Neighborhood of Strangers

Development happens everywhere. Neighborhood of Strangers chronicles the efforts of San Miguel County, Colorado, to maintain its roots and secure its future. Journalist O.Z. Lysiak gives us a snapshot of small town politics in the late 1990s, preparing to transition into the 21st Century. He gives us a view of not only the terrain, but also of the people, pleasures and challenges of rural life. He writes, "To me it's about the people, the land, the tradition and heart of the county, not the new money, the promise of development or the prospect of big bucks rolling in. I know where I stand in relation to development and big money. The people I interview write their own stories in their own words. I listen, transcribe and provide introductions and endings. Like all good things it comes to an end, more quickly than I would have liked." Voices from the region: "Look at the American cowboy, these ranchers-you talk about tradition-we've got it here right now. If we're not careful we'll let it slip away. Every time you turn around there's a big ranch selling out, turning into a housing development. In my opinion our country is poorer because of it. Now you've got a housing development and you'll never bring back that tradition. It is gone and it will never be back." -Dan Moyer, Cowboss, Nucla, Colorado "Since we are a tourist-based economy, let's try to be the best damned tourist-based economy we can be... once you've seen the tops of these mountains in Telluride-you remember that. It is the power and the juice. That's what we need to strive for... We need to allow ourselves to excel and not expect perfection. But it would be nice if we had the next best thing tomorrow." -Dirk DePagter, Builder and Realtor, Telluride, Colorado "They'll buy'em 40 acres and start to tell us who's been here for generations what to do and how to do it. I'd just as soon they went back to where they come from. It was a great county to live in until these &*@ #*@& come in with their regulations, laws, petitions and all the rest. Now you can't tell what the hell's going on." -Darryl Elder, Master Recycler, Norwood, Colorado