WHEATLAND – Dan Brecht, long time Wheatland resident, member of the Mainstreet Program and a part of the Wheatland Historic Preservation Commission is known for promoting the historical downtown and owning his bookstore, The Wandering Hermit Books and Gifts for almost eight years.

Just recently he sold his building and most of his inventory and everyone in town assumed that he was going to retire. Most people that know Brecht know that the word “retire” is not in his vocabulary.

“Zak and I, in the sale of the old building just thought that it was time,” Brecht said. “We built it up so much and then realized that it was just too much for us. Jeremy and Tara came along and it was a blessing. When Tara came along and had so much experience with the coffee shop and books and they were from Chugwater… the stars just lined up perfectly.”

Dan Brecht was somewhat of a wanderer throughout his life. His son, Zach Brecht was comfortable out of the public eye. Together they came up with a moniker for their eclectic book store and coffee shop, now known by everyone in Platte County as “The Wandering Hermit.”

Brecht said that although he sold the building and most of the inventory, he retained all of the used books as new owners Jeremy and Tara Westerman did not want to sell anything but new books and merchandise.

“My son Zach and I started The Wandering Hermit Books and Gifts,” Brecht said. “I am a lifelong resident of Wheatland and Platte County, and have tried living other places and you know that rubber band theory just brought me back. So here I am.”

Brecht sold The Wandering Hermit, per se, but never gave up the license or rights to the name. A used book inventory of hundreds of titles and some rare books in his collection gave Brecht the idea of resurrecting The Wandering Hermit as just a used book store.

“About the time when we were signing papers, after I knew we were selling the other building, Tara and Jeremy said that they really didn’t want the used books,” Brecht said. “I ruminated on that for a little bit and thought, OK, I can do a used book store. I didn’t want to just throw them all away. So, I started formulating that plan and I talked to people about a space.”

The building that Brecht houses his new endeavor is the oldest building in Wheatland, built in 1889 (before the town was even platted) by the Wyoming Development Company. In the 1930’s the building was moved from the corner of 9th and Gilchrist to the back of the lot to make way for the large 1-story Pioneer Pharmacy building. Brecht actually owns the building and has been renting it out. The previous tenant, Brian Slattery who ran the pizza shop called The Purple Cow had found that he just simply didn’t have enough time to dedicate to that business and his family.

Since Brecht owns the building, he said that he will now just rent it for himself and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

“The used book part over there at the old place was the part of the business that I loved the best,” Brecht said. “I’d get online and find out if it had any worth at all. I have special sections in the store now that have more valuable books and I also have a special section for Wyoming and all things western.”

According to the Wandering Hermit’s website original website, Brecht introduced their establishment as, “a cozy, independent bookstore that opened its doors in November 2014. We pride ourselves in our great beverage bar, our large and eclectic selection of new books, our used books section, and our wonderful collection of Wyoming-made gifts. What we hear the most from our customers is how much they enjoy our welcoming atmosphere with the smell of fresh ground coffee beans, the fireplace and the soft music in the background. In the summer we pride ourselves in having flowers on the patio and in our flower boxes out front.”

Although some of the language might have to be changed, the idea is the same in that the new location at 962 Gilchrist Street is welcoming with the soft music, tons of used books and come summer there will be flowers and an outdoor patio to sit and read. Perhaps an interesting read that you just purchased in The Wandering Hermit.

Brecht is a Wheatland native who is the quintessential story of a local boy who left, came back and is leaving very beautiful footprints in his hometown.

What got the Brecht bloodline to Wyoming was farming. His grandparents moved from Chicago to Wheatland due to his grandfather’s loss of a job in the height of the Great Depression. They moved here because this grandfather’s parents were here farming.

His roots run deep and local on both sides of his family as his mother was born here on a farm west of town and grew up on a ranch on the Albany County/Platte County border and pretty much lived her entire life here. You may even say that he was born to the breed here in Wyoming.

He pretty much fits that quote, “Wyoming, where dreamers are born and cowboys are made.”

Brecht remembers growing up in Wheatland with a father that as he says, “could do pretty much anything and actually did, from selling cars to running his own business” and a stay-at-home mom, who, when the kids got older worked at the old Pamida store.

After graduating from Wheatland High School, Brecht went on to the University of Wyoming and graduated with a degree in education. He again came back home to teach at Libby Elementary and then when West opened, he taught there.

During the hectic days of the power plant construction, the wanderer went north. Extreme north to Alaska. Initially to help some friends move there, but fell in love with the area and was again sowing his Wheatland seeds in distant lands.

“On the way up, I happened to pull into a small little community called Palmer, which is in the Matanuska Valley,” he said. “If you’ve ever seen the large cabbages that they grow, Palmer is where most of that is done. It’s a real agricultural area which sounds like an oxymoron, but it really is.”

In that fertile valley of Alaska, the growing season was short, but 24 hours a day, according to Brecht and the climate was very good for cold weather crops.

“I pulled into this little community of Palmer and fell in love with it right away,” he said. “I thought that if I ever moved up to Alaska, this would be a place I’d like to go. About two years later I was brushing my teeth one morning, looked in the mirror and said, ‘I think I’m going to move to Alaska,’ and that’s literally how it was.”

To describe Brecht correctly would be difficult. He may consider himself a wanderer, but the trip to a place that is 2,973 miles away into a remote coastal area of Alaska without knowing a soul speaks of his being an adventurer. A man who loves and savors every moment of his life and who is constantly gathering knowledge and information not just through the thousands of books he’s read, but from the real-life adventures he has lived. He has fully realized that the dotted boundary lines in Rand McNally’s road atlas are not fences and when life offers you opportunities, it always proves it was worth the risk.

As for the move back again to Wyoming, there wasn’t a definite call or sign or directive, but Brecht who has mastered the art of listening to his heart and heeding his intuition just knew it was time to come home.

Once again Brecht has listened to his heart and his intuition as he brings back an iconic store in downtown Wheatland. It may look different, but the ideals and the hometown flavor remain.

The hours are going to be set as Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and then Saturday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. They will be closed Sunday and Monday.