First Person - continued

I commemorated 9-11-2002 in Jackson Hole WY rendezvousing with my new granddaughter, and her parents. We all, in some ways lost our innocence that terrible day last year. But, I found mine again, looking into the deep blue pools, of Sally Ann's eyes. Jackson Hole, or the valley to the locals, has been a temporary home to Native American Indians and French trappers before the first permanent settlers moved into the valley. Cattle ranchers became the springboard to the first of the dude ranches. The hospitality industry soon became the basis of the local economy.

The hotel I stayed at remained unchanged post 9-11, or the past 100 years, or so it appeared, was immediately welcoming. The interior is finished in Knotty Pine with a central staircase leading up to a large comfortable room furnished in Lodge Pole Pine furniture. The pine, originally indigenous to the region, is now federally protected. The hotel, too, has been placed on The National Register of Historical Sites, so I don't think any modern architect will be effecting any changes any time soon. It is reassuring that "Home on the Range" hospitality is not endangered.

From East coast, with its Yankee Doodle hospitality to the west, where the deer and the antelope play, whether home or temporary lodging, the residual of 9-11 is a heightened awareness of our surroundings. We have a new respect for the instincts of the homing pigeon.

Lorraine Heppner
CEO and President