This interesting encounter had its genesis about a week ago as I stared up at an American World War II aircraft carrier-based fighter plane hanging above the main concourse of Midway Airport in Chicago. Little did I know beforehand that the pivotal mid-Pacific Battle of Midway Island was the namesake of that old airport nestled amid the south side neighborhoods of the windy city.

I was flying from Chicago to Raleigh-Durham, N.C. on Southwest Airlines (Southwest is coming to Portland later this year… which I consider extremely good news) …and had some time on my hands due to the fact that the early morning security lines were uncommonly short and efficient. Therefore, I spent some time reading the wall displays and photo captions about that battle and Chicago’s decision in the late 1940s to name its main airport at the time after this important battle and its impressive American victors.

As I settled into my seat on the plane, I noticed the book on the tray table of the distinguished gentleman to my left. It was about the Spitfire fighter planes used very effectively by the British in World War II to turn back the Nazis during the Battle of Britain. Since air warfare in general and WWII fighter planes in particular were fresh on my mind, we quickly got into a very interesting and multi-faceted conversation that made that two-hour plane flight go by very quickly.

Turns out, my very experienced attorney acquaintance (I shall call him by his initials, Mr. WLN Esq., for anonymity purposes since I did not ask him for permission to write a column about him… although I am sure he would have said OK had I asked him at the time) was a WWII veteran himself. That fact alone usually generates instant respect from me. I think that respect was quickly, and correctly, sensed by him. My impression was that he is a usually reserved man when it comes to conversing with a total stranger on an airplane. However, we really connected on many levels and thoroughly enjoyed each others company… conversing still as we later walked through the Raleigh-Durham airport terminal.

Among the other facts that impressed me about this still-practicing 85-year-old attorney was his specialty in farm bankruptcies in the Midwest. His work was always in defense of the small farmer going through this heartwrenching process, which sometimes entailed trying to hang on to the family farm that had been proudly passed down through three or four hard-working generations. Having grown up in central Minnesota during very difficult and transitional times for the family farms… Mr. WLN Esq. further gained my admiration.

He recounted many courtroom experiences over the decades, not the least of which was actually presenting the unique case of a southern Minnesota farmer before the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Although decided many years ago, that case continues to be cited very positively in farm bankruptcy cases to this day. There was a twinkle of pride in his eyes when he told me that. Clearly not one to brag, I think Mr. WLN Esq. was comfortable in telling me all about it because he knew I was sincerely interested.

I think somewhere over West Virginia or Virginia, our conversation turned to the fascinating account of his great grandfather, Joseph Farwell Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois and his 1874 patent (#157,124 I later learned) of the first practical process to make barbed wire. Now this may not seem too monumental to the average New Englander, where stone walls are far more iconic than barbed wire fences. Having grown up in Montana and Minnesota where barbed wire is commonplace, I immediately voiced my interest. This concluding topic of our conversation continued well after we landed.

It was a patent that altered forever the development of the American West. Barbed wire fences changed the vast prairies from open range to well defined ranches and homesteads.

Mr. WLN Esq. noted that the first successful demonstration of the efficacy of his grandfathers’ patent was for a cattle ranch established in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas.

That got me excited further, as I knew a couple days later, after returning to Denver, I would again be flying to Amarillo, Texas for the fifth or sixth time since last summer as part of my consulting work with Xcel Energy. Palo Duro Canyon is just 15 miles southeast of Amarillo.

I have to say that driving to various power plants and service centers in the Texas Panhandle and eastern New Mexico means driving for hours over usually featureless, flat terrain. Long gone are the endless grasslands and large nomadic herds of magnificent bison. In their place are miles of barbed wire fences, with their modern thin steel posts, defining irrigated farms and grazing land for cattle. With its contrasting terrain, Palo Duro Canyon has become my go-to place for hiking and exploring whenever I have some free time. This is no small example of erosion. The canyon is second only to the Grand Canyon in Arizona in terms of breadth and depth.

“Palo Duro” refers to “hard wood” in Spanish. That wood is the juniper trees that dominate the canyon floor. I seemed to recall some barbed wire fencing with very old wooden posts on the flat prairie land near the rim of the canyon. So yesterday I headed to the canyon for a couple hours of exploration… this time to include hunting for an old barbed wire fence, of all things. And I found what I was looking for. Lichens indicate on the posts indicated they are very old… and they might even be made of canyon juniper!

Further evidence of the impact of that landmark patent was found as I explored the very impressive Panhandle Plains Historical Museum on the campus of West Texas A&M University in nearby Canyon, Texas. This terrific museum that clearly demonstrates local pride in the people and heritage of the Panhandle, is worth a short sidetrip if you ever decide to take your Harley-Davidson or vintage automobile for a trip down historic U.S. Route 66…it runs right through Amarillo. Beautiful Palo Duro Canyon is just a few side trip miles south of town.

When I finish this column, I am going to write, then email, a letter to Mr. WLN Esq. with three or four attached photos I took of the barbed wire display in the museum. It includes a portrait of his grandfather, his marketing materials for his newly patented barbed wire, and a detailed account of the importance of his “invention” insofar as the Texas Panhandle, and the rest of the great American prairies are concerned.

“We need to write, otherwise nobody will know who we are,” Garrison Keillor

Per usual, your thoughtful comments are welcome. Write them on the back of a vintage 1874 flyer for Glidden’s Amazing Barbed Wire and send it my way… or simply send an email in a southwesterly direction to allenwicken@yahoo.com.