Pacer Coulee Chronicles takes the reader down the adventurous path of the 1990 high school fall sports season in the small, rural community of Pacer Coulee, Montana. Ethyl Coffman, School Board Chairperson and community leader and icon, hires thirty-something coaches Luke Carter and Madison Danielson with the specific directive of returning the town sports fortunes to its former championship status.
The unique-to-small-town interactions are at the forefront in this tale and clearly demonstrate the close interconnections between school, sport and community in rural, small town America. There's plenty of drama to keep the reader engaged, from the rough and troubled life of star football player Tank Hollister to the difficult transition of Elvis His Own Horse and Clare Comes at Night, brother-and-sister Native Americans who transfer from a nearby Reservation to the all-white town and school of Pacer Coulee. It's the myriad of dilemmas and awkward situations that surface among the colorful cast of students, school officials and townsfolk that makes this humorous and entertaining tale such an enjoyable, can't-put-down read.