November 2, 1909
George E. Younkin was a true cowboy. He was born November 2, 1909 and came to Mullen, NE at age 9, from a Boy’s orphanage, to live with the Younkin Family, South of Mullen. George learned to ride and love horses on a horse he called Blackie.
George left there at age 16, working on several different ranches, such as the Caver Ranch, Jake Kime, Big Creek, Coble and Marshall ranch.
He rode many miles moving cattle and breaking horses. He would wrangle horses from the Big Creek Ranch to the Caver ranch for all the ranch hands. Things were very tough for him at that time, but in talking with folks who knew him then, they said he never complained as he loved his lifestyle. He would ride the train with cattle, to the stockyards when they were shipped, keeping an eye on them for the rancher’s and, later on, for himself.
In his spare time he would ride Broncs in as many rodeos as he could afford to get to. Mullen Round-up Rodeo, Seneca, and Hyannis were a few. He rode broncs on the ranches to entertain the help in the evenings sometimes.
In 1936, George married Rana Dalton and to this union 8 children were born.
In 1941, he leased a place of his own and in 1952 bought his ranch. He was still riding and doing what he loved the day he was killed, at age 93.
George never missed a rodeo if he could help it. He watched his kids and grandkids and went to the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma and Las Vegas. He also attended the Calgary Stampede in Canada.
A few weeks before he was killed, a son-in-law asked him, “George wasn’t you scared when you got off the train in Mullen?” His response was, “Nope, I always wanted to be a Cowboy and I knew the Sandhills was the place.”