Point Reyes Light - September 26, 2002

Bolinas Cowboy Meyer dies

By Larken Bradley

Former Bolinas resident Benedict "Ben" Martin Meyer, a rodeo cowboy who, in the early 1970s, mentored a large group of young Bolinas women in the craft of horsemanship, died Sept. 12 at his Schellville ranch in Sonoma County.

Mr. Meyer, 84, died one week after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

West Marin horse boarder

A resident of West Marin for fifteen years, Mr. Meyer opened a horse-boarding barn on the Tacherra property across from Bolinas School where he worked as a janitor. At the ranch he taught everything he knew about equines to a group of teenagers, now in their mid-40s.

Mr. Meyer guided the youngsters from the purchase of their first colts, to caring for the animals after long rides on the beach and mesa. They accompanied him on his rounds to the feed barn and cattle auctions. He assisted his protégés in training a mule named "Jasbo" to perform tricks. The four-legged creature eventually developed enough skill to participate in Point Reyes Station’s annual Western Weekend parade.

In his trailer an ever-present kettle of beans stewed, while a pot of cowboy coffee brewed, welcoming an endless string of visitors of all ages.

Like having a third parent

"We hung out at Ben’s from morning to night," Bolinas resident Suki Ferrari told The Light on Wednesday. "It was like having a third parent."

Mr. Meyer was born in Schellville on Aug. 19, 1918, to Swiss immigrant parents, Benedict Joseph Meyer and Katherine Gisler Meyer, who fled to Sonoma County from San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.

A member of a family of several generations of innkeepers, his father operated a hotel in Schellville, and later purchased a ranch where he opened a dairy. His father was later killed in a tractor accident on the farm.

The dairy remained in the family, and as a young man Mr. Meyer traveled the western states performing and competing in calf-roping competitions. A well-known cowboy in the 40s and 50s, he and his family moved from Schellville to Colorado for a time before relocating to West Marin.

Mr. Meyer drew great pleasure showing others the ropes of a cowboy’s life, friends said. Remembered as an excellent dancer, he was known to grace the floor at Point Reyes Station’s old Two Ball Inn where he taught many women the Texas Two-Step.

Cowboy epitaph

In cowboy fashion, Mr. Meyer asked friends that his epitaph read: "He slipped on through the dew . . . ."

He is survived by his son and daughter-in law, Buck and Lynn Meyer of Bolinas; son, Fritz Meyer, and his partner Sally Middleton, of Sonoma; daughter, Victoria "Meitty" Meyer; and daughter and son-in-law, Heidi Meyer-Garrow and Rick Garrow, all of Onalaska, Washington; and granddaughters, Chelsey Meyer of Bolinas; and Sara Garrow of Onalaska, Washington.

He was predeceased by his daughter, Jody Meyer; and his sister, Kate.

No formal memorial service will be held.

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