History

whetstone |HWEHT-stohn | WEHT-stohn|
noun | A textured stone used for sharpening knives or tools.

Whetstone Boys Ranch Vision Story

The vision for Whetstone Boys Ranch began in 1997 when Nathan Dahlstrom was working with elementary aged youth at a small church in western Montana.  During this work, Nathan was awakened to the needs of children as they encountered hardships and abuse during their early years.  He specifically saw a need to minister to young men whose experiences and behavior made them susceptible to a lifetime of poverty, crime, and un-fulfillment.  At this time he began to envision a place where young men could take a break from the rigors of adolescence and be instructed and mentored by older men and women that might give them the tools they would need to reverse the direction of their lives and become emotionally, spiritually, and financially successful.

This is when the idea of Whetstone Boys Ranch was formed.  In the next nine years Nathan sought to equip himself in every way possible to make the vision of WBR become a reality.  During this educational stage, two partners, Jeremy Thompson and Brandon Maxwell, were added to the vision who both began individual plans to become effective teachers of at-risk young men.

The WBR partners have now decided, after a number of years of vision development and education, to organize their ideas into a strategic plan and capital campaign that will help them turn their vision into an operating boy’s ranch.