82801 November/December 2018

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas… on the Ranch Antelope Butte: More Than Just a Place

Christmas Through the Ages

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82801 Features

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Life: Antelope Butte With plans to reopen this winter, the Antelope Butte ski area is adding lifts and taking names, proving (what us locals already know to be true): It’s so much more than just a place. See you on the slopes! Photo by Shawn Parker, Sheridan Travel & Tourisim.

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Ag: On the Ranch

Culture: Through the Ages

Community: Intentional Living

A modern-day rancher’s take on the 1823 Clement Moore Christmas Classic, A Visit from St. Nicholas, more popularly known as, “Twas the night before Christmas”, by Candice.

TJ explores the history of Christmas and asks the question: What do you think about when you think of Christmas? (The Sheridan Christmas Stroll, duh!)

This holiday, BB Sheridan and Preemptive Love bring Sheridan residents together around a table for a cause (Syrian refugees). You’re invited to Gather with a Purpose, and learn more about the people your neighbors are partnering with to fight international oppression.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018

Season’s Greetings, 82801 readers! don’t know about you, but every single year, the holiday season seems to sneak up on me. It’s not like it’s a surprise or anything – the season comes quickly and seemingly earlier each year.

Perhaps that’s why? (I’m looking at you, retailers!)

Just a few years back, like many moms, I was scrolling through Pinterest, on the lookout for fresh inspiration for the holidays (admittedly, I was obsessing over the food pins), when I came across a pin touting “The Four Gift Rule”. Needing a break from the food torment, I clicked through to an article that changed my life! Ok, to say it was “life-changing” is a bit of stretch, but “game-changing”... YES!

Let’s get real for a minute. I am well aware that gifts are not really what the season is all about, but I can say that it is the cause of 98.9% of my stress around the holidays. A time that should be spent relaxing as we take a break from the hectic pace of everyday life, spending precious time with our families and giving thanks for our blessings. Despite

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feeling this in my bones and knowing it in my heart, I still feel the pressure (albeit mostly self-induced) to make Christmas “magical” for my kiddo with piles of presents around the tree.

Well, enough was enough for this stretchedthin mama! In reality, when you have a large extended family and the blessing of multiple sets of grandparents, there is no shortage of gifts for our kiddo under the tree, so we decided to take the leap and give this “Four Gift Rule” a try, and here it is!

— one thing they want — — one thing they need — — something to wear — — and one thing to read — A super-simple plan, and oh my heck, it even rhymes! The “Four Gift Rule” has more benefits than simplifying shopping for mom and dad. How many of you feel like you are drowning in “stuff?” (Raises hand) I DO! My kid already has too much crap…er, stuff as it is! She’s a “collector,” and I find the most random things in her room like weird rocks and

pencils sharpened down to nubs. But I digress!

We found this method gave our daughter a new perspective and an attitude of gratitude.

For us as parents, it obviously reduced the stress of shopping with the masses, as well as the added benefit of a healthier bank account. Narrowing our gift giving focus has allowed us to add more magic and personalization to the holiday, all while starting an important new tradition that I hope continues on with her family in the future.

By: Candice E. Schlautmann for 82801

Every family is unique, and their values and needs vary. Do you think your family would benefit from the “Four Gift Rule?” If you’d like to give it a try this year, I have a gift for you!

Get online and check out 82717life.com/gift2018 for a set of printable gift tags and a Christmas wish list designed by yours truly. Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays!

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018

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Antelope Butte: More Than Just a Place he Antelope Butte Foundation is on a mission: "To provide affordable and accessible year-round mountain recreation, training, and educational opportunities, with a focus on youth and beginners."

Antelope Butte ski area closed in 2004, after a successful four-decade run. It wasn’t a fancy resort; just a really great place for locals from both sides of the mountain to come together over a love of skiing and snowboarding.

The foundation, a grassroots effort to reopen Antelope Butte ski area, was founded in 2011. Since then, they have raised $2.3 million toward their goal of $4 million. Although that is only a little over halfway, that doesn’t stop them from opening the mountain for skiing … wait for it … this very winter!

That’s the tentative plan, anyway.

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Antelope Butte Foundation recently, you will be surprised by the leaps and bounds they have made.

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In October, they installed the last chair and allnew electrical drive control systems in a complete restoration of the two original lifts.

Additionally, on October 4, the State Loan and Investment Board approved a requested $185,600 BRC Community Development Enhancement grant for the purchase and installation of a 250-foot conveyor-style surface lift for beginner skiers at the Antelope Butte Mountain Recreation Area.

According to board president, Jeff Grant, people generally learn to ski on smaller community ski areas like Antelope Butte. “About 80 percent of people that are skiers and snowboarders learn on a place like ours,” Grant said in a video produced by the Wyoming Business Council, “and when you don’t have one in a two or three county area, we know we have a generation of people that don’t ski, don’t enjoy (the) outdoors in the winter. And, we want to solve that.”

Grant said that they plan to open this winter, though the lodge won’t be open, yet. So, they will have to “make other arrangements for that.”

That’s two freshly restored chairlifts and a brand new “magic carpet” for beginners. However, before these lifts can start operating, each of them must pass a “load test.” The American National Standards Institute requires that ski lifts pass a load test every 7 years. “What you’re looking for is: Can the lift be stopped?” said John Kirlin, Executive Director of the Antelope Butte Foundation. “Your lift is never, ever, ever supposed to go backwards. There are three brake systems.” A viral video taken in Georgia and posted to the internet in March showed the terrifying results of a failure in all three systems as people had to make the decision to either jump or be flung off as the chair rounded the bullwheel backwards.

In order to make sure the lifts are safe, and receive their permit from the Forest Service, the foundation will have to load both seats of every chair NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018

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Antelope Butte always has been, and will continue to be, a beloved destination for skiers and snowboarders from both sides of the mountain.

on the uphill side, and each space on the conveyor, with more weight in water than an average human.

Then, they apply each of the three brakes. If there is no backwards movement, they pass the load test.

Not only does passing the load test literally rely on lots of moving parts, but figuratively, as well. The date for the test has been bumped multiple times. In one case, the foundation’s electrical engineers were at another job that went overschedule. Also, there is currently only one Forest Service Tramway Engineer inspector for the entire western U.S., and he has had to reschedule a couple of times. “We’re just trying to get everybody in the right place at the right time,” Kirlin said.

Over 20 volunteers showed up to a chairlift workday in October, putting on finishing touches such as painting the lift shacks and towers, fixing vandalized windows, and replacing boards on the seats. When they take their friends and family skiing, they can proudly say, “I did that.”

The final step before the Forest Service issues a permit is to have a maintenance plan and a staff that can demonstrate technical ability.

Although the lodge won’t be ready this winter, there will be a dry, warm place for rentals. The foundation has ordered 100 pairs of downhill skis, 75 pairs of cross-country skis, and 60 snowboards to rent out. Sheridan’s own Cosner Construction Company has retrofitted the lower garage on what used to be the lodge; one half will house the rental shop and the other will be ski patrol headquarters.

They are also considering a temporary structure, like a yurt, to serve as a common area. Porta potties will

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serve as the bathroom facilities. “It’s not gonna be glamorous, by any means,” Kirlin said. “Because of that, we’re going to have lower ticket prices. We’re looking at around $30 for an adult all-day, and around $20 for a kid.”

The “no frills” approach harkens back to the early days of skiing in the Bighorns. Originally, the organization that became Antelope Butte was known as Little Bear Ski Club, and it was at the top of Red Grade Road. At some point in the 60’s it was renamed Fun Valley. The only improvement was a small T-bar lift, and most people still just got towed to the top of the small hill by a snowmobile.

Eventually, an Alpine ski expert was hired to find the ideal location for a more impressive area and it was relocated to its current location.

Although many Sheridan County residents nostalgically think of Antelope Butte as “their” local area, it is actually located in Big Horn County.

Antelope Butte always has been, and will continue to be, a beloved destination for skiers and snowboarders from both sides of the mountain.

“Every time I meet people, that is one of the common threads of conversation,” said Kirlin.

“These kids that grew up in Sheridan, and their best friends were Greybull or Basin kids because they met them up at the Butte.” The ability to foster cross-county relationships is just one more of the wholesome characteristics of Antelope Butte that has been sorely missed throughout its long closure.”

Antelope Butte has positively affected countless people’s lives and been the locus of many treasured experiences.

“Thinking about the opportunity to ski at Antelope Butte again brings tears to my eyes,” said Sheridan resident Ann Storey. When the subject of the ski area comes up, she immediately thinks of her grandparents and the time they spent together on the slopes.

“We spent most of our weekends in the Bighorn Mountains, so it only made sense that winter weekends were spent skiing at Antelope Butte. I fondly remember the ease with which my grandpa skied the moguls on ‘A’ and wanting to keep up with him. I can still taste our simple lunches with sandwiches and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Each winter, I couldn’t wait for the weekend—to get back up to the hill. I know I didn’t appreciate it then, but I would give anything now to ski one more run with my grandpa.”

Her grandfather passed away a few years ago. “I can’t wait for Antelope Butte to reopen so I can go skiing to honor the time he took teaching me, and our time adventuring together,” Storey said.

Storey’s parents’ marriage is also inextricably linked to the ski area. Her dad broke his leg there during his bachelor party/ski trip one week before he married her mom. “He's in a full cast to his hip with crutches in all his wedding photos,” Storey said.

“It's a classic story in my family and every time we would ride the chair he would point out where it happened. Every. Time.”

For Maryke Nel, who used to teach art in Big Horn but now lives in Montana, the “Antelope Butte Years” remain one of her and her sons’ favorite parts of their life in Wyoming. “I was a ski instructor up there when the boys were little, and it was so much fun to gather all the mittens and long underwear, goggles, toys, and little skis, pile everyone and everything in the van, stop for coffee and blueberry bagels, and head up the mountain... Pure joy to come around the last bend and spot the slopes! You always knew you’d see all the familiar faces of the ‘ski families,’, as well as the other ski instructors and ski

patrol… All of us in our ‘happy place’ every weekend.”

David Nickerson, a surgeon at Sheridan Memorial Hospital, is also excited to see Antelope Butte reopening. Some of his fondest memories are of learning to ski there as a little kid and “having my world rocked by the Poma Lift and the old T-bar.” He also appreciated skiing with his family as a child. “It was close and cheap and there was terrain for all school levels,” he said.

Nickerson also feels that tearing up the slopes with his friends was a good opportunity to redirect teenaged risk-taking toward something athletic. “Oh yeah,” he added, “also being paid in free ski tickets and pizza for our rock band to torture the other patrons who were eating in the lodge with our rendition of songs from the ‘Nirvana Unplugged’ album.”

Many of the wistful elements that the Antelope Butte Foundation aims to rejuvenate go beyond what the ski area originally provided. In our busy modern lives, all kinds of outdoor recreation have fallen to the wayside.

“Everybody thinks of Antelope Butte as a place,” Kirlin said. He wants everyone to understand that the foundation represents a philosophy. He referred to the mission statement, explaining, “We want to not only give people a place to do things, but also come to the people… It’s more than just a place.

It’s the message and the lifestyle.”

For example, it was common during the 80’s and 90’s for people in Sheridan County to have multiple pairs of cross-country skis next to the front door or on the porch. The snow packed fields and streets were a means of transportation. The foundation would like to be a part of bringing that

back. They have started recruiting at the Junior High for a Nordic ski team that will attend Jr. Nationals and prepare for collegiate level competition.

The Cowboy State Games have reached out, wanting Antelope Butte to send a team to the slalom and snowboard events this winter. The foundation is also in active conversations with the National Youth Cycling Association to establish a youth mountain bike team.

All of these pursuits add up to a year-round outdoor, active lifestyle.

By coming to the schools, in some cases even bringing snow-grooming equipment and skis, the hope is to introduce kids to the culture without having to travel or spend any money.

One step at a time, the kids will buy in, develop skills and, eventually, refine those skills. “We have the opportunity to teach those skills,” Kirlin said, “to see if this is something you want to do.”

Additionally, people who are interested in year-round mountain recreation will become good stewards of the land and will be actively engaged in teaching the same to the next generation.

No matter what, the Antelope Butte Foundation is deeply committed, philosophically and financially, to the goals they have set. At this point, they are down to the nitty gritty details such as print-stock for tickets.

“We would really like to come out to the Warren Miller movie on stroll night with some really good news,” Kirlin said.

By: Kevin M. Knapp for 82801 Photos courtesy of the Antelope Butte Foundation NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018

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Christmas Through the Ages hen you think of Christmas, what images flash through your mind? A Norman Rockwell Santa? A giant evergreen tree? A mob of hungry citizens electing a “Lord of Misrule”?

It turns out that Christmas didn’t always look the way it did today. The holiday took several forms before becoming what it is today and, like many of the things we love in America, ended up being a mix of everything.

The seeds of Christmas were planted by ancient civilizations in the form of various winter solstice celebrations, often celebrating the harvest. One of the most well-known of these celebrations, Saturnalia, consisted of colorful clothing, feasts, and gifts. The festivity was meant to honor Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture. At the height of its celebration in the Roman Empire, the celebration had become a full week of merriment.

The Romans, great borrowers of various traditions themselves, most likely stole a fair amount of the Saturnalia traditions from the Greeks, who had their own solstice celebration. Rather than celebrating the god of agriculture, the Greek holiday focused

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on their god of the sea, Poseidon. Some of the most notable aspects this event contributed to Saturnalia include human sacrifice, feasting, and debauchery.

Something that the Romans came up with on their own, however, was the “Lord of Misrule,” or “Leader of Saturnalia,” who enjoyed all of the privileges of Saturn during the holiday. It was his job to insult guests, wear ridiculous outfits, and chase women.

Despite being one of the rowdiest components of Saturnalia, the Lord of Misrule became a key character in several Christian variants of Christmas solstice celebrations. In medieval Europe, the chosen Lord of Misrule would often be a beggar.

In some celebrations, the Lord of Misrule would lead other beggars from one nobleman’s house to another, demanding food and wine.

Saturnalia was far from being the only pagan contributor to “Christian” Christmas traditions.

Celebrators of the solstice in northern Europe decorated their houses with evergreen boughs, mistletoe, and holly.

Despite their pagan roots and tendency to invoke rowdiness, church leaders used many of these

traditions to their advantage in helping to ease the public’s conversion to Christianity. During the time of Constantine, a great deal of the church’s audience had been raised in pagan traditions, Roman and otherwise.

The pagan converts clung to these winter traditions, so the Church decided to incorporate them in a brand new tradition, Christmas.

Over 1,000 years later, during the reformation, the public’s attitude toward these traditions shifted.

The Protestant Church rejected these practices as sinful distractions from Christian piety. Most Protestants actually stopped celebrating Christmas.

In many places under protestant control—such as the Puritan colony of Massachusetts—the celebration of Christmas was banned.

Christmas might not have survived if it weren’t for the Victorians and Charles Dickens, who used “A Christmas Carol” to paint Christmas as a tame and family-centered holiday. Dickens kept some of the themes and traditions of Christmas, like giving food to beggars, but changed them in a way that made them more acceptable. At the end of Dickens’ story, Scrooge visits Tiny Tim and his family, hauling a giant Turkey. The scene is a stark contrast to the drunken lord of misrule and his mob, who obtained their food by visiting (and sometimes threatening) the rich.

To put an even greater emphasis on family and to disconnect the holiday from drunkenness, the Victorians placed the holiday’s focus onto children and gift-giving. The new treatment of the holiday opened a golden opportunity for Saint Nicholas, the ultimate gift-giving saint, whose celebration day falls on December 6. Cue modern Christmas.

As the image of Saint Nicholas and a sleigh laden with toys became commonplace, so did Santabased advertisements and the commercialization of Christmas. Christmas became a selling point for department stores, which began to decorate heavily for the holiday. In 1924, Macy’s held its first Thanksgiving Day parade and used the coming of Santa at the end of the parade to mark the beginning of that year’s commercial Christmas season.

Examples of similar post-Thanksgiving holiday kickoffs are everywhere. Sheridan even has its own, localized version. For close to 23 years, the Sheridan

Chamber of Commerce has hosted a “Christmas Stroll” to kickoff Christmas shopping in Sheridan’s downtown. The event features hot food, wagon rides, and– you guessed it— Santa Claus.

Sheridan’s Annual Christmas Stroll takes place in the heart of our Historic Downtown each year, starting the Friday after Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas Eve. The stroll is one of Sheridan’s most popular winter events, and boasts more than 3,000 visitors during opening night festivities.

Entertainment and a fireworks display conclude the first evening’s events, while Santa Clause himself has been known to make an occasional appearance. Other special activities include a performance of A Christmas Carol at the WYO Theater, and the opening of the annual holiday art show at The Brinton Museum.

By 1939, Thanksgiving’s role as the gateway to the winter commercial season had become so strong that FDR moved the date of Thanksgiving that year to

better accommodate corporate interests and economic recovery. A holiday which was rarely practiced at the time this nation was founded had developed enough of a role in American culture by the 1930s to necessitate the rescheduling of other holidays. The beggar among festivities had managed to reverse the roles and come out on top. The Lord of Misrule, indeed.

But, regardless of whether it was at a high point or a low point— a drunken daze or a family holiday— the winter season has always carried with it a spirit of generosity to the poor and unfortunate. Whether we wait for Tiny Tim to bang on our door or bring a roasted turkey to his, perhaps we can do something to bring happiness to other people this Christmas, regardless of how they celebrate it.

By: T.J. Parks for 82801

Christmas Stroll Photos by Shawn Parker, courtesy of Sheridan Travel & Tourism.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018

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17th ANNUAL

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BUCK & BALL along with

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December 31st

7:00 pm • Cam-Plex Gillette, Wyoming

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RFD TV American Qualifier

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vs the Best Bucking Stock

‘Twas th Before Ch on the ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ranch, the dang stock tank froze over, frosted up like a branch.

Muddy boots were stashed away after feeding and checking, throughout the snow and mud, they had surely been trekking.

The rancher and his family were sound asleep in their beds, while hopeful visions of spring calves happily danced in their heads.

Down in the creek bottom the cows had all gathered, protected from wind, but with snow they were slathered.

When down in the barn there arose such a clatter, the rancher sprang to his feet, to see what was the matter.

Down the long, dark hallway to the mudroom he ran, grabbing the old shotgun with a sure and steady hand.

The moon was so bright on this cold winter’s night, giving the rancher a clear view of an unbelievable sight.

Being pulled by a tiny team of more than a single cattle breed, was a little green tractor, a tiny black angus at the lead.

Not believing his eyes the rancher gasped and blinked, in the cab of the tractor sat Santa who winked!

A Holstein, a Hereford, a Brahman, and Longhorn!

A Sussex, a Highland, Charolais and Black Angus!

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The rancher shook his head at the sight of the cattle, so tiny, yet perfect, their hooves started to rattle.

“To the top of the windbreak, to the top of the shed!”

“Git along, little dogies, while the kids are still in bed!”

As quickly as tumbleweeds blow o'er the high plains, they started to run as he called out their names.

Then up to the roof of the shed they all flew, with a tractor full of toys, and St. Nicholas, too.

He couldn’t believe how quickly they crested the roof, now stomping and pawing each tiny little hoof Feeling confused the rancher wondered if he was dreaming, as St. Nick came down the chimney, his eyes were gleaming.

e Night hristmas…

Ranch He was bundled up warmly in dirty overalls and boots, not like the mall Santas, in red velvet suits.

A feed sack filled with toys was all he could carry, he looked like an old cowboy, happy and merry.

His face brown and wrinkled it looked just like leather, his beard long and grey, protected him from weather.

Beneath the long beard you could make out a smile, even though the old man had been at this a while.

Instead of a pipe held tight in his teeth, the rancher spied a Skoal® ring, the can tucked underneath.

He had such a jolly face and a beer belly to boot, it shook when he giggled as he dropped off the loot He was a chubby ol’ cowboy, but steadfast and strong, as he got straight to work, he whistled a song.

A song so familiar, the rancher knew it by heart.

Santa winked at him, wanting him to sing the next part.

Trying not to wake his kids, the rancher sang quietly, “Whoopee ti yi yo” made Santa beam brightly.

And as the old cowboy song came to an end, it was time to move on to the others he had to tend He’d filled all the stockings and surrounded the tree, with toys and treats sure to bring the children glee.

Santa gave one last wink and a final glance, at this point the rancher was in quite a trance.

Up the chimney he rose to meet his trusty team, they were patiently waiting under a magical moon beam.

He hopped in the tractor and let out a whistle, and then they took off, as fast as a missile!

The rancher heard him exclaim as they flew out of site, “Merry Christmas, y’all, and y’all have a good night!”

By: Candice E. Schlautmann for 82801 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018

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Intentional Living IN SYRIA, NOBODY DRINKS THEIR MORNING COFFEE ALONE

our neighbor will invite you to coffee, or you will invite them to coffee every day.

It’s essential for traumatized people to establish rhythms of normalcy, and food is one of the most essential rhythms there is.

Whether it’s a three-star chef buying ingredients at the market, a farmer harvesting her crop, an astronaut opening a packet of freeze-dried food on the space station, a businessman on his lunch break,

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or refugees elbowing their way to a truck full of rice—all of us, everywhere, think about food.

One thing we love about you, though, is that you don’t just think about food for yourself and your family (in Sheridan)—you also think about food for others in need. You’ve proven that by sending food to fleeing families in conflict zones across this region and by helping to provide more than two million hot meals in Syria in 2018 alone. You’ve shown immense

compassion for refugees and displaced people, and we’re grateful.

Many of you have asked what else you can do to stand with and support refugee families around the world, so, for National Refugee Day, we thought we’d provide some practical ideas for how to engage with refugees.

Here’s one that stuck for Sheridan residents Colin and Emily Betzler, co-founders www.boughtbeautifully.org.

Restaurant in Aleppo, 2010. Photo by Alessandra Kocman.

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Gather with a Purpose here is something magical about fall. The cool mornings, dewlaced grass and the depth of days changing with the light. We welcome the evolution of the seasons and are grateful for the new routines and fresh thought patterns they bring. Seasons often make for the

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best reminders. In our journey of life, there are times to re-calibrate and times to remember, and to be more purposeful with the time at hand.

For a while now, we've had it on our hearts, Colin and I, to be more intentional in sharing more about our inspiring artisan partners from around the globe. We want you—our friends,

supporters and dedicated customers—to be able to learn more about the amazing people we partner with and the countries and communities they call home.

This season, we invite you to experience a new tradition with us. Why? We are deeply familiar with and passionate about the causes

these people champion... and we want you to be, too. The idea is to make it easier for others to understand and to become truly engaged in the bigger picture of what goes on in the daily lives of those we partner and work with, and the places where they work.

There is so much more behind the beautiful handmade goods we’re bringing to a wider market... It's unreal. The transformations we’ve witnessed among the real people whom our efforts and your purchases have impacted.

Like any place in the world, every country and community have its own economic challenges and problems from health crises, poverty dynamics, social issues and injustice,

and daily even struggles... all the more reason to not only support our partners, but to also pray for them. (Which we encourage you to do).

The first step towards praying effectively and coming alongside our global sisters and brothers is to seek to understand what their everyday lives look like. Earlier this year, the Bought Beautifully, or BB, team experimented with this idea by joining our partner, Preemptive Love, in making and sharing a traditional Syrian meal with friends. We used the opportunity to learn about and pray for Syria in the midst of the ongoing heartache and despair experienced there.

It was a beautiful and powerful experience; taking a meaningful and intentional pause in

the middle of a work week to purposefully think of, pray for, and support Syrians and their homeland. So much so that we want to continue this same idea for other partners, as well, and make this a regular practice in our lives. And, we want to invite you along, too!

Our hope for Gather with a Purpose going forward is to share an ethnic meal, conversation about the country or community, and then to pray for specific requests from the country, community, or partner. We plan to do so on a monthly basis, and we would love to have you, your friends and family join us.

For each gathering, we will provide some basic informational resources, current partner

prayer requests, activities for kids to engage in and ethnic recipes for all to attempt.

No worries if your timing is different than ours, you can use the information we provide to host your own purposeful gathering at any time or venue! We'd love for you to learn and grow with us and are grateful for the opportunity to learn and love each partner, their countries and communities, even from afar.

The women of Syria and Iraq are more than refugees. They’re our sisters. Stand with them as they rebuild their lives and hold a piece of their future in your hands by visiting www. boughtbeautifully.org.

Special thanks to the Preemptive Love Coalition for their kind contribution of permission to use excerpts and photos from their work, Eat Like Syria for World Refugee Day by Christine Edwards, Erin Wilson, Matt Willingham and Courtney Christensen.

The Preemptive Love Coalition stretches across Iraq, Syria, the U.S., and beyond, to unmake violence and create a more beautiful world.

Learn more about their cause at preemptivelove.org.

By: Emily A. Betzler for 82801

Opposite page photo: Gather table, 2018.

Photo by Emily A. Betzler. Top photo: Vegetables for sale in Aleppo, 2010.

Photo by Bruno Vanbesien. Left photo: Aleppo neighborhood, 2007. Photo by Thomas Stellmach.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018

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