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Show gradually all the while he shifted the burden of business responsibilities onto Bill. For some time, John K had been serving mainly as an advisor in the business, although on days when he felt better, he sought to do something physical-- in order to help out. He loved to spend time at the ranch enjoying nothing more than going through each pen of rams-evaluating them, and deciding when one would be better moved to another pen, for uniformity. Each animal was individual in his eyes- according to Bill, who enjoyed watching John K work over a pen of rams. On occasion he helped by driving a few sheep from one pasture to another while he rode horseback. And he drove about in his car checking on sheep that were pastured. Sometimes his young grandson and namesake (John K. M. Olsen) rode with him and they used the "22" that was always carried in the car in case they saw a likely target. John K taught the boy how to handle a gun, and both of them delighted in the companionship afforded them in this manner. John K and Bill were concerned about Virginia. Although much younger than her husband, she was not always well-and they felt that she should begin to delegate her responsibilities. Besides doing the paperwork she always bottled hundreds of quarts of fruit preserves, and pickles for herd use each year - and much of the same for home use. She was proud of her fruit room shelves after bottling season. 251 |