06/30/2002

Leon
Pearce
Auto-Biography

I was born in Ottawa, Kansas to Harold and Eva Pearce on March 18, 1930. I spent my youth in Yerington, Nevada. I was raised on a ranch and farm. My older brother, Bob and I made extra money by buying young un-broke horses at Warm Springs, Nevada and training them, then selling them. I was not able to go out for sports at school as I needed to get home to do chores and any other work needed.

After graduating from high school, I left home and worked as a cowboy on the Rafter 7 ranch on the Walker River. I spent the summer on Mount Grant, the summer range for the ranch. When it started getting cold, I decided that I did not want to spend any more winters working cattle and the other things that go along with that line of work. I moved to Hawthorne, Nevada and started driving local, charter and school bus for Las Vegas, Tonopah, Reno Stages. I also worked in their shop.

I spent much of my spare time team roping and calf roping. A group of us had a roping club at Hawthorne. We built an arena with all necessary things to hold rodeos. I traveled around that area rodeoing. There are many stories that could be told about what we did, but I won't bore you with them, even though they are great memories to me.

I was inducted into the United States Army in May 1951 and was stationed at Fort Ord, California. After basic training, I transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas. By the way, I did not enlist, I received a letter from the United States Government stating that my friends and neighbors chose me become a member of the Army. I completed basic training at Ft. Ord and artillery training at Fort Bliss and then was transferred to Whites Sands, NM. I was discharged from the service in May 1953.

During the time at Fort Bliss, I met Lee, my future wife at the Army YMCA at a square dance. About one year later on August 30, 1952, we were married.