Michelle (Mik-ELL) Veltri was an assistant scoutmaster for my Boy Scout troop when I was 11 years old in Gunnison. I liked him then and I still like him now - even though we've had no real contact in the 37 years since!

Michelle and his mother, Myrtle are trying to run the family ranch, hanging on by the edge of their being. Right now they have just a few cattle (15?) and had to sell off quite a few for cash last year.

They're the last holdouts of old Crested Butte, the Crested Butte of Italian immigrants who worked in the coal mine and ranched a bit on the side. Even though the town is now a completely different place, Michelle still hangs on as a bit of a museum of the old place.