Episode Details

EP 37 BOB RICHARD

Wendy Corr:

Music. Well, hey there, folks. Welcome to The Roundup. We're a Cowboy State Daily podcast, and we focus on interesting people here in the Cowboy State. And I'm telling you, I can't think of anybody who is more interesting than the gentleman sitting across from me here at the podcast studio at Gunwerks in Cody.

Bob Richard is the historian for Yellowstone, for Park County, for all of the amazing things that have happened in this region. But it's not just his life experience that he brings us, it's his father's and his grandfather's, going all the way back to when his grandfather and his uncle were scouts for Buffalo Bill Cody himself.

And it's just a pleasure, pleasure to be able to introduce anybody who hasn't met Bob Richard. And I'm not sure how many people haven't met Bob Richard, but to introduce anybody who hasn't met you, Bob, what a gift it is - your life experience and the things that you have brought to us and how you've enriched our experience is, just there's just no words for it.

So welcome, Bob Richard!

Bob Richard:

Thank you, Wendy. It's a pleasure to be here and to be with you, and having shared stories with you over the years is a delight. And thank you for inviting me.

Wendy Corr:

Oh, I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled.

Bob, you are the repository of so much knowledge, but it's your passion. You have lived an amazing life. You've had incredible experiences of your own. You share those with us, but you also share those with us in a larger context, and you're still doing that with your Local Lore series that you host at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West one Thursday a month.

Bob Richard:

We've been doing that for three years,

Wendy Corr:

and you've got a whole bunch of them racked up, and you just choose a different topic every time you go. But there's so many topics to choose from.

Bob Richard:

Well, it's all history, and if we can get it recorded and in the museum, it's an asset for future generations.

Wendy Corr:

It really is, but, but let's talk about the asset of Bob Richard here. Let's talk about Bob your your life experience is so rich. Born and raised here in Park County Wyoming, let's, let's go back a little farther, though. Tell us about going all the way back to Buffalo Bill Cody and and going forward, how is your family relation there?

Bob Richard:

Well, going back to the early family, Frost and Richard, Granddad came here in 1900. Ned Frost came in 1886 as a young man, about six years old. And their first year when they came here by wagon, went through Yellowstone Park, came back out, and this was up through Cooke City.

And then they went up and camped with the Crow Indians on the South Fork all winter. And wintered up there. Then they moved down on Sage Creek near what is now the Hoodoo ranch, and opened up a stage station on the Meeteetse stage route between Meeteetse and Red Lodge.

And then, when granddad got here in 1900 he joined Ned Frost as hunters for the railroad to provide meat to build the men working on the railroad, and they provided all the meat to feed them. And then from there, they started doing trips to Yellowstone and hunting trips, guiding people.

And in 1913 Buffalo Bill came to them and said, I'm bringing the prince of Monaco here, and he's going to be here three weeks, and he wants to go hunting. And Bill Cody made his staff, his horses, his equipment, available to Fred Richard because granddad spoke French when he was growing up and when he moved here.

And took him abo