The Abilene (Ben Richey) Boys Ranch

I have been asked by Mr. Kerry Fortune, current President of the Abilene Boys Ranch, to write a short story/blog/newsletter about my experience of the Ranch and what my brothers and I are doing today. I do this with pleasure because I'm extremely proud of what my grandparents "Richey" created and the fact that it is still in operation today.

The Abilene Boys Ranch was founded by my grandparents, Ben Richey and Jaime Grace Yeager Richey, in 1947. I don't remember the first time I visited the Ranch, but when I was old enough to remember it was clear that it was a special place where young boys were taken care of whose families were not able to care for them. It was also easy for my two brothers and me to mingle with the boys because many of them were our age. This was always true when we visited (usually twice a year, Christmas and during the summer) because the age range of the boys was such that there were almost always boys there younger and older than us.

I have very vivid memories of all my visits to the Abilene Boys Ranch (before it was renamed the Ben Richey Boys Ranch) during my young life. I knew then and now that both my grandparents were loved as people and for the gift they gave the boys who lived under their care. My brothers and I became friends with many of the boys while we were visiting. It was like having a temporary extra home and circle of friends. And even though Craig and Evan and my background was different than many of the boys living at the Ranch, we were all still boys and we always found ways to become part of their resident family: eating with them in the Richey Hall, going to movies with them, playing pool and ping pong, going to rodeos, watching TV together, celebrating Christmas by helping them decorate their tree, helping them with their ranch chores (feeding the hogs and the "moo moos!"), riding horses together, participating in their softball tournament (unfortunately we usually lost), etc.

I remember one particularly funny moment with one of the boys. It was summer and my family and I had been camping at KOA campgrounds. We had a VW Campmobile for many years and drove it for all our family vacations. For some reason, on this trip we had only carried one bar of soap in the car. One morning during one of our stops at a KOA campground, so that my mom and us "men" each could have soap for our showers, my dad spontaneously bit the single bar of soap in half and handed one half to our mother. When we arrived at the Ranch and had met some of the boys (or seen them again because we already knew them), I asked one of the boys if he wanted to help me unpack the car. He agreed and we went to the car and opened the large sliding rear door. I opened a drawer to empty its contents and we both saw one of the half-bars of soap. From my dad's generous offering to my mom, it naturally had teeth marks. Before I could say anything to explain, the boy got a funny look on his face and asked, "Does someone in your family eat soap?!" (I want to say that the boy was Tony or Danny Floyd, but I don't remember well enough. Evan feels pretty sure that it was Danny!)

Among the boys I recall most vividly over the years were Barry Gibson (one of the smartest), Jimmy Merrick (a very friendly boy and one of my best friends there), Tony and Danny Floyd, Edward Twilley (could run like the wind), Charles Messer (he was a budding artist), and Dusty and Billy (can't remember their last name, but I think they were brothers) and a boy named Stacey.

I don't think many of the boys were musical, but they enjoyed the fact that we were. We always found music in common though if there was a guitar around. I remember a couple who were the resident parents of the younger boys at one point, Mr. and Mrs. Burns. We enjoyed all of them so much that my brothers and I were given beds in their sleeping quarters so we could literally "live" with them during our visit. That was loads of fun. Mr. Burns would get out his guitar and sing for and with us. What a treat that was!

My "grandmommy" Richey lived longer than my "granddad," Ben (he died of a heart attack when I was in the 5th grade), and my dad, David Frank (dad died of a brain tumor in 1977). She was essentially the resident "mother" for a long time after until her death. I visited her regularly even when she was no longer doing much of the work, but still living in her section of the building. Though she was not tending to her former amount of daily chores, everyone there treated her with love and respect and knew that she and her husband had been the reason for the existence of the Ranch.

On a very poignant note, my grandmommy Richey said that she didn't want to live any longer than she could take care of herself. She actually got that wish. As it was related to me by my brother Craig (as he had heard from Jaime's late sister, Elizabeth), one windy day she was walking along the walkway next to one of the buildings. The winds blew open a screen door that wasn't latched hitting her and knocking her to the ground. We're not sure if the door hitting her actually injured her or if it was the fall, hitting her head on the concrete, but it doesn't matter. She never regained consciousness. Her death was quick and painless, so she never had to experience the invalidity that she feared. It was also a blessing of a death because I knew that she missed my granddad and dad very much. It was very difficult for her that she had outlived them both.

My brothers Craig and Evan and feel very proud and fortunate to come from such good "stock." In our personal and professional lives we are in our own ways carrying on the family tradition of caring for young people in our teaching and parenting. Craig is in Los Angeles and is a piano and accompanying teacher at Cal-State Long Beach and a very successful film composer. Evan is the co-owner of Ovation Sound recording studio in Winston-Salem, N.C. and has two beautiful children, Carter and Rosalie. I am the cellist with Phantom, The Las Vegas Spectacular! and I teach privately and at two area schools of music. We are all happy and healthy and owe a great debt of gratitude to both our grandparents and our parents (on both sides of the family!). They were all marvelous people.

http://www.benrichey.org/

http://www.benrichey.org/html/history_of_the__ranch.html

www.leerichey.com

http://www.craigrichey.com/craigrichey.com/Bio.html

http://www.ovationsound.com/

For Elaine Stetson Lee Richey (Ben and Jaime's son David Frank Richey's wife, 1932-1997), go to Facebook and type in the Search field: Elaine Lee Richey