Bill Hatcher

Book Review – Principles of Flight: Flying Bush Planes Through a World of War, Sexism, and Meat

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by Bill Hatcher Lantern Books, 274 pages ISBN 9781590565742 Reviewed by Martha Quillen Principles of Flight is a memoir and a treatise against war, sexism, religion, capitalism, militarism, government policies, and eating meat. It contains lots of geographic color, general information and political commentary. But it has the spirit of a literary novel, and is …

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Saguache Paints a New Picture: Artists Create Hope for this Historic Town

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by Bill Hatcher The casual visitor to Saguache, Colorado will see ranches, farms and a quaint valley town. But upon closer inspection, you will find a trove of artistic gems that rival those in any metropolitan area. A downtown revitalization project, completed in 2012, gave businesses a chance to recover from the town’s century-old slump. …

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Book Review

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The Marble Room: How I lost God and Found Myself in Africa

By Bill Hatcher

Lantern Books
ISBN: 978-1-59056-406-6
$18.00; 288 pp.

Reviewed by Forrest Whitman

When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land.
They said “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.

That’s an old African joke attributed to Bishop Desmond Tutu. Many a young Peace Corps volunteer went to Africa to try and ameliorate that ugly situation. Bill Hatcher, a current resident of the San Luis Valley, was no exception.

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Riddles in the Rocks – The Bonanza Caldera

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By Bill Hatcher

Sherlock Holmes is, perhaps, the most famous detective of all time. Recently, he has received renewed attention in film and on television.

However, a different sort of detective has been investigating a real-life enigma here in central Colorado for the past eight years. And if his pursuit seems less glamorous than what happens on the silver screen, his findings have been no less dramatic. This detective is a geologist who has been solving the riddles of a local super-volcano. Doctor Peter Lipman taught geology at Colorado State University in the 1970s, but has been a research scientist since then. He’s now 77 and officially retired. Still, his passion for rocks takes him high into the mountains each summer. And as he told the story, I imagined him puffing on a pipe like Sherlock, pondering.

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Under the Truffula Tree – A look at Population Growth in the 21st Century

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By Bill Hatcher

“And in no time at all, in the factory I built,
the whole Once-ler family was working full-tilt.
We were all knitting thneeds, just as busy as bees,
to the sound of the chopping of Truffula trees.” – Dr. Seuss

How many people can you fit under a Truffula tree? If your first response is to knot your eyebrows, scratch your head, and ask, “What the hell is a Truffula tree?” please let me explain.

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Peace Corpse? Checking the pulse of the Peace Corps as it turns 50

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By Bill Hatcher

They call it “The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love,” and those who know it best say it represents America at its finest. Celebrating its 50th year, the Peace Corps continues striving to promote nothing less than international friendship and world peace. However, no one reading this article need be reminded that the U.S. is now involved in multiple wars and is convalescing from the worst economic crisis in 80 years.

Given such contrast, it seems that two questions demand a closer look: How successful has the Peace Corps been in achieving its grand mission, and can we afford to continue funding international aid programs like the Peace Corps in hard times like these?

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Locally Grown Foods – (or, Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is)

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by Bill Hatcher

I mean, how hard could it be? You take some seeds, you put them in the ground, add a little water, make sure they get plenty of sun, and voila! Instant veggies for garnishing every meal! Maybe give a few to friends. Maybe even sell some at the local farmer’s market.
That was back in March. And now, well, I guess my little experiment in gardening now looks more like an attempt made by early hunter-gatherers. But thank God there are several intrepid local farmers willing to provide the rest of us poor Neanderthals with some of their sunshine-fresh bounty.

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Driving Nature Into the Ground?

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By Bill Hatcher

“In Colorado, the outdoors is what’s for dinner!”

That’s Sherry Ellms, Professor of Environmental Studies at Naropa University in Boulder. I had asked her what motorized recreation says about American Culture. And while playful, her dining metaphor belies our tendency to “consume” nature.

In 1991, 11,700 OHVs (off-highway vehicles, such as dirt bikes, jeeps and all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs) were registered in Colorado. By 2012, that number had grown to over 160,000. 

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A 21st Century Look at Ranching in the San Luis Valley

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by Bill Hatcher

photos by Mike Rosso

It happens without fail every September. Driving down a county road where I live in the northern San Luis Valley, I am given yet another opportunity to ruminate on why I love living here so much. No, not it’s magnificent scenery. Instead, the little reminder of pastoral patience I’m referring to lumbers along over cloven hooves, tended by that durable American icon, the rancher-cowboy, reins or twist-throttle held loosely in gloved hands.

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Fire and Rain on Mt. KIA/MIA

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Article by Bill Hatcher

Veterans – June 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

YOU PROBABLY KNOW what it’s like. You walk outside, early on a beautiful summer morning with thoughts and plans happily pulsing through your head, and then you stop. You hastily scan the horizon, nostrils flaring, and sniff. There’s a forest or grass fire somewhere, maybe in the next state, maybe just over the hill.

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Comments on February

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Letter from Bill Hatcher

Colorado Central – March 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Cozine,

I enjoy your coverage of Colorado issues and events. Thanks. Keep it up.

Here are some opinions/comments on the Feb ’08 mag that I’d like to share:

1. The plumber/lion account on page 7.

First, I’m glad that plumber got out from underneath that house with nary a scratch. Second, I’m saddened that the lion was killed merely for being a persistently resourceful cat. If I was a mountain lion, I too would be looking for just such a cozy, defensible spot like a crawl space. And anyone rooting around in such places in rural Colorado should expect as much. How to deal? Tranquilize.

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