Wyoming: I’m not sure how the idea came to me but when it did, I was kicking myself for not having thought of it sooner. Like, years sooner! My epiphany was “On my next trip I should take some studio lighting and accessories and plan on finding interesting people to photograph.” Having done it, and having found these fine folks to sit for me, I’ll never travel again without at least one light and a stand.
This is Melissa.
She and here husband picked up and moved from Florida to a small community in Wyoming to start a campground. Twenty five years ago that may have seemed like a silly dream to some but today their choice has more than proven itself to have been a good one.
After having success with the campground, they expanded to a coffee shop on the property which quickly became too small to suit the needs of their campers and the local community. So, a serious bakery plan was drawn up and the bakery was built. Having put her degree in business to work, she decided to flex her musical side (her other degree is a minor in music) by starting a weekly acoustic music jam. The Thursday morning jam is now a much looked forward to event by the locals and the campers who are passing through. She manages to join the musical melee’ for a few minutes each week (we suppose this is while the dough is rising we are not really sure).
When a craft brewery/craft pizza shop went in next door she was ready, helping the brew master turn his spelt(leftover grain from brewing) into custom pizza dough. Delicious!
Follow the link for more about Melissa and The Innominate Bakery.
This is Brian McMahan.
I admire this man so much. Brian is a man of purpose and dedication, and knowledge. You can walk through his store and see all the boots and shoes; he knows them all intimately. He knows their materials and how they are made, he understands the world from which they come and how they are designed for specific purposes.
I loved watching him work with his hands, expertly replacing soles and heels and restoring boots to their former glory.
He has spent most of his life in this store, taking very little time off over the years so he could provide for his family, who by the way, work there too.
Hats off to Brian and those like him whose unsung labor has added value to all of our lives.
This is David Stewart.
Talk about being passionate about what you do, he walked all the way from Gillette Wyoming to Nashville Tennessee in order to sing on the stage at the Grand Ol’ Opry. He was much younger and more spry then, but his zeal for music burns as brightly as ever.
Since then, he has ‘settled down’ so to speak by playing nightly in the Occidental Hotel’s Saloon in Buffalo Wyoming (which he now owns). The gold records on the wall attest to his love of country and bluegrass music, and his talent for writing songs.
He hosts an acoustic jam on Thursday nights and an Open Mic Night on Tuesdays. That little stage at ‘The Ox’ as it’s warmly known, has hosted its own fair share of big time bluegrass and country artists who have passed through Buffalo from time to time; gotten to know David, and have recorded dozens and dozens of his songs,
Independently of the Ox, David also helps a local Buffalo community group host a music camp for youth over the Summer months.
Looking to the future, he bought and renovated the building across the street. It’s the original playhouse/movie theater from 100+ years ago in Buffalo, now all fixed up as a live music venue appropriately called ‘The Playhouse’.