Growing up I did a lot of farm work, such as help some friends inn Breckeridge out working on their Dairy farm, usually when the neighbor had to go over there to do some electrical work. he was their Grandfather nothing beats the smell of th milking parlor, where all of the milk is stored after the cows are milked, and picked up . I also worked for the neighbor who owned the Blueberry pathes by our house. there i was basically pruning blueberry bushes, that and pulling wild raspberry bushes.
After Highschool I joined the Army as 11B, infantryman, I was stationed at Ft Carson Colorado, with the 4th Infantry Division. spent a year and a half at Ft. Carson, then transfered to Mainz West Germany, with the 8th Infantry Division. There I .saw a lot of Free Europe with EuroRail Pass. some of the sites, Flanders Field, Verdun, Cemetaries at Omaha Beach, Ramgon,Dachau Concetration Camp, and plenty of other sites. After a year and a half, was transferred back to Ft Carson, where I left active Duty, from there I was transfeered to 4/38 FA 8IN Sp, A Battery Saginaw MI as a cannon crew member for 9 years. During that time, I volunteered for Desert Shield/Storm for 8 months where I was on the Arabian Peninsula. In October 1997, i was going to college and missing training meetings, it was not fair to the men every training weekend we were behind the eightball, play figuring it out and catch up, so i did not re-enlist. Unlike most I was not there just to collect a check, I cared.
Numerous jobs after the military, such as Art Van as Customer pickup After that I moved my job search Noth to Mackinac Island. there i started out as day barnman, went to Night Barn. Not real good if you are a people person. Finally made it to tour driver. Driving horses, and giving a narrated tour of the sites of Mackinac Island. i n the beginning when I started out, I was getting questions to questions i could not answer, because the information i had, I did not trust. I did my research and made the tour my own. While doing research I found the stories behind the facts more interesting , than the facts themselves. i decided to write a book about my experience, the stories behind the facts and also about Island. Yes I like to write. The book is called, A Place That I Love . I worked there for 11 years, probably one of the few in in my Generation who can honestly say, they can harness, hookup, and drive a team of horses. For two winters, i drove sleigh for Thunderbay resort in Hillman MI.
ater Mackinac Island Carriage Tours, I had a couple of Seasonal job , these were the two where for the first time getting out of the service, as a Staff Sergeant, E-6. Where I felt I had any sort of responsibility. One was spotter for Heavy Equipment, making sure the boom of the excavator stayed 50 feet away from high voltage wire, was basically running the yard. evewn though I did not need it, always had my hearing protection in, making who ever was aproaching from behind and talk, coming in front so I could keep an eye on everything and talk to the person. Spotter was also the slow and stop person as well i loved it. It made me feel good for the first time. My second job was Fire Lookout in Custer National Forest. Poker Jim Butte Lookout was my Hoffice for the summer of 2015. Map reading was my gift while in the Army, it helped emensly in this job. I did not see them as fires, but as smokes., When i saw smoke , i had to report them, furthest one I reported was 79 miles away in Wyoming, with the help of my boss in the helicopter, from Miles city Dispach, for the Bureau of Land Management, (BLM) I saw the smoke, but also knew that it was off of my map, which covered a five mile radius.
After that summer I had to deal with knee issues. i n that time I published my first book for the first time, having issues with pricing and knees i republished my book. dealing with chronic pain, finally with the help of the VA Hospitol, there I took a couple of classes. Pain Toolbox, and Pain school , that was almost 14 weeks of information on Chronic Pain and how the brain deals with pain. Battlefield accupuncture is my main method for dealing with the chronic knee pain. I am currently at Kroger, where they support my writing and myself. Goal is to have the book supporting me and my writing. i am currently working on another book at this time. This fall I am starting my course work in Masters in Creative Writing with Non Fiction being my focus.
Walter E Kitter 