November 1930
Roland W. (Rolly) Glause was born November 1, 2930 to Paul and Gennieve Glause of Halsey, NE. He was brought into this world at the family’s home by Dr. Williams from Dunning, NE. Rolly is the third oldest child of eight other siblings. He is the oldest boy, and has two younger brothers and six sisters.
At a young age, Rolly’s interests for horses began. His dad had many workhorses and mules that they use to complete numerous daily ranch activities. Rolly has a lot of nice saddle horses growing up and he was always fascinated by calf roping. During his adolescent years, he would spend many hours roping the family’s hogs. When roping the hog, it was easier to handle them if a front leg was caught in the loop. The heal challenge was tying the hog’s legs after catching him. Needless to say, the hogs would make quite a racket and this activity provided many hours of entertainment for Rolly. However, roping the hogs needed to be kept strictly confidential. If his dad found out he was roping the hogs, he knew he would receive a good licking.
Rolly attended school at Halsey until he was 16. He developed other interests and thought that school wasn’t that important. One day his sisters shared that he was not attending school regularly and when his dad found out, he gave Rolly two options: he could either go to school or go to work. Rolly chose the latter and set out to find himself a job and has been working ever since. Rolly’s first job was working for Glen Nutter. Glen and Rolly spent countless hours practicing their calf roping skills.
In 1951, Rolly was drafted for the Korean War. He was sent to Germany were he remained for two years. He did not have to go to war but was a PFC and was involved in training sessions where he prepared to go to combat. He was discharged from the Army in 1953. Once he was discharged, he returned to Blaine County and went to work for Bill Huffman at the McAdams Ranch for the next 25 years.
Rolly was the 1955 and 1956 NACA (Nebraska Amateur Cowboy Association) calf roping champion. In 1973 and 1974 he exhibited the Nebraska Hi-Point Appaloosa Horse Club Calf Roping Horse. And in 1973, he exhibited the Nebraska Appaloosa Club Hi-Point Halter Gelding. The Hi-Point Gelding went on to win the best halter gelding at the World Show in Oklahoma City that year. At the age of 43, Rolly won the saddle bronc riding at the Old Timer’s Rodeo in Hyannis.
After Rolly finished working for McAdams, he went to work for the next seven years at the DeGroff Ranch in Brewster. In 1988, he married Lorraine Saner Downing and moved to Broken Bow. He continued to work and gained employment at Adams Land and Cattle Company as a pen rider where he was employed for 22 years. In 1995, Rolly’s picture appeared in Beef Magazine where he was referred to as a most valuable player. In the caption under Rolly’s picture appeared a quote by Lawrence Adams saying, “Rolly is one of the most dependable and hardworking employees that we have. He is an exceptional horseman when it comes to cattle movement and he is very careful and conscientious with the cattle.” To this day, Rolly still puts in a few hours working at the feedlot. His philosophy is to keep working so you have a reason to live.
These days you will find Rolly still living in Broken Bow with his wife Lorraine. If you were to ask Rolly for his best advice about calf roping, he would say, “There are many secrets to being a competitive calf roper, but the most important is making a good tie. You need to be quick on the ground and be prepared for any situation. Also, it never hurts to be riding a good horse.”
Rolly’s cowboy attributes have been admired by many. He is humble about his accomplishments in the rodeo arena. However, he has paved the way for many calf ropers who have competed in the amateur rodeo division in Nebraska. Rolly is a “true” cowboy that so many have come to respect as he preserves the cowboy lifestyle by living it every day