Revelations ~ May 2023

This is a monthly column helping us to get to know our friends and members in a deeper way. We thank Monte High for taking the time to do these in-depth interviews for us.

Dennis Myers and Mary McCutchan sit next to one another at the round dining room table. As they take turns telling their stories, searching one another’s eyes, it is easy to see the tenderness between them. It is a feeling that warms the room. It is easy to tell how each puts the other first, how deeply they are bound to one another.
 
Dennis and Mary have been sitting next to each other at the UUCGV for over a decade now. They met at the Arts Festival in Bluff Utah. Dennis says he went to a poetry reading, sat down in the front row, there was an empty seat next to him – and the rest is history. Dennis and Mary do not agree on what constitutes their first date. Was it meeting for coffee, or soaring high above the earth in a hot air balloon?
 
Mary grew up in Florida. It was an exciting time because they lived across from the Space Center during the 60s space race. Mary’s mother was a professional Girl Scout, so she grew up hiking, camping and canoeing. She has a sister that is two years older, who is a writer. Mary’s parents died when she was 20, and she and her sister had to slog through clearing out the house. So, when Mary graduated from Florida State University, it threw her for a loop because there was no home to go back to. Mary’s liberal arts degree in Religion wasn’t of much use in the job market. So, when Mary began searching for a degree that would actually help her get a job, she looked in the directory, saw Radiology, and thought yes – I like to take pictures...
 
Then Mary discovered Radiation Therapy, and decided she would prefer that, because she would be able to see the person over and over and establish a connection. So, Mary moved to Galveston, Texas where she attended radiation school. It turned out to be a good fit, though she struggled a bit because she’d never done anything medical. She studied under an international staff. It was a good program and Mary found it very interesting.
 
Her first job was at a brand-new treatment center. It was exciting to be involved in helping decide how things were set up, and it was great experience. Mary’s job in oncology was in high demand, which allowed her the flexibility to take time off. She had bargaining power, and if a facility refused to give her time off, she would simply quit her job and just – Go.
 
Mary worked five summers for the Forest Service. She was in a hiking club, and did numerous hikes and backpacking trips. She did two 500 mile backpacking trips. The first 500 mile backpacking trip that Mary did was in Canada, in 1989. It was planned out by a couple, and was set up with food drops every 8 to 10 days, where they would restock their food and wash a few clothes. She started out with a 45 pound pack but ended up sending stuff home because of the weight. They didn’t experience any danger from wildlife. They ran into Moose, and pesky black bears that would run away if you made noise, though they did have to pepper spray couple. The most hazardous part of the trip was river crossing. Everything up North seemed huge – enormous rivers and spectacular views. This was before GPS. Trail/route finding was not easy, and though they were able to get back on course, they did get lost a couple times. A couple years after the Canadian hike, Mary was able to take more time off, and plan a hike with her packing mentor, Carl, who was 20 years older than her with a lot of hiking experience. They hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon – starting close to the California border and finishing over the Bridge of the Gods, over the Columbia River. Then, on a later trip they did a portion of the Washington trail.
 
Mary eventually ended up “exiled” in Kansas City for 10 years. She enjoyed her work, but there are few natural areas close by, so Mary found fewer opportunities to stretch her legs in the Great Outdoors. She was longing to be closer to mountains and rivers, so when the hospital system where she worked went up for sale, she looked around. She found three different places that seemed to be a good fit, but was having a difficult time making up her mind. She decided, for the first and only time in her life, to consult a psychic (Mary chuckling). She helped her be positive about making the decision.
 
Mary came to Grand Junction without knowing a single person. Mary attended special events at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Kansas City, so she had an idea what the UU’s were all about. In 2004 Mary attended the local UU congregation to meet like-minded people. She’s been a wonderful addition to our UU community, and she even brought her boyfriend!
 
Mary decided to visit the Bluff Arts Festival because of the inclusion of writing as well as visual arts. The first year she went to the festival, Terry Tempest Williams was ill and couldn’t make it, so Mary was a little disappointed. The second year Mary went to the festival, she met Dennis.
 
Dennis was born and raised in California, but he hasn’t lived in California since 1977. He spent every summer with his grandfather from the time he was two years old until he was a sophomore in high school. Every summer they would to go camping. They would stay the whole summer, and at the end of the summer they would decide where they were going to go next year.
 
So, from a very early age he knew he wanted to work in the Great Outdoors. At the time, he thought he wanted to be a forest ranger, so he pursued that. He got a degree from Sacramento State, although he meandered around for several years first... He got married while he was in college. (He has two children, and two grandchildren. They all live in Washington state.)
 
Dennis worked for a few different agencies, one being the Bureau of Land Management. Dennis and two others were the first three river Rangers that the BLM ever hired (in California). During rafting season, they were on a river every day, seven days a week. He did get to run the dream river in California – the Stanislaus. Dennis retired from Washington State Parks Department, where he worked for a number of years. Among other responsibilities, he was fortunate to be on a couple of beautiful rivers there, and get paid for it.
 
Dennis has been a Whitewater fanatic since the late 1960s. He rode rivers all over the western United States. He’s run rivers in Costa Rica, and New Zealand. Those were fun rivers. New Zealand has no liability laws, so if you’re dumb enough to sign up and do something crazy... The New Zealand trip, was the first and only time he’s ever paid, because he’s always used his own equipment or that of the agency he was working for. One of the New Zealand rivers had 15 waterfalls, the final one being a 21 foot vertical drop. They were warned beforehand that they only run this particular waterfall successfully 50% of the time. There were told to paddle like hell and then upon command hunker down in the bottom of the boat and grab hold. They lost the coin flip, and flipped. Dennis has rafted through the Grand Canyon nine times. He did eight trips, and told himself that was his last trip. But, years later someone called up and asked if he’d be interested in joining a trip down the Grand Canyon. After he hung up, Mary explained that she’d hiked the Grand Canyon in a number of places, but she’d never been through the Grand Canyon on the river. So, Dennis called the person back and asked if he had two spots available. They had a Grand adventure, and they celebrated his 69th birthday on that trip. Though not as often, and with fewer rapids, Dennis is still answering the call of the river. When Dennis started running rivers in college, he could go to any of the major rivers in California and would know three quarters of the people running the river that day, because few people were doing that. Now, the most popular rivers have permitting systems, and when you do get a permit, you sometimes see 60 people putting on the river, and the only people you know are the ones in your own party.
After Dennis retired, he kept telling people he was going to move to Bluff, Utah because he always enjoyed Bluff when he went down to that area for river trips. One day, one of his friends finally asked – well what’s stopping you. About two weeks later, he moved to Bluff. It’s a small town. It’s easy to get to know everybody. When Dennis lived in Bluff, there were about 175 permanent residents. He attended the arts Festival every year but one. One particularly fine year during the festival, Dennis wanted to set up front and listen to several people read poetry, and lo and behold, there was an empty chair beside him. Mary asked if it was available, and the rest is pretty much history. That chair has been taken ever since.
 
Dennis lived in Bluff, and Mary was in Grand Junction. They were going back-and-forth for over two years, until they decided to live together. They decided on Grand Junction, one of the factors being that Mary was still working at the time, so Dennis moved in with Mary. They’ve been living together for 12 years now.
 
Because Mary was a member, Dennis started attending UUCGV before he even moved to Grand Junction, whenever he was in town on Sunday. He found it to be a good fit, and settled into our little community. Not long after, it was an exciting time because the church purchased its first building. The building was a credit union, and then used by the library, so it required an extensive renovation – a reimagining of how to make the space work for our congregation. Dennis got to help with the demolition, and some of the modifications and rebuild. He takes pride in the fact that he helped make the building what it is today. A beautiful, sacred space. (Mary helped with the design of the lighting system).
 
Mary has been a longtime member of the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, which is an environmental action group. They focus mostly on wilderness and lands with wilderness characteristics, and often wildlife because they are interrelated. They also have Great Old Bro’s (Dennis) and Training Broads for the younger women. One of the things Mary likes most about the group is their sense of humor. They are a small group. They do various projects, from hands-on like counting bighorn sheep or planting cottonwood trees along the river, to education and different political actions. Mary also enjoys taking part in the bird counts.
 
Nowadays Mary and Dennis find themselves sitting next to each other on self-guided driving tours, in restaurants and coffee shops, in the middle of the river, on cots in a big tent, on a big rock beside a local trail, lounging in their house – reading, playing cribbage, birdwatching, holding hands wherever the muse may lead, or in the midst of the lively community in the building at 536 Ouray Ave.
 
Life flows on… in endless song…