Wyoming
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Matilda ‘Tillie’ Bock Sewell Spent Years…
It’s well-known in Wyoming ranch country that gender is irrelevant. Anyone who can do the job is a cowboy.
In the case of Matilda “Tillie” Mae Bock and her sister Clara, when their dad Julius “Jule” Bock needed cowboy help, they were the eldest children in the family and were the ones to saddle their horses and go to work.
Tillie was born Nov. 30, 1902, on the Double Spear Ranch in Weston County. This was land her father had homesteaded when he was 21 years old, the minimum age for a man to claim a homestead.
He built a cabin and proved up on his land while starting his family with wife Bertha.
Julius would eventually buy more homesteads and the YT Ranch, giving him property across a wide territory. Ultimately, he acquired 1,200 head of cattle and had 2,000 head of sheep.
Initially Julius, with Tillie and Clara to help, managed the operation. Later, other children assisted, and he also hired help, so he eventually had a crew of 20 men.
Tillie started school when she was only 4 years old. At that time, classes were held only during June, July and August, because of the winter weather being so severe. To get to the school, she and her six siblings either rode their horses or walked.
She Grew Up In The Saddle
Riding was second-nature for Tillie and she spent most of her childhood and adult life in the saddle.
This October she will be inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame, joining her father in the elite group of cowboys in the WCHF. He was inducted last year.
All seven Bock children were born on the ranch.
Tillie and Clara being the oldest learned at a young age to carry their share of ranch work. They spent long days in the saddle, helping gather cattle and sheep during the roundups, and helping ship them on the railroad.
Weston County History reports both became “exceptionally good horsewomen at a fairly young age.” In fact, Tillie and her sister were featured at the Belle Fourche Roundup one year as “The girls from Newcastle who roped and tied steers.”
Family friend Joe Fordyce once said that, “If a guy had a horse that could not be broke or if the horse had bad habits, he recommended to anyone to take the horse to the Bock Sisters.”
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Matilda “Tillie” Bock Sewell earned a reputation as being cowboy tough and a true Wyoming cowboy around Weston County. She was often with her sister Clara. (Courtesy Candy Moulton)
Cowboy Tough
Tillie married George Sewell in 1925. She continued to be actively engaged in the ranching business for many years in addition to raising her family of seven children.
Tillie had a succession of favorite horses and put many miles on each of them.
After her marriage, Tillie lived at the YT Ranch. Later, she and George worked on other ranches. When George died in 1949, she was left to raise their three children that were still at home.
Tillie and her children went through trying times, but they were cowboy tough. She recalled “many cold winter mornings, waking up and having to thaw the tea kettle that froze on the stove overnight.”
Tillie had learned cowboy work from her father and she instilled in her children, and grandchildren, the cowboy way. Her three sons also worked in ranching and farming.
Other Featured Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Famers:
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Joseph Rex Wardell Ran Cattle For 53 Years
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Frank E. Miller Rode The Range In Carbon County
Wyoming Cowboy Hall Of Fame: Kent Snidecor’s Not A Rancher, He’s A Cowboy
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Veteran Legacy & New Exhibit At Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Mickey and Bill Thoman, a Cowboy Couple
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: A Hamilton Cowboy Legacy
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Mary Flitner – My Ranch, Too
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Marion Scott, Campbell County Cowboy
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Pat Dew
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Marie Jordan Bell — Iron Mountain Cowgirl Who Earned Her Spurs
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Bill Francis, Cowboying in Jackson Hole
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame: Stepp Family Forges Way For Black Cowboys
Wyoming Cowboy Hall Of Fame: From Brush Creek to Buffalo Bill’s Wild West
Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame Saddles Up with Cowboy State Daily
34-Years Ago Sunday, Lane Frost Died At Cheyenne Frontier Days, Cowboys Remember
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
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Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
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