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Seely, an Idaho farm boy, becomes an entrepreneur and community builder in this vibrant memoir. Each spring, his family would travel in the back of a small pickup with a canvas on top, impelling the author to move as a young man to the tiny town of West Yellowstone, where he and his wife Linda would buy Three Bear Lodge. Two hours after the purchase was completed, the lodge caught on fire. Seely’s determination came to the forefront as he repaired the property in time for the spring snowmobile races. Seely and his family led snowmobile treks, managed the lodge and other properties, and refurbished a vintage train car, constructing around it a large hotel that would one day carry the Holiday Inn brand. During all these endeavors, Seely encouraged fellow residents of the little town to expand their businesses. Today, West Yellowstone is a noted tourist venue with many features first instigated by the author, his friends, and his family.
Seely is a comfortable autobiographer whose ideals sustain his story. Relating how pebbles thrown in a pond create wider and farther-flung ripples as they fall, he designates his chapters as “Pebbles.” He modestly recounts two years as a missionary for the LDS church in England, further provoking his interest in expanding life’s horizons as he helped establish a tiny branch of the church that has grown considerably, mirroring his endeavors back home. A poet and collector of songs and folklore, Seely keeps his story positive, infusing a gentle sense of humor but also emotively detailing his experience of life’s inevitable traumas. Photographs of people and places enhance the narrative. His memories and ability to order and enliven them are inspirational and will doubtless attract readers, especially those with a strong belief, like Seely’s own, in the essential spirit of the American dream.