Lecture slated at Hooper store

The free lecture by Alex McGregor on farming and ranching in the canyons and windblown soils left behind by Ice Age floodwaters will be March 15 at 7 p.m. at the McGregor General Store in Hooper.

The remarkable landscape where the McGregor family and other pioneers put down roots in the late nineteenth century will be discussed. It is a story of coming to grips with the unusual challenges in a new country and the progress farm families have made in feeding a burgeoning world population while becoming ever finer stewards of the land.

Alex McGregor is president of The McGregor Company and also serves as managing general partner of McGregor Land & Livestock, a 135-year-old eastern Washington family wheat, alfalfa, barley and livestock ranch. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Whitman College; his masters and PhD from the University of Washington.

His book, "Counting Sheep," a history of agriculture in the Inland Northwest, was chosen as one of the top 100 “centennial books” written since Washington became a state. He taught history at the University of Washington and at Whitman College before joining his family firm.