He Helped Keep Mountains in Place
Just a few days after he mowed it, Bruce McKinney traveled one last time
to the little cemetery in the woods.

Story and Photos by Elizabeth Hunter

Bruce McKinney (left, kneeling) and Bandana Project folks on a mountaintop field trip; Elizabeth Hunter is in the green shirt and sunglasses, with Meg to her left; Helen, Bruce’s wife, is on the far right, also in sunglasses.

On March 31, my neighbors and I held our final Bandana Project meeting of 2008. Fifteen people were in attendance. The evening was full of stories and laughter, as most of the meetings, held weekly, have been since we started them five years ago.

The Bandana Project’s just my name for the gatherings, which began as a means for me to find out what my community was like before I moved here in 1976. We usually pick a topic to discuss, but often stray from it. Mostly we just enjoy being together in ways that were common before television eclipsed conversation and insecurity lights (yes, that’s my bias) blotted stars from the night sky.

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