Oliver and First Son Rawl, 1919
Oliver Smith Robinson: Tracker, Hunter, Rancher Extraordinaire
Born January 4, 1893 in Cardston, Alberta, Canada
Died October 15, 1974 in Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Married Edna Sylvia Rice on December 5, 1917 in Parker, Idaho
Children: Rawl, Dean, Norma and June
Research at ancestry.com revealed that Oliver was the grandson of Lot Smith, one of the original Mormon pioneers who were forced to leave Navoo, Illinois because of their commitment to practicing poligamy.  As a young child, Oliver was part of the migration to Salt Lake City, Utah.  He was a true pioneer in every sense of the word.  His father Lot had 9 wives and he was one of nearly 50 children, all fathered by Lot Smith. While he was not a practicing Mormon, or a follower of LDS Church, his early years were embedded in the original history of the religion.  No wonder he was so comfortable working for the US government as a trapper for the US Parks and Game Department.
Norma's Memories of her Father Recorded December, 1999
I must have been about 12 when we came back from the mountains and it seems outside of Ranchester a train came along and of course Dad had to race it. I remember Rawl and I hooping for him to beat it.
Another time we were going along Main Street in Sheridan Wyoming. It was bitterly cold and icy--there was a car ahead of us that Dad thought was going too slow. So he rammed the bumper and pushed it all the way up Courthouse Hill! I think George and I in the back seat were convulsed with terror and laughter!
My dad drove a stage coach in Yellowstone Park before he married Edna Rice. When he worked for my Grandfather Rice, Mother said he would drive a horse and wagon down Main Street in St. Anthony hell bent for leather---whipping and hollering all the way. After they were married he had to go into the Army into World War I. When he came back (safe and sound!) they homesteaded in Hoback Canyon. The nearest store was in Bondurant Wyoming and the big town was called Jackson's Hole for many years--they finally did take the "S" off Jackson. He made his living helping other ranchers with haying and ranch work but mainly he trapped beaver, fox, badger and bear---both Brown and Grizzly!
He was a sharpshooter in WWI which was then considered one of the elite soldiers. I think he had medals, but I don't know what they were. I never once heard him talk about the war.
He was known in Jackson Hole as a professional trapper. His older brother Orin got a job with the Dept of Interior--Wildlife Management. Oliver also got a job with the "GOVERNMENT" which was considered one of the best jobs one could attain. Complete security and a whopping salary of $125 a month. He had a territory of counties which were managed by him and he chose to live in Sheridan, Wyoming. Mother called it "my beloved Sheridan". She had indoor plumbing and a coal furnace---we were living "high on the hog".
I've always had teeth that got cavities easily and a molar in the 30's got rotted. I remember Dad pulled it with a pair of pliers but it shattered so they had to take me to a dentist in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I still remember it! Dad was standing watching and all of a sudden he keeled over flat on the floor. I remember screaming, "My Daddy is dead!" And the dentist kept saying "he just fainted." Mother got such a kick out of him fainting because of what he had been through in his life. The story was told for many years. I guess it was horrible because the root on my teeth are so long!
Before I forget--he was my hero and years later I found out that he had the gift of making his grand-daughter Bunny, my sister June and I all think that we were his favorite female! (I really was!)
He made a lot of money when he developed the scent they put on a humane fur getter to trap coyotes and wolves. Boy did it stink---musk oil, rotting flesh, fish, etc.--smelled awful but was very valuable like perfume.
The government furnished a panel truck, a Chevy that he had a bed roll, grub box and a lot of blankets. He slept in the back when he was out trapping unless a rancher gave him a little luxury. He did his own cooking and he used to say that potatoes, carrots, onions and a leg of lamb on a pit in the ground with rocks all around it and a touch of sage was the best eating there is. He used the old iron dutch oven.
When he came home after being out for 2 or 3 months, he would go down to the fire house and play poker and I don't know what else. He always sang "Hand me Down my Walking Cane". I remember always asking him for money when he was in his cups!
When he bought the ranch he had a sheep wagon that he lived in and herded cattle and sheep. It had a pot-bellied stove in it and he cooked on it and stayed there most of the year because he loved that kind of life. Think about the fact that here was a woman with four children---husband gone 2 to 3 months at a time with no communication. Mother must have worried a lot but also it was a way of life.

Oliver and Edna, circa 1960
Lisa's memories of her Grandpa Oliver Recorded July, 2013
Grandpa loved his grandchildren.  He was attentive and cheerful.  He had a big booming voice and a laugh that was just as big.  He loved it when we called him Grandpa.  He had built a room for himself out of the front porch.  He had a black and white tv and we grandkids always thought it was so amazing that he had a rainbow acetate overlay on it to make it appear as if it was a color tv.  He had a big oversized chair and loved watching tv on his porch.
He loved taking us to the rodeo when we would come to visit in the summers to Belle Fourche, South Dakota.  He loved buying sparklers and firecrackers just for his grand-kids for the fourth of July.
Grandpa taught me how to play Cribbage.  I've played many many games of Cribbage in my life.  I always think of playing with Grandpa every time I play.  And I think about how kind he was to me and how I knew he loved me.  I don't know how I knew, but I believed it with all my heart.  He died when I was 20 years old.  He died from cancer.  On his ranch, they used DDT liberally to control the insects, not knowing that it caused cancer.  I went to see him at the end.  He wasn't happy that we came because he didn't want us to remember him that way.  But he had no fears.  I don't recall very much about that visit except that I loved him, and I so very glad that I had the chance to say good-bye.