NICHOLAS AIR continues to set the mark for what hightouch customer service should be. Our fleet of Owned and Operated aircraft have an average age of 5 years, ensuring the most reliable choice of aircraft anywhere in the industry.
Our aircraft ranges from the Very Light class Phenom 100 to the Super Midsize Challenger 350 and the new addition, the Gulfstream G600. Whether you are a private flyer seeking a new partner for your travels, or an industry professional looking for your new home, we’ve got you covered.
For over 26 years, NICHOLAS AIR has been solely focused on one mission--- yours.
Spring Summer FALL winter
FOUNDER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Peder von Harten
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Todd Malone
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Peder von Harten, Abby Carlton, Rebekah Iliff, Edgar Castillo, Kelsi McKee, Cecil Cherry, Sarah Morgan Johnson
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Brandon Mowinkel, Jim Bartsch, AVABLU.com, Bob McClenahan, Carol Riell, Aaron James, Bailey Cloud
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The changes of the season comes too with a change of the scenery as most of us will pack the swim trunks away for another long Winter’s nap and dust off the old college sweater with football season around the corner. Sand at the beach gets replaced with Saturdays on campus or a sunset fire under cooler skies.
I’ve found here recently that the seasons of life and the seasons of the calendar have more similarities than what meets the eye. With new opportunities and new ventures comes the excitement of what lies around the bend, no different than what excitement each football season brings (“could this finally be our year???”) or whether this is the year you catch up to that big buck, or the golf swing gets dialed in, or that there’s finally snow on Christmas. Alternatively, there comes the slight bit of anxiety as well and frankly, that’s only human.
In a world that shifts beneath our feet almost daily, it can be challenging to look ahead and get too bullish on what’s to come, but that doesn’t mean you don’t do it anyway. You chase the dreams, as scary as they may be, and just hold on a little tighter when the bumps in the road get a little rough. With enough time, those bumps too shall pass.
This issue features several people who at one point had to look into that scary abyss and take a risk to go against the tide. They are, as I like to call them, “makers of things,” and they had the vision at one point to say they could do something different than conventional thinking allowed. For anyone who has done it, it’s not an easy road and can be mentally, physically, and financially draining all at the same time. And yet those that have done it successfully will tell you that’s the best part of it all. That proverbial storm that makes you appreciate the sun just a little bit more.
To our readers, I hope you enjoy hearing about these creators and makers and craftsmen who went against the norms and refused to accept that things had to be done or built a certain way. To those we feature in this issue, keep doing what you do. Your thumbprint on the communities around you have helped give rise to the next generation of crazy thinkers who too want to leave their mark on the world.
CONTRIBUTORS
Kevin Martone balances a busy professional life with his passion for the outdoors. A nationally recognized expert in mental health and the Executive Director of a national non-profit, Kevin’s business travels enable him to enjoy the local culture and landscape in states throughout America. From Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, to New England and across the South, Kevin creates opportunities in the outdoors whenever and wherever he can. Kevin spends his personal time hunting, fishing, trail running, and enjoying sunsets with his wife, Sasha, on the dock of their family pond.
Rebekah Iliff is an award-winning author, film producer, and entrepreneur raised in the midwest living in the south. She has a knack for turning difficult topics into digestible stories and loves giving people the unexpected laugh. Her writing has been featured in publications ranging from Fast Company and Forbes to Weekly Humorist and the Erma Bombeck Blog, and her film-related projects have won global awards for best producer, best experimental short, and best web commercial series. In addition to developing her own projects, Rebekah works closely with brands and artists as a thought partner, content strategist, and commercial/film producer. Her favorite part of the day is sitting on the back stoop, watching the sunset with her husband and pups.
Personal website: rebekahiliff.com
IG: @rebekahiliffweaver
Kelsi McKee has been writing poetry and stories since she was old enough to scratch words on paper. She completed her first novel when she was 18 and continues to write while balancing a full-time job in the news industry. Originally from Northwest and a graduate of Texas A&M, Kelsi has enjoyed adventuring across the country and making her way to her current home in South Carolina. Away from pen and paper, Kelsi enjoys her time on the golf course and of course, cheering on her Aggies.
Cecil Cherry is a native North Carolinian who graduated from East Carolina University and retired as a law enforcement officer from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Cecil enjoys outdoor pursuits, travelling to North Carolina wineries with his wife, Pam, and sharing the bounty of field to plate with friends and family.
Marla DeKlotz grew up in Idaho and has lived, worked, and traveled all over the West. She spent a few years working for the Forest Service, building trails, baking sourdough in Dutch ovens, and writing more than one poem about rocks. In her off-seasons, Marla fell in love with exploring new cities and towns across the U.S. She settled down just long enough to finish a degree in biochemistry, and is now pursuing science and travel writing. She is drawn to warm places with regionally-famous cold beverages.
Edgar Castillo is a recently retired law enforcement officer for a large Kansas City metropolitan agency. He also served in the United States Marine Corps for twelve years. Edgar was born in Guatemala, and when his family came to the U.S., his father, a new bird hunter himself, would take Edgar afield in search of roosters and bobs. Edgar’s passion lies in the uplands as he self-documents his travels across public lands throughout Kansas and the U.S., hunting open fields and prairies, walking treelines, & bustin’ through plum thickets, in a never-ending chase to hunt wild birds in wild places.
You can follow his adventures on Instagram at @hunt_birdz
BRAVING THE WILDERNESS
THE QUEST FOR TRUE BELONGING AND THE COURAGE TO STAND ALONE
by Brené Brown
“True belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are.” Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives – experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.
Brown argues that we’re experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection and introduces four practices of true belonging that challenge everything we believe about ourselves and each other. She writes, “True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that’s rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it’s easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others; it’s a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. It’s a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts.”
Brown offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and to each other. And that path cuts right through the wilderness. Brown writes, “The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.”
Random House
Fall Reads
OTHER PAGES TO PERUSE
MINDSET
The New Psychology of Success
by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, PhD, discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindsetthose who believe that abilities are fixed - are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset - those who believe that abilities can be developed. Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment.
In this edition, Dweck offers new insights into her now famous and broadly embraced concept. She introduces a phenomenon she calls false growth mindset and guides people toward adopting a deeper, truer growth mindset. She also expands the mindset concept beyond the individual, applying it to the cultures of groups and organizations. With the right mindset, you can motivate those you lead, teach, and love - to transform their lives and your own.
Ballentine Books
THE
POWER
OF MOMENTS
by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
While human lives are endlessly variable, our most memorable positive moments are dominated by four elements: elevation, insight, pride, and connection. If we embrace these elements, we can conjure more moments that matter. What if a teacher could design a lesson that he knew his students would remember twenty years later? What if a manager knew how to create an experience that would delight customers? What if you had a better sense of how to create memories that matter for your children?
This book delves into some fascinating mysteries of experience: Why we tend to remember the best or worst moment of an experience, as well as the last moment, and forget the rest. Why “we feel most comfortable when things are certain, but we feel most alive when they’re not.” And why our most cherished memories are clustered into a brief period during our youth.
Readers discover how brief experiences can change lives, such as the experiment in which two strangers meet in a room, and forty-five minutes later, they leave as best friends. (What happens in that time?) Or the tale of the world’s youngest female billionaire, who credits her resilience to something her father asked the family at the dinner table. (What was that simple question?)
Many of the defining moments in our lives are the result of accident or luck— but why would we leave our most meaningful, memorable moments to chance when we can create them? The Power of Moments shows us how to be the author of richer experiences.
Simon & Schuster
Photo by Brandon Mowinkel
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Raise the Flag
Rising country music star Dillon Carmichael reminds us that patriotism isn’t a bad word, and that change happens one neighbor, one story, at a time.
By Rebekah Iliff
Where the Sporting Life Lives
As America’s premier sporting community, Brays Island embodies a shared passion for the outdoors. Deepen your connection to friends, family and your own adventuresome spirit exploring 5,500 pristine acres of waterways, fields and woodlands.
AOperation Homefront’s Rent-free Housing Program Gives Veteran and Cancer Survivor A Fresh Start
s Kasia Adamietz and her husband, Steven, signed papers to purchase their first home recently, the Army veteran reflected on how much her family’s life had changed in three years.
Baby Titan was born just a week before the closing, joining sisters Laila, Sasha, and Truth. The older two, ages 8 and 6, developed from preschoolers to independent big girls. Truth, 2, growing from a fragile premature infant into an active toddler.
Kasia, once an active-duty Army specialist and a breast cancer survivor, was now a home-schooling mom of four who was just a semester away from completing a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
She was also a Florida resident and, for the first time ever, a homeowner. That milestone brought a sense of security unfamiliar throughout her childhood and early adulthood.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” said Kasia, who attributes much of her family’s success to the nationally- recognized nonprofit Operation Homefront and its Transitional Homes for Veterans (THV) program, which offers temporary, rent-free housing as well as financial education and support services to help families work toward self-sufficiency.
Founded in 2002 to serve military families in the wake of 9/11, the nonprofit — which is based in San Antonio, Texas —provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing, and family support services to military families to prevent short-term needs from
turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Their mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families who can thrive, not simply struggle to get by in the communities they have worked so hard to protect with the belief that strong military families result in stronger communities and, ultimately, a stronger America.
Generous corporate, foundation, and individual donors and thousands of volunteers enable Operation Homefront to provide everything from holiday meals and backpacks filled with school supplies to funding for food, essential baby supplies, past-due rent and mortgages, and assistance with emergency auto and home repairs. At Operation Homefront, 83 percent of operating costs go toward delivering programs and services.
Much of Operation Homefront’s relief support focuses on housing programs that target service members such as Kasia during the challenging and often unexpected transition from military life to civilian life. The Transitional Housing for Veterans program is one of four impactful housing programs offered by the nonprofit.
The Adamietz family is one of nearly 30 families who have completed the THV program, which is designed as a gateway for stability and support for families working toward self-sufficiency and, ultimately, homeownership. It is geared toward veterans who served honorably and are within three years of separating from the military.
Celebrating Great American Authors:
Their Lives and Works
The Meritage Resort and Spa Unveils $25 Million Reimagination
Photo by Jim Bartsch
EIGHT BEER A Texas Legend Builds Yet Another Champion
Photos
Courtesy of EIGHT Beer
The end of a long day deserves a cold beer. The celebration of a milestone or a major accomplishment deserves a cold beer. Watching the game on a Sunday afternoon deserves a cold beer. Make it an EIGHT.
Founded by Dallas Cowboy great and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, EIGHT is a champion’s beer. Literally. For those who watched #8 for many years in the white and blue, you know that he played with an undeniable grit and took no shortcuts on the path to success on the field. Mind you, Aikman didn’t play in today’s NFL with its QB-friendly systems and nearly flag football style rule set. This was the NFL of true Astroturf and unfiltered hits on the quarterback. To say the least, the easy way wasn’t the Aikman way, and for a dozen years, Aikman’s approach to his craft showed that if success was to be had, it had to first be earned. For those who adopt that same credo in life, this beer is for you.
“Life is full of special moments and small victories. I think those moments and those times need to be celebrated, and at least for me, those usually involve beer.”
- TROY AIKMAN
Admittedly, beer is a deeply personal topic and finds its way into some of life’s great debates—Ford or Chevy, UT or OU, chicken or the egg, sprinkles or no sprinkles—and rightfully so because each of us likes something different and we stand passionately behind our opinions. What EIGHT brings to the table is a beer that finally brings together an unmatched drinkability, a great taste, and a level of refreshment that other beers don’t. Beyond that, EIGHT contains fewer calories than many of those other light lagers in the market while bringing forth an enjoyable flavor that beer drinkers love, far from the watered-down alternatives that saturate the market. Instead, EIGHT brings a great flavor derived from a breed of German hops called Hallertau Taurus and organic barley. Remember the “Never Compromise” approach of #8 on the field, well it carries over to EIGHT beer off the field too. Says Aikman, “The thing that separates us from the others, besides taste, is that we don’t use any adjuncts or fillers. I don’t know of any other widely available, light beer that can stake that claim. Most of [our competitors] put in corn or rice or added sugars and syrups. We don’t do any of that; we use 100 percent organic grains.”
Aikman is passionate about EIGHT and it’s far from the ordinary when it comes to athletes and A-listers that stamp their name on a product. For Aikman, the thought of getting into the beer business goes back decades when he took on a job at a distributorship in Oklahoma. It was a first look at what goes into the industry and it seemingly never left his mind, ultimately leading us to where we are today with EIGHT coming to market. Developed in partnership with Aikman, his team, and Oregon State University, the two year development process was laborious, but undeniably successful.
There is no questioning Aikman’s on-field success and a hardearned reputation for producing a winner and EIGHT beer is no exception. The same qualities that had us all glued to the TV every Sunday are the same ones that will make you run the store, grab a case of EIGHT, and enjoy it with friends--- the proper preparation, the countless repetitions to make sure to get it right, and the unwavering pursuit of perfection are present in each sip.
As EIGHT continues to expand throughout Texas, we sat down with Founder Troy Aikman and EIGHT CEO David Reny to talk about EIGHT’s place in the market, the journey to get to this point, and the thoughtful way that EIGHT is taking on Big Beer.
Protecting Outdoor Pursuits Conservation Raffle Features $200,000 In Prizes
While Supporting Fish & Wildlife Conservation
Presented by Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), the First Ever #POP4Conservation Raffle Offers a Chance To Win a $65k Truck Voucher, Tracker Off Road 800 SX LE Crew, Nearly $20,000 in Gift Cards, Blaser R8 Rifle Package, Mathews Lift Bow, and Much More
For America’s 55 million sportsmen and women, the incoming approach of our favorite moments is something we anxiously look forward to. Bugling elk in the aspens. Dry fly days on the river. Rutting bucks below your tree stand. These are the moments that make our lives worth living. They ignite our passion, fuel our fire, and make our world go ‘round. These moments are our ‘why’. Unfortunately, as the sporting-conservation community faces unparalleled challenges, the future of these moments has never been more at risk which is why the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) is announcing the launch of the inaugural Protecting Outdoor Pursuits Conservation Raffle.
In a time when more anti-sportsmen bills are being introduced than pro-sportsmen bills, topped with a nationwide decline in public approval of our time-honored traditions, the need for sportsmen and women to have a powerful force advocating for them has never been more important. That’s why, since 1989, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation has been steadfast in advocating on vital outdoor issues that are the backbone of our nation's rich conservation legacy, giving a voice to sportsmen and women on Capitol hill and state houses in all 50 states. Through our dedicated team of hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and policy professionals, CSF exists to inform, influence, and defend policies that protect and promote
Photo by Aaron James
Bellefont Plantation
By Cecil Cherry
A plantation house is a neoclassical architecture style in the South built just after the Revolutionary War until the beginning of the American Civil War. Some of the features associated with plantation homes included gabled roofs, cupolas, and entrances at the front and back of the house. The interiors were just as majestic as the exteriors. Most had large dining rooms, ball rooms, and great foyers.
In the antebellum South, plantation homes were often the main house on farms. Some of these larger more luxurious homes were built from brick, while smaller homes were wood frame domiciles. Most plantations did not have the magnificent manors as the focal point of the property.
In North Carolina, the primary cash crops on plantations were tobacco and cotton. Other crops that were grown included corn,
wheat, rice, peanuts, and flax. Subsistence vegetable gardens were also grown on the property. Hogs and cows were raised for meat and milk.
My family’s farm, located in Eastern Beaufort County North Carolina, is next to one such plantation. Our farm was at one time part of a three-hundred-acre plantation that predated the War for American Independence. I grew up with tales of King George’s British red coats, Yankee soldiers, and hostile Indian attacks on the plantation. I could see the plantation house from our farm and envisioned tales of heroics from Revolutionary War hero Major Reading Blount, the brave homeowners warding off Indian attacks and praying their home would be spared by the invading hoards from up north.
Making a Splash
CHIP JONES is not like many you meet on the road and surely not the type you typically meet in the morning of the last day of a weeklong tradeshow, but alas there he is. Amongst the throngs of people, thousands in fact, is a jovial personality, a welcoming smile, and a friendly face standing in front of works that catch your eye instantly. Bright eyes above a bushy mustache, he greets you like an old friend, though never have our paths crossed before. He offers an extended open hand, ushers you to a nearby bronze work upon the wall, and starts talking about his innovative technique and the meaning of the piece. Quickly, he impresses anyone who takes the time to stop, stare, and listen.
A product of a small ranch outside of Missoula, Montana, Jones was drawn to the arts and through his time on the ranch and in various outdoor pursuits, Jones learned to transpose the nuances he saw in nature and society into visual works back in the studio. His start as a professional artist could be traced back to his days putting himself through school at Montana State University on his way to a degree in art education. While his natural ability could easily have allowed him to go out on his own and sell his wares around the world, Jones would take the selfless route--- becoming a teacher. Again, not like many you meet on the road.
As any educator knows, there is a responsibility that comes with the role that extends far beyond oneself. Our teachers are the stewards of the next generation and their tutelage and mentorship leave lasting marks on the impressionable minds under their guidance. Great teachers, and the lessons they taught, are revered and many of us look
back on those great teachers in our later years and finally recognize how one lecture, or one meeting, or the right words at the right time helped chart our course. I have no doubt that for many young art students, Chip Jones is that guy.
After a successful career as an educator, Jones ultimately turned back to his art as a full-time vocation. His work runs the gamut, from small metal hardware pieces to flatworks, to an innovation that he coins, “splashed bronze” for the way he throws 2500 degree metal into an artistic arrangement. The hardened splatter revealed a texture that provides an even greater level of depth or uniqueness to each piece that can’t be replicated. Of course one can’t fully control where the splatter goes and how it hardens, so each Jones piece is truly unique. To see his work up close, you understand how in 2016, he received the title for “Most Distinguished Body of Work” at the Out West Art Show in Great Falls, but hearing him talk about the work is what rounds out the story.
True to form as a selfless educator, Jones doesn’t keep his new technique to himself, but rather is an open book to share it with the world. On this day, in a tradeshow booth, Jones spends hours through countless conversations helping his visitors, collectors, and enthusiasts understand how his art came to be.
For us, we sat down with Jones to understand the rest of the story. That is, the man from Stevensville behind the molten metal, and his passions, aspirations, and inspirations to keep bringing this wonderful technique to the world.
Photos Courtesy of Chip Jones
Literary Giants in Oxford, Mississippi
by Sarah Morgan Johnson
Across the state, Mississippians pride themselves on their impressive literary legacy. World-renowned authors like William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Richard Wright, Jesmyn Ward, Donna Tartt, and Kathryn Stockett all call the Magnolia State home. Here in Oxford, locals proudly tout their town's literary fame. Despite being famous for its legendary tailgating scene, Oxford has a distinctly bookish bent. Authors of Oxford, past and present, have played an extraordinary role in shaping the culture of “America’s Best Small College Town.”
You may chalk it up to happenstance, but we think the town’s bustling artistic community and rich history give way to particularly excellent literary inspiration. After all, a stroll around the Square or game day in the Grove would make anyone want to wax poetic! While we could easily fill a book with all the writers who claim the Cultural Mecca of the South, these are four modern-day Oxford authors you need to know:
“Expletive!”
“Expletive!”
THE TURKEY CLUB
A decade of chasing Tom’s.
by Edgar Castillo
“What’s wrong?” I said to Ryan from the truck, as he quietly shared his disdain for what he had seen through his binoculars.
“We just got busted!” he angrily whispered.
“There are seven Jakes over there. Damn it! I was afraid of pulling the truck up this close to the field.”
“Expletive!”
I was fidgeting with my turkey vest, and with a quick tug of the shoulder straps, I was ready to go. I could still hear Ryan voicing his annoyance. I reached into the passenger seat of the truck cab and grabbed my binos and moved in next to Ryan.
“Right there. Along the edge of the field. Jakes.” Ryan pointed, directing me to look through an opening in the trees. I could see a half-dozen Jakes just along a tree line. The young turkeys reminded me of a gangly group of teenage boys.
“They’re moving into the trees.” I said.
“Let’s wait a few minutes and take our chances. We’ll cross the field and see if we can make it to the blind without the Jakes spotting us.,” Ryan uttered.
While we waited, I grabbed my shotgun and loaded purple three shells into my Remington 870 16-gauge. With a forceful, yet quiet thwack, one shell was loaded into the barrel.
“Let’s go!” whispered Ryan, with a real turkey fan in hand. With a soft thud, I shut the truck’s door and followed my very much determined friend into the field. Ryan, or “Tatch” as he is referred to by his fellow firemen, is a jovial character. Prior to retiring in 2023, he served as a fireman for the city of Olathe, KS for twenty-five years, and before that, he fought fires for a decade while in the U.S. Airforce. I know him as “Woodchuck,” due to his handiness, craftsmanship, and ability to masterfully build and fix…well, anything. It’s common for us to banter back and forth like Abbot and Costello. I’m 6’3” with an athletic build, and well, Ryan is Costello, for obvious physicality’s. The common theme behind our disagreements typically revolves
around me being a former law enforcement officer, and him being a fire chaser. We have a deep respect for one another’s profession, which led to the natural bond between us.
We moved across the field in haste, scanning the edge of the trees for any Jakes. We arrived at the naturally camouflaged turkey blind that Ryan built with burlap and limbs. It sat beneath a large cedar with overhanging branches. Retrieving the mesh bag from the blind, we moved quickly to set up the decoys. Ryan attached the fantail to the plastic Tom decoy for realism. A Jake and hen rounded out the bait for the trap.
Stowed in the blind were a pair of used collapsible folding lawn chairs that were set up. I sat down to Ryan’s right, figuring any turkeys would come from the woods off my three o’clock position. The barrel of my 16-gauge was placed on the padded yoke of a shooting stick, and the buttstock was placed in my lap. I swiveled the gun, assessing the range and my field of fire. While I set up my shotgun, Ryan had strategically placed a wooden box call, a shaker call, and a striker, in the chair’s left armrest cupholder. Just above it, he ingeniously hung his slate call at eye level for easy reach and use.
Our roles were obvious. Ryan was to call and lure a shootable turkey into the kill zone. My job was to effectively pull the trigger on a legal turkey, albeit a Tom, Jake, or bearded hen. I didn’t care. With gear stowed and ready, we sat back and began the waiting game.
“I’m not going to call. Let’s wait a bit. I want to make sure those Jakes are settled.”
After thirty minutes had passed, he took out the shaker call and vigorously shook it. In the far-off distance, two faint gobbles responded.
“They could be moving away.” He said.
We passed the time with small talk while Ryan’s head was on a constant swivel. Looking off to either side and in front of us with his binoculars. Scanning. Looking. More time passed without any sounds or signs of turkeys. Until finally, Ryan caught a glimpse of a lone
Get. Away.
Savor a Slice of Texas Paradise with a Ranch Residence at Rough Creek
Photos Courtesy of Rough Creek
At Porch + Prairie, we’ve explored towns and ranches off the beaten path, we’ve hunted and fished in hidden spots with unspoiled natural beauty, we’ve visited resorts that blend luxury amenities like spa treatments and award-winning restaurants with wide open spaces and well-appointed sporting opportunities, and we’ve enjoyed wholesome days of play with the whole family, delighting in the outdoor activities we loved as children, and have longed to share with our screen-obsessed kids and grandkids.
At Rough Creek in Glen Rose, Texas, we’ve found a place that combines all those elements into one remarkable location — a location that now offers the opportunity to take your family beyond that relaxing resort weekend out of town, and instead set down real ranch-home-ownership roots in a place you can be proud to call home.
In Oklahoma City, you’ll be met with history, charm and amazing food. Discover new perspectives and memorable experiences in the Modern Frontier.
NationalCowboy&WesternHeritageMuseum
WheelerDistrict
back porch
by Peder von Harten
Generational Wealth
It’s an undeniable truth that not only will we all die someday, but that we will have to watch family, friends, acquaintances, and colleagues die as well. More commonly than not, most of us will have to say goodbye to our parents somewhere along the way and with it comes a flood of emotion. Sadness and sorrow are to be expected but it causes you to rethink the impact someone had on your life and what about them you choose to carry forward.
Saying goodbye to a parent is a difficult process and can take on many shapes over the course of time. If we are being honest, that process is likely to never end. The memory of a loved one hits you at all hours of the day and without notice. Driving down the highway, sitting in the office, at the supper table--all possibilities. With it comes freezeframes from the past, presented in crystal clear quality. In those images and snapshots, we remember phrases, faces, laughs, tall tales, family stories, and the like. That’s the good stuff, and we owe it ourselves to tell those stories to the next generation and for them to tell the next one beyond that. Keeping the memory of the departed close at heart is the backbone of a family.
Some see the term generational wealth as referring to the “things” that move from generation to generation. But I define it differently. Forget the possessions, forget the money, forget the properties--- generational wealth is really about the intangibles. Those passing on true wealth to the next generation are passing on character traits like integrity, accountability, and grace. They are passing down valuable life lessons and showing us the skills needed to make things, grow things, provide for a family, live a morally upstanding life, and showing us the necessary things to keep our world turning. Better yet, these are the types of things that can be passed down no matter what someone’s socio-economic background might look like. You can grow up flat broke or you can be one of those who inherit millions, the fact is that the lessons that help water the future of your family tree have nothing to do with a dollar sign. Generational wealth is about values and values alone. What did they stand for? How did they live their life? How did the selfless acts and the hard lessons create the template for the future? The wealthiest people I know are the ones who know the answers to those questions, have learned from those answers, applied them to their lives when they can, and who have a great reverence
for those who came before them. Those folks respect how our parents and grandparents walked through life with humility and gratitude and grace. Most importantly, they understand how that grace and strong moral compass helps build families and strong, loving homes and that no matter the challenges that life always seems to bring, there is a way through if faith, love, determination, and hope are ever-present. Follow this line of thought and you come away a better human.
By now, you’ve probably surmised that I’ve lost a parent recently and you’d be right. In the void created by the lack of their physical presence in my everyday life, the conversations I had with them in the past have now become conversations in my own head. Still, I can envision the way a laugh sounds, how a voice sounds in reply, how a handshake and hug would comfort, and can see forty years of memories in stunning detail. Times weren’t always easy and money didn’t grow on trees, but my siblings and I were taught how to overcome both. Dream a dream, create some goals, and then chase them tirelessly while simultaneously building up those around you. It’s a simple concept to follow if done honestly and whole-heartedly, and from it comes happiness and the joy of accomplishment. If you don’t believe me, I can point to many around the country who came from very little, yet followed this template to create great fulfilling lives for themselves, their families, and their communities. They raise those around them up higher not with millions of dollars, but with great community values and clean, ethical lives. They look to serve the common good and teach their kids to do the same. It is what has always strengthened our country and in some reaches of the map, still does.
With good luck, answered prayers, and a bit of rain, success may come and the money may follow. But if it never comes, I’ll still be a wealthy man. No, my wealth won’t be seen in a bank account or a trust fund or anything of the sorts. It will be rooted in the lessons I was there to take in from my parents, in the pictures in my head, and in the good book on Sunday mornings. I’ll assess my worth not for what I have, but for what I’ve seen, what I know, what I’ve been taught, and what it all means to those down the line to those who come after me. I take solace in having that type of wealth, and I can rest easy no matter how uncertain the road ahead may seem.
OUR MISSION
DSC’s mission is to ensure the conservation of wildlife through public engagement, education and advocacy for well-regulated hunting and sustainable use.
OUR VISION
The vision of DSC is a society that values wildlife, engages in its conservation and understands and supports the role of well-regulated hunting in the sustainable use of wild resources.
To become a member or learn more about DSC, head to biggame.org.
