Changes

==Colorado pioneer==

==Colorado pioneer==

Because Dyer feared the possible loss of his vision, he was determined to see [[Pike's Peak]] and the [[Rocky Mountains]] while he could. He made it to [[Omaha, Nebraska]], when his horse could no longer carry him. and then walked with a wagon trai] the six hundred remaining miles to Denver. There he was briefly reunited with his second son, Elias Foster Dyer, who had left Minnesota the previous year to take a job as a store clerk.<ref name=jfagan/><ref name=dyertimetable>{{cite web|url=http://oakdene.org/OgGateWeb/foster/dyer/dyer.htm|title=Father John Lewis Dyer|publisher=oakdene.org|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>

Because Dyer feared the possible loss of his vision, he was determined to see [[Pike's Peak]] and the [[Rocky Mountains]] while he could. He made it to [[Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], when his horse could no longer carry him. and then walked with a wagon trai] the six hundred remaining miles to Denver. There he was briefly reunited with his second son, Elias Foster Dyer, who had left Minnesota the previous year to take a job as a store clerk.<ref name=jfagan/><ref name=dyertimetable>{{cite web|url=http://oakdene.org/OgGateWeb/foster/dyer/dyer.htm|title=Father John Lewis Dyer|publisher=oakdene.org|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>

   

   

Dyer then walked another hundred miles to Buckskin Joe, a mining camp near Alma and Fairplay, Colorado, both in Park County. Having lost thirty pounds on his travels west,<ref name=tbio/> Dyer showed renewed energy in preaching in the mining camps from South Park to the [[Continental Divide]]. In his [[autobiography]], Dyer referred to South Park as "a view of grandeur never to be forgotten."<ref name=vandusen>Laura King Van Dusen, ''Historic Tales from Park County: Parked in the Past'' ([[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]]: The History Press, 2013), ISBN 978-1-62619-161-7, pp. 32-33, 102.</ref>

Dyer then walked another hundred miles to Buckskin Joe, a mining camp near Alma and Fairplay, Colorado, both in Park County. Having lost thirty pounds on his travels west,<ref name=tbio/> Dyer showed renewed energy in preaching in the mining camps from South Park to the Continental Divide, the point where the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] waters separate east and west. In his [[autobiography]], Dyer referred to South Park as "a view of grandeur never to be forgotten."<ref name=vandusen>Laura King Van Dusen, ''Historic Tales from Park County: Parked in the Past'' ([[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]]: The History Press, 2013), ISBN 978-1-62619-161-7, pp. 32-33, 102.</ref>

Employed by the Methodist South Park Circuit, he was so poorly compensated that he took a second job carrying mail from Buckskin Joe to Leadville. The work paid $18 per month. To preach the gospel,  he crossed 13,185 foot Mosquito Pass several times per week in all weather conditions. During winters, he used "[[Norway|Norwegian]] snow shoes" (skis) to maneuver through the snows over Mt. Mosquito. He preached in the camps three times a week and three more times each Sunday. He traversed steep, dangerous terrain by horse or mule when possible.<ref name=tbio/> He preached against the common activities of miners, [[gambling]], [[alcohol]], and [[prostitution]]. He performed marriages, tended the sick, and became known as a selfless individual.<ref name=oldcolocom>{{cite web|url=http://history.oldcolo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=174:father-dyer-the-snowshoe-itinerant-preacher&catid=61&Itemid=92|title= Dyer, Father, the Snowshoe Itinerant Preacher, June 17, 1901|publisher=history.oldcolo.com|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref> Dyer was aware that most of the mining revenues went to comparatively few individuals. The miners faced backbreaking and dangerous work, but he directed his ministry as a message of hope.<ref name=jfagan/> Dyer preached wherever he could find anyone to listen, even in saloons. He went as far south as [[New Mexico]] to proclaim the gospel.<ref name=jfagan/>

Employed by the Methodist South Park Circuit, he was so poorly compensated that he took a second job carrying mail from Buckskin Joe to Leadville. The work paid $18 per month. To preach the gospel,  he crossed 13,185 foot Mosquito Pass several times per week in all weather conditions. During winters, he used "[[Norway|Norwegian]] snow shoes" (skis) to maneuver through the snows over Mt. Mosquito. He preached in the camps three times a week and three more times each Sunday. He traversed steep, dangerous terrain by horse or mule when possible.<ref name=tbio/> He preached against the common activities of miners, [[gambling]], [[alcohol]], and [[prostitution]]. He performed marriages, tended the sick, and became known as a selfless individual.<ref name=oldcolocom>{{cite web|url=http://history.oldcolo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=174:father-dyer-the-snowshoe-itinerant-preacher&catid=61&Itemid=92|title= Dyer, Father, the Snowshoe Itinerant Preacher|date=June 17, 1901|publisher=history.oldcolo.com|accessdate=January 18, 2014}}</ref> Dyer was aware that most of the mining revenues went to comparatively few individuals. The miners faced backbreaking and dangerous work, but he directed his ministry as a message of hope.<ref name=jfagan/> Dyer preached wherever he could find anyone to listen, even in saloons. He went as far south as [[New Mexico]] to proclaim the gospel.<ref name=jfagan/>

In his autobiography, Dyer tells of one particularly trip over Mosquito Pass which resulted in frozen feet and near death, spared only by a three-week recuperation assisted by a willing friend. Dyer was so thrifty, a necessity for his small salary, that he once walked a hundred miles from Buckskin Joe to his small cabin in Mosquito Gulch. While the trip took two and a half days, he saved $20, $2 more than his monthly pay for delivering the mail.<ref name=vandusen/> For his innovation of snow shoes and skis for general travel, even though his device was not meant for athletics, Dyer was posthumously honored by induction into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in Vail..<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colorado-for-free.com/FreeThingsToDoColorado/SkiMuseum.htm|title=Colorado Ski Museum|publisher=colorado-for-free.com|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>

In his autobiography, Dyer tells of one particularly trip over Mosquito Pass which resulted in frozen feet and near death, spared only by a three-week recuperation assisted by a willing friend. Dyer was so thrifty, a necessity for his small salary, that he once walked a hundred miles from Buckskin Joe to his small cabin in Mosquito Gulch. While the trip took two and a half days, he saved $20, $2 more than his monthly pay for delivering the mail.<ref name=vandusen/> For his innovation of snow shoes and skis for general travel, even though his device was not meant for athletics, Dyer was posthumously honored by induction into the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in Vail..<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colorado-for-free.com/FreeThingsToDoColorado/SkiMuseum.htm|title=Colorado Ski Museum|publisher=colorado-for-free.com|accessdate=January 19, 2014}}</ref>