Nathan Dexter

Graduated Washburn U., then attended grad school at KU (English Lit.) Was a Navy officer during Vietnam. Moved back to Topeka after Navy and worked in management for Hallmark Cards until I started my own printing business, which I ran for 18 years.

We managed to find time to have 5 kids: 4 boys, and a daughter who died of Menningitis at age 5. Our oldest boy is 27, our youngest is 14. We have one grandson who is not quite 2.

A Wyoming job came looking for my wife, and since we had always wanted to live in the Rockies, decided the time was ripe, in that our oldest son was in college, and our next youngest was not yet in high school. My wife and kids moved to Wyoming in 2004, and I stayed behind for a month or two to sell our house and the business. Three years later, after more commuting than I had planned on, I sold my business and our house the same week and moved to Wyoming the next day.

We love it here and enjoy the activities unique to the mountains. We volunteer as dog handlers at the dog sled races every year, our kids have all learned to ski (in fact both Nordic and Downhill skiing are varsity sports at the high school,) the local community college offers Rodeo as a major, the Grade schools bus all the kids to the annual Hunting and Fishing Expo so they can shoot guns and bows and arrows, one of the big annual fund raisers is the Cannon and Machine Gun Shoot, my favorite store sells drugs, guns, booze, ammo and notions all under the same roof, and the scenery is breathtaking. What's not to like?

I'm afraid that my favorite school story, involving me, Mary Faith Evans, and Anne Houdyshell, would embarrass one of the participants too much, so will relate my second favorite.

I think we were either Freshmen or Sophomores when Art Carey and I built a rocket out of some old lamp parts, fueled it up with some home-made black powder, and set it off in his front yard in the center of Highland Park. We were amazed and delighted when it actually lifted off. Unfortunately, it then took a turn, leveled off, and at very high velocity, went right through the picture window of one of his neighbors. Being the honest, upstanding and responsible young men that we were, we ran like hell for his basement, and stayed there until we figured the coast was clear.