SCHMALE BROTHERS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Brothers Emil C. and Oscar W. Schmale migrated to Medicine Bow, Wyoming, in the 1920s where they worked on the Ellis Ranch before filing on homesteads in the Shirley Basin. It was on Emil’s homestead on Difficulty Creek that ranch headquarters were established in 1924. The Schmale brothers expanded their cattle operations during the 1940s by purchasing the Bow River Ranch near Medicine Bow and the G Half Circle Ranch on the Big Laramie River. Oscar began breeding Black Angus cattle, and the Medicine Bow ranches were soon combined into the Bow River Black Angus Ranch. Emil H. Schmale, their nephew, managed the G Half Circle Ranch, which concentrated on crossbreeding Herefords with Black Angus to produce “White Face Blacks.” Emil’s wife Amanda Schmale established this scholarship in memory of Oscar and Emil Schmale and in honor of her nephew Emil to recognize their lifelong dedication to Wyoming’s cattle industry.