When Frank's father, Peter, gave up on farming and got a job as the stable boss in Pine Ridge, Frank worked as a herdsman for the government. This was at the time of the Battle of Wounded Knee.

Frank later hired out as a ranch hand for Bill Valandry, Bill McGaw and Dick Stirks. they sent him up to the Cheyenne River to "rep" for them on a roundup. He knew nothing about punching cows and found it to be the hardest work he had ever done. Since the rest of the hands wore guns, he got himself a big 45 six shooter. It was a monstrous thing, and he lugged it around until it wore a blister on his hip. Then he left it with the cook at the chuck wagon.

The men on a roundup had a hard life, riding in rain or shine, and they had to stand night watch all too often, but Frank liked it and got interested in cattle. He kept working for cattlemen and saved his money. When he eventually got a few cattle of his own he started ranching with his brothers on Pass Creek near the present site of Veta, South Dakota. He later moved to the Sandhills about 12 miles north of Cody, Nebraska, where he married Lotta Pick in 1897 and settled permanently in the cattle business.

Frank started his ranch life very simply. When he and Lotta were married they lived in a tent, and she cooked over a campfire. She often wrapped her feet in gunny sacks when cooking to keep her feet warm. During the winter, Frank's brother Ed (Sonny) camped on the place in the pines and cut logs. Working between other jobs, they built a one- room house. One or more of Franks brothers lived with them at different times for several years. At night the brothers would spread their bedrolls on the floor and then roll them up in the morning and put them outside the door to give Lotta room to get breakfast.

After their first child, Frank Wendell, was born, another room was added, which made the house eighteen feet long. It was divided by an archway into a kitchen, living room,and a bedroom. The floor was covered with rag rugs over straw, making it a cozy home.

In 1901 their second son, Oliver Eugene, was born. More logs were cut and hauled, and more rooms were added to the house. While this building was going on there was a smallpox scare, so the agency doctor came around and vaccinated everyone. Imagine doing carpentry work with such sore arms! When they finished building, they had a five- room "mansion" - a kitchen, a dining room, living room, and two bedrooms. It was in this house that Leonard, Charlotte, and twins Elsie and Agnes were born.

The Livermonts were pretty much isolated with very few neighbors. The nearest doctor was at Valentine or Gordon, Nebraska. Many times they went six months without a dime in the house. Frank talked Clare Cole, the Cody merchant, into giving them credit until his cattle were ready for market. He paid Mr. Cole off in a year, $160 being the amount that had bought all of their groceries, clothing and other supplies. 

Frank had free range for a few years since his herd was small, and he had all the range and hay land he needed. Later, he got his allotment of a section, and Lotta got a half- section of land. Then the homesteaders started coming in. They filed on land all around them, so he had no place for the cattle to range. He and his brothers leased most of the Pass Creek basin south of Kadoka, South Dakota. When their lease ran out, he was cramped for range so he turned his cattle over to Tom Berry, who ran them for three years. Frank paid three dollars per head per year. By this time homesteaders were giving up, so Frank stared buying them out and soon acquired all the range land he needed.

In late 1912 a bad prairie fire burned much of the range lands. Frank took some of his brother-in-law's (Ed Young) cattle to help him out. Frank put his own steers on the Brown's slough place, a few miles south, with Joe Bauman feeding them. About the middle of March, Joe came to the home place and stayed overnight. A blizzard came up so fast he wasn't able to get back to the Brown's place. (Note by the author Charlotte Rice: "I can remember the men coming in from the barn where they had gone to take care or their stock with icicles covering their faces.") Frank's steers, about 200 head, drifted into the slough and were all lost.

Frank had been planning on enlarging the house, which by now was very cramped with seven children. At first the plans seemed to be shot because of the loss of his cattle, but Frank decided to go ahead with his plans despite this loss. So Joe and Frank Bauman put siding on the old log house, plastered it inside, and added a framed second floor, making it a very comfortable home with a kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom and washroom on the first and four large bedrooms upstairs. They had a windmill and cement cistern on the hill behind the house which furnished running water for the house and corals. Then in 1918, a Delco light plant was installed, so there was electricity all over the place.

Although Frank never had the chance to go beyond the third grade, he realized the value of an education. His three oldest sons - Frank, Eugene and Peter - were sent to mission and government schools. By the time Leonard was old enough for school, Frank and his brothers, who were neighbors now, hauled lumber and built a schoolhouse near Cedar Lake. (According to author, Charlotte Rice, this was the first school that she attended. She later taught her first year in the same building, although it had been moved a few miles from its original site.) Frank saw to it that all four of his sons finished high school business courses. He also saw to it that his three daughters each had two years of college to prepare them for teaching.

Frank began serving as county commissioner of Bennett County in 1920, and served in that capacity continuously, with the exception of two years, until his death on December 16, 1937.

He had retired from the ranching business in 1930 and bought a home in Martin, South Dakota. He sold the home place, but kept the brown slough place just in case he couldn't stand retirement.

After Frank's death, Lotta moved to Los Angeles. In 1957 she moved back to Bridgeport, Nebraska, but she still spent much of her time in California. She was staying with her son Eugene at the time of her death on March 13, 1963.

Tales told by Frank: At one time he had a young Frenchman working for him. He had heard about the settlers burning cow chips for heat. One cold night he picked up a basked of frozen cow chips for his fire. He put them in the stove in the bunk house, and when his "fuel" thawed out, you can imagine the mess he had.

Frank had a very unique way of "breaking" his team of horses. Usually the team was handled just enough so they could be hitched up. Since they wouldn't stand still, Frank would drive them around the place until he could get them stopped. A suit case or bundle would be thrown in the wagon. He them made another trip around the place and another bundle would be thrown in the wagon. Next, an older child would be put in the wagon as the team stopped. Another trip around, and another child would be put in the wagon. After all the children were in the wagon, Lotta would get into the wagon, and after one more circle, the baby was handed to Lotta, and off they would go to Pine Ridge, South Dakota. By the time they made the trip and returned, the team, though very tired, was broken well enough to work.

This is biographical information written by Charlotte Rice, daughter of Frank E. Livermont.