When Marion Hageman arrived in Wyoming as a schoolteacher, she fell in love with the state and its people.

"It was cozier but a bit wilder than Montana,” she said. “I liked the rural feel and the cattle ranches more so than farming."

Marion was born Nov. 21, 1923, on a farm outside of Vernon Center, Minnesota, delivered by her own grandmother who was the local midwife in their small rural community.

Now 102 years later, she’s still the matriarch of one of Wyoming’s most recognizable ranching and political families.

Marion's aunt was a superintendent of public instruction for several counties in central Montana, and both Marion and her sister followed in their aunt’s footsteps by getting their teaching certificates.

Following her graduation, Marion took a train to Montana and taught in

See Full Page