It was looking grim the last few days Continental airways were operating out of old Stapelton airport. Also shod horses on my weekends.
Given 6 cities with technical promotions and a moving allowance, or take the riff and except $2500.00 training allowance and find something to do for a few years, as Continental had plans to return to the opening DIA airport. It was my desision to stick around and shoe more horses.
I got the $2500.00 approved to go to Pikes Peak Outfitter Guide School (now Colorado Outdoor Adventure School) , did well in Guide school, started my first Guiding job the fallowing Monday after graduation, with about $14 dollars in my pocket.
Stacked a few dimes guiding, the last day was just before Christmas and the stack of dimes would not last till spring when shoeing would really take off. I decided to set up a wall tent in the National Forest to save renting a place till my feet hit the ground, and just made it.
At first, made a couple mistakes, started shoeing in the Mountains west of Denver, it would have been better to stick around the airport where by client base was located. The second mistake was under-bidding my work.
Nothing sounds sadder then the sound of of a butter knife scraping the walls of a peanut-butter jar, trying to scrap up enough peanut-butter for your last cracker. Nothing sounds better then your phone ringing and a good customer braking the peanut-butter scavenging sound with the need to have a couple horses done as soon as I can get there.
Nothing can make a business decision feel better then having a customer asking if I will take half in cash, and half in check, when they lived on the other side of a grocery store and bank from my Forest camp!
Things been up and down since then, mostly up.
Started another businessmen since, Crow Valley Forge LLC . Making Knives, Just last year at about this time we had a knife premiered on page #54 of the September issue of BLADE magazine, have not made a knife that was not already sold since then!
Pictured on page #55 are Rex Walter and Ed Fowler , my Metallurgist and Bladesmith Mentor, without who I would still be making knives just good enough to scavenge peanut-butter from jars with!