Volunteer Days

LONESOME OAK RANCH HOLDS VOLUNTEER WORK DAYS

Some of the seniors, retirees, and generous people of Green Valley and beyond have expressed a desire to volunteer some time to help us keep the Lonesome Oak Ranch in shape, so I have an invitation for you, both young and old.   On December 8 and 9 we are holding volunteer work days to help us catch up on ranch maintenance before our Christmas camp starts on December 26. Starting at 9:00 am on December 8, and continuing through December 9, if needed, we are welcoming your helping hands in painting corrals, fences and horse stalls, sprucing up the tents and the grounds, and numerous other tasks. It is not possible for us to keep up with all the daily chores and tackle all the extra tasks during camp season.

During the summer months this year we were very busy with the horsemanship camps. We hosted five weeks of camps, with an average of ten campers and four or five counselors and junior counselors. Our granddaughter, Devan Barratt, 16, came to stay with us for three weeks during camp time. She loves the kids, too, and someday hopes to step into my shoes to carry on our ranch for kids. She is a beautiful rider and has endless patience with the little ones.

Our Head Counselor was Lindsey Davis from Vail, AZ. Lindsey is a student at U of A who volunteers with her church, also. The additional counselors were Josh Davis (Lindsey’s brother) from Vail, Thomas Cirverka and Danny Williams from Amado, and Cassie Curran and Valerie Glover from Green Valley . The two junior counselors in training were Ren McGee and Katie Espino from Sahaurita. Our last camp of the year had fourteen girls between the ages of 6 to 12. Without these young, energetic counselors who entertained and tended to the children, I would have had a difficult time trying to cook, teach horsemanship, lead trail rides, and in general ride herd on everyone. Also, I want everyone to know that the counselors were well mannered, responsible, fun loving and helpful young people. They did everything from kitchen duty and stall cleaning, to leading bathroom trips in the middle of the night. They were GREAT!

Jane Banahasky, who lives at the ranch with us, was also greatly appreciated. She was in charge of the horses and kids at the barn and was anywhere, everywhere, when she was needed. The kids loved her and I can’t thank her and the counselors enough for making our camps a great success.

The Christmas camp starts December 26 and ends on January 1, 2004 . We are now taking reservations for that week, so if your family is visiting over the holidays, we would like to invite them to attend. We plan to ring in the New Year with a campfire and roast marshmallows for s’mores. Last year we had a wonderful time. On New Year’s Day, the campers put on a play on horseback that everyone enjoyed. This year the public will also be invited to attend the play and have lunch with us.

With the help of our volunteers, we will be more than ready for the Christmas camp.   You will receive a free picnic lunch and all the soft drinks you need for working 1-2 hours, and can earn vouchers for a future trail ride or riding lesson by working two additional hours. You might even decide you like it here so well that you will want to bring the entire family to visit us for a weekend or a whole week. We can do that, too.

You can bring along your favorite tools. There will be weeds to cut galore, as the Good Lord blessed us with so much rain this year. We can use wheelbarrows, cutters, weed eaters, etc. We already have the paint for the corrals, etc. It will be a fun day at any rate. Some of you good cooks might even like to bake cookies to fill our freezers for the Christmas camp. Boy, can these campers put away the food. I have a special request to bake my famous apple pies for these two days, so come on out and join us for a fun and gratifying work day. Your help will be greatly appreciated. Call and let me know how many will be in your gang, so I can put an extra potato in the pot for you! Thanks so much!

Jim and Mary Barratt                                   www.lonesomeoakranch.com

Lonesome Oak Ranch                                barra425@aol.com

PO Box 456                                                    (520) 398-0596

Arivaca , AZ 85601

Lonesome Oak Ranch is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that offers horsemanship camps for children and adult and family retreats in beautiful Arivaca. Riding lessons and trail rides for small groups are also available. For more information on Lonesome Oak Ranch, the Volunteer Days or the Christmas Camp, please do not hesitate to e-mail, write or call.

(520) 398-0596 or Email Lonesome Oak Ranch