By Amy Bickel
Kansas Agland
COMANCHE COUNTY – Getting here isn’t easy.
This, after all, is open range. You cross a number of cattle guards on dirt-laden Estill Road, past the cattle grazin
by the road, past a weathered sign that says you are now entering Comanche County. The roads meander across the rugged terrain, dotted with only a couple of homes before you see a sign that says the Merrill Ranch.
But this spot on the wide-open prairie is where – for 40 years – Dee Scherich and his wife, Phyllis, called home.
Most people his age would have retired long ago. But for 40 years, Dee, 76, has gotten up every morning as the sun is rising – checking on the some 800-plus cattle that roam the 17,200-acre ranch.
He knows every inch of it, too, every wildflower, every grass that grows. This is where he grew up – riding horseback with his father, the previous caretaker. He left for a short while, getting married then teaching high school before he brought his family back to Kansas’ Gyp Hills as manager of the Merrill.
It’s never been their land – they don’t own anything – yet Dee and Phyllis have cared for the Merrill like it was theirs.
But on this June day – Dee stood amid the grass and wildflowers – in a spot where you can see nothing but the Merrill for miles. He reflected back on how the spring wildfire – of historic proportions – narrowly missed the couple’s home, as well as the horse-riding accident about a decade ago that nearly took his life.
It’s taken a while to let go of the life he and Phyllis love. But he has taken to heart Phyllis’ words to him.
“I don’t want to leave here by myself,” she had said.
READ MORE …
The end of an era: A cowboy’s last ride – Part 1
The end of an era: A cowboy’s last ride – Part 2