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| Keith Temple |
He’s been called “a
character” by many and when they first meet him, you might agree, but
after getting to know him, you would state for a fact that Keith Temple is a
character. You wouldn’t suspect Keith to have the impressive
credentials he has. His tall lanky figure, long beard, twangy drawl, and
Harry Potter sorting hat might throw you off, at first, but Keith has a
depth most people don’t even suspect.
He grew up around
Canton, Mississippi, and earned a degree in Animal Science from
Mississippi State University. After graduating, he went to work for the
U. S. Park Police in Washington, D. C., and several years later
transferred to San Francisco to work patrol and dispatch for two years.
While there, he was selected for training in the mounted patrol unit. He
attended a 400 hour mounted patrol course in Washington, D. C., then
returned to San Francisco and “rode on the beach” for four years. Keith
says it was the best job he ever had. He got to ride in many parades,
including the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California. Eventually
other things and places called and he wound up in Fort Chaffee,
Arkansas. That is when he found and bought his present farm in Kelly
Hollow near Alton, Missouri. Still, it wasn’t time to settle down and he
moved back to Mississippi to
work for the Bureau of Land Management as a wild horse and burro
specialist. Finally, after thirty two years working for the U.S.
Government, Keith decided he had suffered enough of the heat and
humidity of Mississippi and decided to retire to the ticks and chiggers
of Missouri. He explained that he is grateful to the American taxpayer
for his employment which allowed him to buy his farm, travel, and
experience the wonders of this country. He even got to stand on the head
of George Washington at Mt. Rushmore. Not many people can say that.
That is why he contributes so much of his spare time to volunteering
doing trail maintenance and sawing. It is his way of paying back the
American people so we can experience what he has.
Keith founded the
River Springs Chapter of the Show-Me Missouri Back Country Horsemen and
was its first president. He is a certified sawyer with the Forest
Service and logged over 100 hours in 2011 sawing and maintaining trails.
He also volunteers for the Ozark Trail Association. He adopted a
section of the trail near his home and contributed 40 hours of sawing
and trail maintenance with them. The OT Association thinks he has
probably done more than 100 hours of volunteer maintenance in 2011, but
40 were all he reported. He is always on the trails with his horse and
pack mule so keep an eye out for him the next time you are out trail
riding.
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