Janet and John Foster
Comments by Ralph A. Thrall III
I believe it was the spring of 1996 when I received a call from John and Janet Foster, informing me that they had been commissioned by The Discovery Channel to do a piece on prairie grasslands. They wondered if they could include some coverage from the McIntyre. Although I had only been involved with the Ranch for a half dozen years I had already come to realize that the McIntyre Ranch was a very good example of prairie grassland and thought it was only right that it be given a chance to be included in this work.
The Fosters spent several weeks at the Ranch over the course of the summer, hiking and exploring the land and learning what it had to offer. When ‘A Passion for Prairie – Wind, Grass and Sky’ was released I must admit I was a bit surprised. I suppose I expected a presentation that was ‘sterile, scientific and anonymous’ (not that there is anything wrong with that) and that the role the Ranch ‘data’ played would be only a small fraction of their effort. The ‘documentary’ that John and Janet created turned out to be warm, informative and personal. Coverage included not only naming the Ranch and its location but also included such news as the recent birth of my son, Ralph IV. Content on the Ranch made up about 65% of the hour-long program. Their style gave me something to be very proud of in ways of which I was not prepared. Perhaps I should have said pleasantly surprised – thank you Janet and John!
