I would like to share a few memories that I have of Danny. After I heard that he had passed away, I tried to remember where I first met him. After a couple of days, I remembered seeing him in the Alzada post office talking with Helen Spiedel in 1992. I didn’t get to know him very well until after I met Chip in 1994. I/we would meet him on Hwy 323 at his mailbox or Chip’s. He always had a smile and was very quick with a humorous comment.
After hunting mule deer on Chip’s for a few years, I wanted to try my hand at a white tail. Chip didn’t have any at that time, so he suggested that I ask Danny. Every one knows that Danny wouldn’t allow hunting on his mule deer or his antelope, but that he would allow an occasional hunter to hunt white tail. That November I went with Chip to watch him and Wade work cows at Danny’s. After a little bit, Danny had to give me a hard time and asked me what brought me down to the ranch as it was evident that I wasn’t working very hard. I replied, “Danny, I came down to collect birthday presents!” He grinned, paused a second and asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told him that I wanted to hunt for white tail. He gave me permission. On the day that I was to hunt we picked up the key to the locks on his gates and went hunting. White tail deer don’t stand around waiting to get shot, so I went home empty handed. When I returned the key he asked how I did. When I told him that all of his deer were still alive, he smiled and said, “Good!”
After Chip and I were married in 99, I once again asked Danny if I could hunt on him. Once again he gave me permission. The day before I was to go hunting, I saw him at his mailbox and stopped to talk to him. He told me that he wanted me to leave Chip at home when I went hunting. I was in a panic and said, “But Chip is my guide, I can’t hunt without him.” He said, “Why not?” I said, “Danny, I still get lost on our place, I will never find my way out of your place with out him.” He smiled and said, “Tell Chip to leave his rifle home.” I said, “I can do that.” Once again all of his deer lived for another day.
As I think about it, his deer were better off with me hunting them than driving a car. It was a few years after that, that a doe ran out from under the Little Missouri Bridge and hit my car. She died quickly. Danny then gave me a hard time about being hard on his deer population.
My last deer story happened a few years ago. The white tail finally moved up to the Dye ranch so I could hunt on our own property. Chip took me out hunting one after noon up by our hay yard that is next to Danny. There was a very nice 5 X 5 white tail buck peeking out at us from Danny’s. The temptation was great, but I valued Danny’s friendship too much to kill a deer on him without asking his permission first. Wouldn’t you know it, the very next day Danny was at our mailbox turning around. We visited for a bit and then I said, “Danny, I have a question.” He knew something was coming, so I started with “Danny, If we are hunting on our property and we see a neat white tail on your property, may I shoot it?” He looked at me and said, “What?” so more slowly I said, “I am standing on our property, the white tail is across the fence on your property, do you mind if I shoot it?” He repeated what I said, laughed and said, “Go ahead!” I shot a very nice 5 X 5 white tail that Chip had mounted.
One time we were at some Carter County gathering. I know it wasn’t a wedding as Danny didn’t go to weddings. He said that between Chip and me, he received four invitations to our wedding and he still didn’t come. I told him the number of invitations meant that we wanted him at our wedding. Any way Danny was giving someone a hard time about drinking. He finally said, “Well, I have always said that a little bit of alcohol doesn’t hurt anyone.” I smiled at him and said, “Danny, a little bit of church doesn’t hurt anyone either.” He chuckled and changed the subject.
One year Chip helped Danny ship his yearlings. It just so happened that one of the heifers had just calved and they couldn’t turn her back to her calf. Chip told me about it and I just couldn’t handle letting the poor calf die. I asked Danny if we could go look for it and he said yes, but with the grass as tall as it was, it would be very hard to find. Chip and I looked for 2-3 hours and couldn't find it. I prayed all Sunday morning that God would help Danny to find this poor calf. That afternoon Danny came driving into the yard. I gave him a hard time and asked him if we had cattle on him. He said that he brought me something. When I saw the calf, I said, “Danny, you are an answer to prayer.” He said that was the first time anyone had said that about him. He let the calf out and I fed her. This was a cute black baldy calf that thought Danny’s pick up was her mom. I called her Alpha as she was the first of my cattle herd. I still have her.
Danny and I talked about many things other than hunting and livestock. Danny was a very intelligent man and read a lot. He had read several different versions of the Bible of which he shared his opinion. I loaned him one of my favorite books called Why I Believe by James Kennedy. This book tells how we can know there is a Heaven, Hell and the Return of Christ. Because of the prophecy fulfilled in our Bible we know that it is true. After my dad passed away, I began to wonder what Heaven is really like. I found a book by Randy Alcorn called Heaven. The book changed my view. I, like many people, thought that Heaven was a time that we would sit around and sing and praise God. As good and right as that is, I am the type of person who needs to be doing something. Randy uses scripture to show how beautiful Heaven is and the fact that we will be doing something that we love to do there. This book also explains that Hell isn’t like most people think. It is not a place to socialize and party; it is a place of utter darkness and isolation. Danny spent some time reading this 500-page book.
My last memory of Danny is in the Billings Hospital. I had gone to Rapid City to see Danny but he had been transferred that very day to Billings. I was quite disappointed until I remembered that I had to be in Billings the following week for Math training for school. Monday night I got out our GPS and plugged in the address. I finally found where he was. I visited with him for about a half-hour, filling him in on the neighborhood. As I got ready to leave I asked him if I could pray for him and he quietly said yes.
Just as I thought that my dad was invincible and would live forever, so I thought Danny was invincible. Just as Dad was blessed to have a nurse pray with him while in the hospital, so I wanted Danny to have that as well while he was in the hospital. Even though I visualized him coming back to the ranch and once again having many talks with him at the mail box ---his or ours --- As I look back on that day, I think that Danny knew that he wasn’t going to make it back home.
Danny was a special neighbor and friend and will be missed. Today I want to extend my sympathy to Phyllis and each of his nieces and nephews. My prayers are with each of you.
After hunting mule deer on Chip’s for a few years, I wanted to try my hand at a white tail. Chip didn’t have any at that time, so he suggested that I ask Danny. Every one knows that Danny wouldn’t allow hunting on his mule deer or his antelope, but that he would allow an occasional hunter to hunt white tail. That November I went with Chip to watch him and Wade work cows at Danny’s. After a little bit, Danny had to give me a hard time and asked me what brought me down to the ranch as it was evident that I wasn’t working very hard. I replied, “Danny, I came down to collect birthday presents!” He grinned, paused a second and asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told him that I wanted to hunt for white tail. He gave me permission. On the day that I was to hunt we picked up the key to the locks on his gates and went hunting. White tail deer don’t stand around waiting to get shot, so I went home empty handed. When I returned the key he asked how I did. When I told him that all of his deer were still alive, he smiled and said, “Good!”
After Chip and I were married in 99, I once again asked Danny if I could hunt on him. Once again he gave me permission. The day before I was to go hunting, I saw him at his mailbox and stopped to talk to him. He told me that he wanted me to leave Chip at home when I went hunting. I was in a panic and said, “But Chip is my guide, I can’t hunt without him.” He said, “Why not?” I said, “Danny, I still get lost on our place, I will never find my way out of your place with out him.” He smiled and said, “Tell Chip to leave his rifle home.” I said, “I can do that.” Once again all of his deer lived for another day.
As I think about it, his deer were better off with me hunting them than driving a car. It was a few years after that, that a doe ran out from under the Little Missouri Bridge and hit my car. She died quickly. Danny then gave me a hard time about being hard on his deer population.
My last deer story happened a few years ago. The white tail finally moved up to the Dye ranch so I could hunt on our own property. Chip took me out hunting one after noon up by our hay yard that is next to Danny. There was a very nice 5 X 5 white tail buck peeking out at us from Danny’s. The temptation was great, but I valued Danny’s friendship too much to kill a deer on him without asking his permission first. Wouldn’t you know it, the very next day Danny was at our mailbox turning around. We visited for a bit and then I said, “Danny, I have a question.” He knew something was coming, so I started with “Danny, If we are hunting on our property and we see a neat white tail on your property, may I shoot it?” He looked at me and said, “What?” so more slowly I said, “I am standing on our property, the white tail is across the fence on your property, do you mind if I shoot it?” He repeated what I said, laughed and said, “Go ahead!” I shot a very nice 5 X 5 white tail that Chip had mounted.
One time we were at some Carter County gathering. I know it wasn’t a wedding as Danny didn’t go to weddings. He said that between Chip and me, he received four invitations to our wedding and he still didn’t come. I told him the number of invitations meant that we wanted him at our wedding. Any way Danny was giving someone a hard time about drinking. He finally said, “Well, I have always said that a little bit of alcohol doesn’t hurt anyone.” I smiled at him and said, “Danny, a little bit of church doesn’t hurt anyone either.” He chuckled and changed the subject.
One year Chip helped Danny ship his yearlings. It just so happened that one of the heifers had just calved and they couldn’t turn her back to her calf. Chip told me about it and I just couldn’t handle letting the poor calf die. I asked Danny if we could go look for it and he said yes, but with the grass as tall as it was, it would be very hard to find. Chip and I looked for 2-3 hours and couldn't find it. I prayed all Sunday morning that God would help Danny to find this poor calf. That afternoon Danny came driving into the yard. I gave him a hard time and asked him if we had cattle on him. He said that he brought me something. When I saw the calf, I said, “Danny, you are an answer to prayer.” He said that was the first time anyone had said that about him. He let the calf out and I fed her. This was a cute black baldy calf that thought Danny’s pick up was her mom. I called her Alpha as she was the first of my cattle herd. I still have her.
Danny and I talked about many things other than hunting and livestock. Danny was a very intelligent man and read a lot. He had read several different versions of the Bible of which he shared his opinion. I loaned him one of my favorite books called Why I Believe by James Kennedy. This book tells how we can know there is a Heaven, Hell and the Return of Christ. Because of the prophecy fulfilled in our Bible we know that it is true. After my dad passed away, I began to wonder what Heaven is really like. I found a book by Randy Alcorn called Heaven. The book changed my view. I, like many people, thought that Heaven was a time that we would sit around and sing and praise God. As good and right as that is, I am the type of person who needs to be doing something. Randy uses scripture to show how beautiful Heaven is and the fact that we will be doing something that we love to do there. This book also explains that Hell isn’t like most people think. It is not a place to socialize and party; it is a place of utter darkness and isolation. Danny spent some time reading this 500-page book.
My last memory of Danny is in the Billings Hospital. I had gone to Rapid City to see Danny but he had been transferred that very day to Billings. I was quite disappointed until I remembered that I had to be in Billings the following week for Math training for school. Monday night I got out our GPS and plugged in the address. I finally found where he was. I visited with him for about a half-hour, filling him in on the neighborhood. As I got ready to leave I asked him if I could pray for him and he quietly said yes.
Just as I thought that my dad was invincible and would live forever, so I thought Danny was invincible. Just as Dad was blessed to have a nurse pray with him while in the hospital, so I wanted Danny to have that as well while he was in the hospital. Even though I visualized him coming back to the ranch and once again having many talks with him at the mail box ---his or ours --- As I look back on that day, I think that Danny knew that he wasn’t going to make it back home.
Danny was a special neighbor and friend and will be missed. Today I want to extend my sympathy to Phyllis and each of his nieces and nephews. My prayers are with each of you.
