“Mr. Stocker said if I could make my way here by this evening there would be a job waiting. I’m here.” On his first full day of work on the Lazy-S, Terry was led to the horse stable by Big Mike. “I spect you know what a shovel is, and that over there is a wheelbarrow. Spect you know that too. Your job, for now, is to keep this barn clean and the horses fed, watered and groomed. You ever been around horses before?” Terry nodded, but Mike wasn’t looking his way, so he simply followed the nod with “some.” Terry needed two things that summer. One was to put away a few dollars towards the cost of college, the other was a rest from his chaotic home life. If the path to his future started in the stable, he would make the best of it. Cattle, cowboys, a brush with a cougar, and, of course, a beautiful rancher’s daughter, all lead the young and inexperienced Terry on an adventurous path into adulthood, all in the shadow of the magnificent snow topped Rockies.
Author
Reg Quist’s pioneer heritage includes sod shacks, prairie fires, home births, and children’s graves under the prairie sod, all working together in the lives of people creating their own space in a new land. Out of that early generation came farmers, ranchers, business men and women, builders, military graves in faraway lands, Sunday Schools that grew to become churches, plus story tellers, musicians, and much more. Hard work and self-reliance were the hallmark of those previous great generations, attributes that were absorbed by the following generation. Quist’s career choice took him into the construction world. From heavy industrial work, to construction camps in the remote northern bush, the author emulated his grandfathers, who were both builders, as well as pioneer farmers and ranchers. It is with deep thankfulness that Quist says, “I am a part of the first generation to truly enjoy the benefits of the labors of the pioneers. My parents and their parents worked incredibly hard, and it is well for us to remember”. Quist’s heart was never far from the land. The family photo albums testify to how often he found himself sitting on a horse, both as a child and into later life, when he and his wife owned their own small farm, complete with kids and horses. Respect for the pioneers, working alongside skilled, tough workmen, and learning from them, marrying his high school sweetheart and welcoming children into the world, purchasing land for the family to grow on, and riding horses with the kids, all melded together to influence Quist’s life and writing. Over, and under, and wrapped around his life is Quist’s Christian heritage. This too, shows itself in his writing. Quist’s writing career was late in pushing itself forward, remaining a hobby while family and career took precedence. Only in early retirement, was there time for more serious writing. Quist’s writing interests lie in many genres including children’s work, short lifestyle stories, cowboy poetry, western novels, plus Christian articles and novels. Woven through every story is the thought that, even though he was not there himself in that pioneer time, he knew some that were. They are remembered with great respect.
