"Keeper of the Flame"
by
Greg Kelsey
Greg has a
deep feeling about brands and what they represent. We revisited a bit he wrote
for an art journal, "I have
my own brand that I hope to see running on my daughter's stock someday, (now on
my son's as well). I believe that a stockman's brand has that kind of
future. It is a sign, of sorts, that says more than just the letters or
numbers that make it up. A brand implies without question ownership,
legacy, value, and pride. When you burn your brand into a hide your
name is on it for good.
Brands have
come to identify places and families and decades of hard work and dedication.
The pride in a brand runs through generations and becomes the trademark of a
family or ranch. A
sense of pride should well up in ones breast when they look out over what
they've worked hard to call their own. Their brand is the finishing
touch. As long as there is
one man and one livestock the irons will remain in the fire."
