Dail Knori

Dail Price Knori was born on June 21, 1935 in Jackson, Wyoming. Her parents were Doug and Ileta Wells Price. Her paternal grandmother, Cora Nelson Price Barker, was the first white child in Jackson Hole. Her father, “Slough Grass” Nelson homesteaded on what is now the present day National Elk Refuge.

Dail grew up on her grandmother Barber’s ranch and attended a country school ¼ mile from the ranch. Dail enjoyed doing all the ranch chores and went to the field with the men every chance she got.

Their neighbor was her uncle, Bill Wells. Dail loved and admired him enormously. He was the first and only cattle buyer in Jackson and Dail loved the kind of work he needed done – no trucks or trailers. She rode from one end of Jackson Hole to the other, often bareback.

When Dail was 10 years old she went with her Uncle Bill up the Gros Ventre to trail cattle down to his ranch in the valley. Uncle Bill drove his truck and Dail followed the cows on horseback. It took them three days and Dail said she spent some cold nights in her sleeping bag “that came over on the Mayflower.” Dail also helped her family drive beef for market over Teton Pass to the railroad in Victor. They forded the Snake River and went ¼ of the way up the Pass on the first day. The 2nd day was on over the Pass to Victor to load the cattle around 4:00 in the afternoon. It was always in late November or early December. Dail remembers one day the thermometer at the station said 24 degrees below zero. She was warmer than some since she was riding bareback. Some years she did 3 to 4 trips.

Dail also worked for neighbors starting at a young age. In 1945 she worked for Bill Fleishman who ran cattle with Earl Hardeman on the Ditch Creek range. She worked on and off for him until 1975. Her school teacher, Gladys Moulton, was also a rancher. They ran their cows on the Black Rock range. Again at a young age, 12, Dail worked for them. It was while she was still helping them in 1985 that she met Betty Walton from the 4W or Walton Ranch. They became good friends and Dail went to work for them. She helped with the calving, sorting, and moving to the range. It was usually Mrs. Knori and the boys but they treated her “pretty darn good.” The 4W gave up the Black Rock range due to predators and took the herd to various summer ranges including Salmon, Idaho, Bone, Idaho, and Daniel, Wyoming. Dail went with them to every range helping with all the phases of cow work. She and the managers of the ranch, Bill and Carol Cawley, forged a friendship that continues today.

In 1954 Dail’s grandmother sold the ranch where they had been raised so the family moved to the old Price homestead. Dail worked for Mtn. Bell to help support the family. Later, she worked for Jackson State Bank and as a court bailiff for Judge Ranck.

Dail had one son, Mike, and was pregnant with her second son, Richard, when her first husband died of cancer in 1958. Two years later she started a new life with a big ol’ fun Nebraska cowboy, Rollie Knori. Rollie spent many hours in the saddle alongside of Dail and they are an inseparable team. They had one son, Bob, who died in a horse accident two years ago. They have four grandchildren who they have a big influence on and are a big part of their lives.

Rollie and Dail spend their summers in Jackson on land that was a part of Dail’s family ranch. They enjoy living in the revitalized house where Dail was raised. The winters are spent in Morristown, AZ. Although they don’t ride anymore they own horses and live the western life.