Bringing the ‘howdy’ back

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
The Wyoming Tree Farm is bringing the friendly “howdy” back to northeast Wyoming, while at the same time promoting wood, wood utilization and community building with handcrafted signs bearing the western greeting. 
The forested landowners group started in the late 1980s, with several of the landowners and families still being involved with the organization today. In 2012, with the help of family and friends, Bill Kohlbrand, a now-deceased district forester for the Wyoming State Forestry Division, kicked off the revitalization of the program. Then, it was meshed with the Forest Stewardship program under State Forestry to be a joint landowner-agency collaborating group. 
“The mission remains the same, though, to promote wood and forest management, as well as help provide educational material to contribute to the overall mission of sustainable, resilient forest management enhancement with the efforts that the group provides,” said Lori Kempton, a volunteer for the Wyoming Tree Farm program. 
According Kempton, the idea to use a “howdy” sign for the committee promotion was sparked by long-time Newcastle resident Dick Crawford, who missed the western greeting he became accustomed to when he moved to Wyoming in the 1960s. 
Crawford explained that his love for the common Wyoming greeting came about when he married the late Beth Crawford, a Wyoming native. Crawford said that he learned then that there was no friendlier state than Wyoming. 
“The first thing people would say to you was ‘howdy’ and shake your hand,” Crawford said. 
According to the now-retired businessman, he began using the greeting in his daily ventures. 
“Whenever I would meet people, I would shake their hand and say howdy and then they would smile and become comfortable with me,” Crawford said. “For some reason, the word relaxes people.”  
Crawford’s goal is to bring the “howdy” back to Wyoming, and he hopes to eventually get the “Welcome to Wyoming” signs changed to the steamboat emblem, because it is the longest running license plate in the United States, and the word “howdy.” 
“I want Wyoming to stand above, and I want people coming here to feel welcome,” Crawford said. “We are unique here, and we represent the beginning of America, the Wild West.” 
Sharing this dream with Kempton is what sparked their idea to resurrect the “howdy,” at least in the northeastern corner in the form of the sign program. 
“The signs are made here locally, and we felt this corner of the state was a good place to start,” Crawford said. 
Kempton said that Crawford was also a long-time promoter of wood utilization and “thus it seemed fitting for our Wyoming Tree Farm committee to choose the friendly western greeting to make howdy signs for the wood promoters’ project,” Kempton said. “The concept was to promote the utilization of wood products to promote our local forest management for healthier forest and community.” 
Kempton said that the group has used local materials and people to create and distribute the signs to several communities in the northeastern corner of the state, including Newcastle, Sundance, Hulett, Upton and Moorcroft. 
“To date, all of the materials have been donated by the tree farm landowners and other natural resource management supporters,” Kempton said. “The concept was to promote the utilization of wood products to promote our local forest management for healthier forest and community.” 
The first of these signs was made from residue-thinning material from the property of J.W. Nuckolls near Hulett, according to Kempton. Nuckolls was a long-time advocate for forest management, and his family carries on his legacy by distributing the signs his forest helped to create in Hulett. 
Delbert and LaRae Blocker, tree farmers since 1991, are active supporters of the program and have been instrumental in helping with the sign promotion, according to Kempton. She explained that the couple have been key players in the promotions acquisition of materials used to produce and treat the signs. 
“I think it is great to welcome people to our area of the country in a western way by saying howdy,” Delbert said. 
The couple has furnished wood for the project and went to Weston County Natural Resource District’s Hazardous Waste Day to collect wood finisher that the Wyoming Tree Farm committee has used to finish signs for distribution. 
To date, the volunteer group has distributed over 400 signs, and its members hope to grow their coverage area, according to Kempton. 
“The volunteer group has dozens of other howdy signs ready for distribution, each being uniquely handcrafted by volunteers that support forest management for the health of our forest and their community,” Kempton said. 
She noted that production of the signs has increased in recent months with the addition of volunteer engraver and graphic designer Dave Oslund. 
“He has stepped up our howdy sign production to four times the number than earlier production with his semiautomatic carving tools,” Kempton said. “Dave’s creative abilities have also added many new designs to our howdy signs, with each one having a different character than the others.” 
Kempton reported that homeowners and neighbors can now join in by getting a “neighborhood howdy packet.” 
The program will act as a fundraiser for the Wyoming Tree Farm through the promotion of wood utilization and community building. A small donation will get you a set of five howdy signs to be distributed to your neighbors and friends. Anyone interested in promoting forest health through the howdy signs should email wyomingtreefarm@gmail.com.