Frank Svalina was born on January 9, 1934, to Pete and Margaret Svalina in Moorcroft. His grandfather had homesteaded in 1912, eight miles west of Oshoto. Growing up on the ranch Frank helped his dad trail cattle 30 miles into Moorcroft to be shipped by rail to Omaha, Nebraska. During his school years, Frank attended the Hahn School but quit after the eighth grade to aid his father in running the ranch. He did however receive his high school degree through correspondence. At the age of 18, Frank was drafted into the United States Army serving in 1952-53. After returning home, Frank’s father purchased another ranch near Rozet. Throughout the year they would move the cattle between both the homestead, now called the Svalina 15 Ranch, and the new ranch. In 1958, the 15 Ranch’s reins were passed down from Pete to his son Frank. From birth to adulthood Frank stayed on the 15 Ranch. Most of the horses he used and owned on the ranch, he raised and broke himself and with these horses he kept the tradition of feeding with teams. In his childhood, Frank was taught to feed the cattle with teams and continued to do so up until the late 1990s.
Frank Svalina
