No doubt, the older readers will remember a monthly feature of the Readers' Digest magazine called "My Most Unforgettable Character." I have a few unforgettable characters. Let me inform you of a truly remarkable man. Pictured to the left is Perry Kelley. Perry and I have worked together the past several years making sets for the Weiser Little Dinner Theater. Perry is the lead man on these projects because he is smarter than me, has more woodworking experience, and has really great Big Boy toys in his shop. We have built a lot of furniture and sets and even have added onto the stage area. We probably have each logged several hundred hours into the theater.
Perry is such a joy to be around. He is truly one of the nicest people on this earth.
Perry and his wife, Sally, (who my wife use to teach with in an adjacent classroom) have been selected as Grand Marshals for the Weiser Old Time Fiddlers' Parade because of their numerous services to the community for so many years. Upon Perry's and Sally's retirement, they toured through much of the U. S. and the world as a regional governor of the Lions Club. Perry assisted Tom Dyer (now Director of the Idaho BLM Office) and me in starting a fly fishers club in Ontario. The club lasted for a few years and then dissolved. About seven years ago Perry and some other local fisherman started the Indian Head Flyfishers Club. It is a going concern in Weiser with fifty-nine members. About 35 attend monthly meetings.
Perry has had a dream of establishing a local pond for anybody to fish in, but especially for the children to have a place to fish in Weiser. Urban fisheries is becoming a great priority for the State of Idaho's Fish and Game Department. Perry also lives across the street from the newly elected mayor and Perry has done considerable lobbying in behalf of his pet project. It looks like the pond will become a reality. This will be a crowning achievemnt in this man's life which has now seen seventy years.
Perry is a consumate actor and has held the presidency of the Little Theater Group several times. People who have seen the Little Theater productions will attest to the quality of the productions. He and Sally are the glue that holds the Theater together. Perry was the vocal teacher at Weiser High School until ten yeas ago. The musicals that he produced with high school talent were remarkably entertaining and drew large crowds who eagerly awaited the yearly production. We don't seem to be making many more like Perry.
Oh and he is a really, really, good flyfisherman and fly tier. He will help anybody to be a better fly fisher. Presently he is teaching a three part class in the use of the rotary fly tying vice.
For awhile during our last session in the shop, I thought I might be seeing the end of this great man. While working on the table saw with a dado blade in place, he suffered a kick back. The corner of the board hit him hard in the stomach (almost on the navel). He turned white. I escorted him to the house (attached garage) and suggested to Sally that she get an ice pack. We had him lie down and put his feet up. In ten minutes he was back on his feet and working on the project. His shirt was torn and the skin was broken and he is black and blue, but he is going to tell the doctor to get off his case about losing weight because that extra 50 pounds around his waist may have saved his life :) As one might expect, Perry and Sally are model parents and grandparents.
The deer have been staying in Perry and Sally's backyard. There are hundreds of deer in Weiser now. This is a new phenomon for the townspeople. 26,000 acres of grassland and forests burned last June just to the north of Weiser. The deer have no feed in their traditional wintering area, so they are down visiting the town folk. They have done a real nice job of trimming the shrubbery and have found fescue and Kentucky Blue Grass an acceptable alternative winter food. We also have serval hundred elk on Jenkins Creek Road and Indianhead Road hanging around. Many town folks drive out to view the elk. Life in Weise is pretty simple, but, hey, nature can be pretty entertaining if one slows down to enjoy nature.
No comments:
Post a Comment