For 68 years, Gary worked in the farming industry, growing up on a ranch where his family raised oats, barley, wheat, and alfalfa. At age 18, Gary drove to Canada for the first time, intent on living his dream. In Gary’s words, “In 1967, when I was 18, my dream came true when I loaded my truck and my horse and moved to British Columbia. In 1968, I got in on the last homestead act in the Caribou District with 320 acres 30 miles in the wilderness, where I began building my horse ranch and logging business.”
Following a serious logging injury in 1973, however, Gary’s path changed; and he found himself fighting through 13 years of constant debilitating pain and frustration. Once Gary began to regain the ability to walk—a miracle that defied his medical prognosis—his focus turned from logging and ranching, and he began experimenting with different modalities and many avenues of study, growing in his knowledge of herbs and natural healing. With his farming background, Gary had a particular interest in the growing, harvesting, and distillation of oils from aromatic plants.