad as hell at him until I found out.  I won the judging contest.  He was a great teacher.

Larry was always the best and most organized and it showed when he was at the highest level in Boy Scouts, 4-H, baseball where he pitched a perfect game, hunting where he was the best and fastest shot in quail hunting and red squirrel hunting. Raising cattle, hauling and bailing hay, driving a tractor, giving speeches at the state speech contests, in his studies valedictorian and at OSU the Presidents honor roll, he even ironed his own shirts.  He was like a nut that does not fall far from the tree, he was just like mom in perfection and like Dad in working hard and long every day.  He was always a leader in 4-H, the Methodist Youth Fellowship, and Oklahoma Hereford Association where he was President at one time. 

Larry was amazing with all the nieces and nephews and my daughter Wynter was the first one.  He would do anything she asked including having a fake tea party or watching the Smurfs.  He was the same with every child in the family and in particular Ryan Crow who wrote the following and I read this to him not 10 minutes before he passed:

 

Uncle Larry,

You will never know how special you were to me. You're the reason I know how to fish and why I love it so much. You taught me everything I know. I remember the day you showed me how to put the pink bubble gum fluke on my hook. I caught a pretty big bass shortly after that. I also remember the day we were on the boat on Richard's pond and I accidentally hooked a bob wire fence that was in the water. I felt so bad but you helped me out of it. I can't tell you how many times I hooked trees, fences, or grass and you always talked me through it and got it out and I never lost the bait. You mean so much to me and always will. I can't wait to fish with you in heaven and catch the biggest fish we've ever caught. I love you Uncle Larry and always will. Thanks for everything you've taught me.

I guess I should mention a couple things he was not perfect in, at least in my mind.  Once when he was about 12, we were supposed to burn off some dead brush piles.  Well, we poured about a gallon of gas on the pile then Larry bent down on his knees with a match and it exploded.  It burnt his eye brows and the hair on the front and sides of his face.  Luckily his skin was ok.  Another area where he was not perfect was when he ran over me with the truck.  Basically he pinned me between the barn and the truck and I still have a crease in my leg to prove it.  It was the only time I ever saw him cry as he thought he had killed me.

Here is Larry‘s (Dr. Olson)  fishing lunch menu:  beanie weenies, Famous Amos cookies, Cheez-its and there might be some Baby Ruth’s.  Those are his standard meal while fishing. 

Thanks for listening,

A Life Well Lived, Dr. Larry W. Olson,

By Gary Olson (brother)

 

 

Dr. Larry W. Olson April 19, 1949 to December 29th 2021

 

Obituary

Dr. Larry W. Olson, PhD

April 19^th, 1949 to December 29, 2021

Larry Wayne Olson went to his eternal home on December 29th, 2021. He was born in Winfield, Kansas to Clifford and Opal Olson. Larry received his undergraduate at Oklahoma State University and his master’s and PhD at the University of Nebraska. 

Larry had a passion for detail. At an early age, he developed a love for cattle and fishing while working on his parents farm and ranch in Osage County outside of Grainola, Oklahoma.  Larry graduated from Shidler High School with many honors, especially in 4-H on a local and state level.  He never wavered about his dream of building a bull and cattle research facility once he received his doctorate.   At Clemson University he was:

 Professor and Founder of the Edisto Forage Bull Test

Throughout life he loved to fish. He could tell you how many fish he caught each day and every year, the weather on that day, location, and lure he caught them on.  His focus for detail was unmatched in his career and fishing.

He loved his nieces and nephews, grand-nieces, and nephews.   He purposed to do anything they wished including having tea parties. Ultimately, he taught everyone to fish, THE RIGHT WAY.  It was especially heart warming at Christmas to see the fun gifts he gave his great-nieces and nephews.  The most recent gift was Pink Bubble Gum Supper Flukes.  Even those who were too young to fish received the prized Bubble Gum Supper Flukes.

Larry was a humble person. He loved Oklahoma, Osage County, and the country life, but he loved South Carolina, as well. He lived in Barnwell, South Carolina for 41 years and built a life there with many committed and kind friends.  In retirement he fished, literally, every day weather permitting.  His last recorded fishing date was late October and he documented 1350 bass in the boat for 2021.  I am certain he is fishing in heaven and talking to all the cowboys who went before him.

He is survived by his mother, Opal Olson (93) of Hennessey, Ok., sister Debbie and husband Butch Schaefer of Perry, brother Gary and wife Shouna Olson of Edmond, nephew Preston Olson and niece Wynter and husband William Casallas and their children Brecklyn and Brookston of Oklahoma City, nephew Chase his wife Kathryn and three children, Grace, Kelli and Cara of Edmond, nephew Cliff and wife Suzanne Crow of Kingfisher, and three children, Jayden (husband Jace) Flewellen, Zac and Ryan, Richard and wife Nancy Crow of Perry ,and three children, Alex, wife Kyleigh and daughter Ellie Opal, Megan and Clifton. 

In lieu of flowers make a donation to:

The South Carolina Cattlemen’s Association.  PO Box 207, Saluda, SC 29138.
Please make checks payable to the South Carolina Junior Beef Round-Up Larry Olson Scholarship Fund.

We would love to hear from you, especially your memories and stories of Larry.  Please send them to:

Gary Olson

12501 Dutch Forest Pl.

Edmond, Ok 73013

Or email to gary@mylifelegacy.co