I have been blessed to have had my childhood years occur at what was quite a grand time to just be a kid in this world. As a result I have a host of places and people that left with me a treasure chest of memories that still glow with a warm luster in my heart and mind to this day. Bernie Crook graciously allowed me the opportunity to share his farmland, to hunt on it, to hike it, to explore it. That experience brought to me a lifelong appreciation of the outdoors, and for our beautiful land, along with some great memories of autumn days spent afield with my father and friends and later even with my own family as I married. Bernie Crook opened his gates to me with a warm welcoming smile and a bulldog grip handshake and set me free to feel the wind on my face, hear the rush of a gamebird’s wings in my soul, and see whitetail deer sneak through the shafts of light from the setting sun in his timber. Thanks Bernie! Our sincere condolences to all Bernie’s family, love ones and friends.