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After sponsoring pack trips for both boys and girls into Yellowstone, Larom in 1922 established a college preparatory school for boys. The operation folded in 1934 because of the impact of the [[Great Depression]].<ref>W. Hudson Kensel, Lecture, "The Valley Ranch and Irving H. 'Larry' Larom: A History of Dude Ranching on the South Fork of the Shoshone River," Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, October 16, 2006.</ref>One of the instructors at the school confessed that most of the boys were not promising students because their family wealth provided them with financial security. In their situations, organized study was more of an avocation or even an irritant than the potential passport to later financial rewards that might have motivated middle-class youngsters.<ref name=review/>​

After sponsoring pack trips for both boys and girls into Yellowstone, Larom in 1922 established a college preparatory school for boys. The operation folded in 1934 because of the impact of the [[Great Depression]].<ref>W. Hudson Kensel, Lecture, "The Valley Ranch and Irving H. 'Larry' Larom: A History of Dude Ranching on the South Fork of the Shoshone River," Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming, October 16, 2006.</ref>One of the instructors at the school confessed that most of the boys were not promising students because their family wealth provided them with financial security. In their situations, organized study was more of an avocation or even an irritant than the potential passport to later financial rewards that might have motivated middle-class youngsters.<ref name=review/>​

Larom was a conservationist and a [[conservative]] [[Republican Party|Republican]], an [[Episcopalian]], and a teetotaler. He opposed the Wyoming Civil Rights Act of 1957, signed into law by then [[Governor]] Milward L. Simpson as well as the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], which then [[U.S. Senator]] Milward Simpson and five Republican colleagues voted against. Larom feared that the unintended consequences of such laws would render it impossible to screen his guests. When he could no longer find enough high-paying guests who fit into the family image of Valley Ranch, Larom sold the enterprise but resided with his wife, Irma, on the property for a few more years, despite his declining eyesight. He opposed government measures that opened areas near the ranch to public campgrounds and day-use picnicking facilities, which he believed lowered adjacent property values.<ref name=review/>​

Larom was a conservationist and a [[conservative]] [[Republican Party|Republican]], an [[Episcopalian]], and a teetotaler. He opposed the Wyoming Civil Rights Act of 1957, signed into law by then [[Governor]] [[Milward Simpson]] as well as the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], which then [[U.S. Senator]] Milward Simpson and five Republican colleagues voted against. Larom feared that the unintended consequences of such laws would render it impossible to screen his guests. When he could no longer find enough high-paying guests who fit into the family image of Valley Ranch, Larom sold the enterprise but resided with his wife, Irma, on the property for a few more years, despite his declining eyesight. He opposed government measures that opened areas near the ranch to public campgrounds and day-use picnicking facilities, which he believed lowered adjacent property values.<ref name=review/>​

W. Hudson Kensel, who penned a biography of Larom, contends that the primary factor in the success of Valley Ranch was neither the scenery, the solitude, nor the wildlife but Larom himself: "People were attracted to Valley Ranch for a summer, and often for many successive summers mainly because they liked Larom. His warm generous hospitality was the magnet that attracted thousands of gtuests, and ultimately accounted for the extraordinary growth and success of the ranch."<ref>W. Hudson Kensel, ''Dude Ranching in the Yellowstone Country: Larry Larom and Valley Ranch, 1915-1969'' (Norman, [[Oklahoma]]: Arthur H. Clark, 2010), p. 218.</ref>​

W. Hudson Kensel, who penned a biography of Larom, contends that the primary factor in the success of Valley Ranch was neither the scenery, the solitude, nor the wildlife but Larom himself: "People were attracted to Valley Ranch for a summer, and often for many successive summers mainly because they liked Larom. His warm generous hospitality was the magnet that attracted thousands of guests, and ultimately accounted for the extraordinary growth and success of the ranch."<ref>W. Hudson Kensel, ''Dude Ranching in the Yellowstone Country: Larry Larom and Valley Ranch, 1915-1969'' (Norman, [[Oklahoma]]: Arthur H. Clark, 2010), p. 218.</ref>​

After Larom sold Valley Ranch, the new properietor continued dude ranching until 1987. Now a relic of its past, Valley Ranch grew to be one of the largest, most successful dude ranches in the West. In 1926, Larom was instrumental in the establishment of the Dude Ranchers Association and became its first president. Larom was also involved in the civic and cultural affairs in Cody, where he died at the age of eighty-four.<ref name=review/>​

After Larom sold Valley Ranch, the new properietor continued dude ranching until 1987. Now a relic of its past, Valley Ranch grew to be one of the largest, most successful dude ranches in the West. In 1926, Larom was instrumental in the establishment of the Dude Ranchers Association and became its first president. Larom was also involved in the civic and cultural affairs in Cody, where he died at the age of eighty-four.<ref name=review/>​

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==References==

==References==

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