I was sitting on my deck the other day wondering what it would take to get all the snow melted from my yard and fields, and decided it was not worth the effort to even think about; the snow will be gone when it is gone.

But when it is gone we will start to get concerned about the flooding and fire seasons, speaking of which, I have been working on our own response team regarding fires etc. Craig Moore has agreed to come and speak at our AGM on April 18, 2018 to give us some guidance on what we might need to set up our own team. Craig teaches courses on firefighting and related subjects. He is willing to come to the Hall to tell us about the basic firefighting courses he teaches so come on out to the AGM if you are interested in learning about certification for basic firefighting. This will just be the start of our ‘team’ but it will be a good start if we can get enough interested people out to the meeting.

Looking across the valley from my deck I notice the Procter farm, and wonder what it must have been like in the Valley before I was around. I decided to talk to some of the ‘old time’ residents of the Valley and I have the first installment of what I call ‘Elders Voices’ for you in this edition of the Stump Rancher. There will be more to come so I hope you enjoy reading these stories as much as I have enjoyed reminiscing with the ‘old timers’ to get the stories for you.