It all starts on a dirt road that you would miss if you weren’t looking for it.
That dusty road becomes a strange metaphor of what lies ahead for the kids who find themselves on this gravel filled runway. Mysterious. Uncertain.
It is a long expanse of clay colored earth that leads to a plot of acreage that is changing how people in Oklahoma view foster care.
As you make your way down this stretch of road, just outside of Guthrie, properties begin to emerge; you’ll pass seven or eight of them before you
reach your destination.
The road opens up to reveal a cast iron arch and gate. Above the arch, nestled between the silhouettes of a cowboy with a child and a horse are the
words; Pepper’s Ranch.
Back in 1999 this was all just sprawling land dotted with cattle.
The land, all 160 acres of it, was donated to the ranch with the intention of creating a boys group home.
The first building went up a few years later in 2002. Pepper’s Ranch was on its way. A second home sprang up in 2005, quickly followed by an
equestrian center a couple months later. An agriculture center would complete the 2006 landscape.
But there needed to be more.
The Pepper’s Ranch model was working. The boys were doing well. The programs were effective but only serving a small group of boys. They felt they
could do more.
They began to research exactly what they could do. They studied what other states had done, what worked, what didn’t. They researched group homes
and foster care communities in other states and decided that a foster care community was just what Oklahoma needed.
In 2009 Pepper’s Ranch became Oklahoma’s first foster care community.
Here’s what that means. A foster care community is basically a group of foster care families in close proximity to one another. These families all work in
conjunction to produce the best outcomes for kids in their care.
That’s it. Foster families that share a neighborhood. There’s more that goes into it but that’s the basic definition.
Once the decision to be a foster care community was reached the houses began to pop up.
Those two homes became ten homes. The Ag and equestrian centers were joined by a multi-purpose learning center, complete with a library,
classrooms and a basketball court. The once wild terrain morphed into a quaint neighborhood. Paved roads, beautiful homes and a manmade lake
where the kids can fish are now the landscape of this growing community.
I had to see it for myself.
I arrived at the ranch on a brisk November morning. I took that long dusty road and my first thought was; “If I were a kid, it would feel like this road will
never end!”
I was met by nearly a dozen toddler aged kids of all backgrounds making their way to a van that would take them up the hill to the learning center. After
driving for the better part of a week, meeting foster care folks all over the Midwest, the smiles on the faces of those adorable kids were a welcomed
change of pace.
After a bunch of hellos and high fives I was greeted by the ranch’s Executive Director, Tonya Hagen-Ratcliff. Not only is Tonya the Executive Director
but she’s also an adoptive mom and foster parent right there on the premises. I’m a big fan of those who stay in the game. It would be easy to drive
down the road to her own life, separate from the ranch, but if you meet Tonya you’ll find that isn’t an option for her, she’s all in.
She’s a happy, passionate person but you can see the seriousness with which she approaches the community.
I was given a brief tour of her home that she shares with her husband of 14 years Travis and their kids; Evan age 10, Elliott age 9, Coy age 7, JT age 7,
Reese age 5, Emma age 4, Ellis age 3 and Anthony, age 2 .
Tonya is Oklahoma through and through, born and raised in Oklahoma City which is just a short drive away. She went to college at Central Oklahoma,
is a die-hard Oklahoma City Thunder fan (we’ll talk about that shortly) and is the epitome of a Oklahoman; tends to animals, drives four wheelers and
isn’t afraid of wildlife.
That “do everything” attitude lends itself well to her current position as the caretaker of a community of like-minded families working to improve the lives
of kids who may have found themselves in a far different situation.
I invited a friend of mine from the Arrow agency in Texas named Keith Howard. Keith is a foster parent and a Director at Arrow. Moreover, he cares
about kids, cares about foster care and happens to be someone I respect and call friend. Keith is also an Okie who was in the area visiting family at the
time of my visit to the ranch. I like connecting people so it was a no brainer that I invite him.
Once Keith arrived it was time to see the rest of the ranch.
It’s a lot bigger than I had anticipated. I’m an east coast guy; we kind of stack our houses on top of one another around here. Pepper’s Ranch’s homes
are spread out. There’s plenty of room to roam around while still being within the eye line of parents. In my mind, I thought “It would be IMPOSSIBLE to
run away from this place. You could run for hours and everyone could still see you, the hills are more like mounds, very flat land.” But when you’re here
for a bit, you see, no kid would really want to bolt from this place.
Our first stop was that multi-purpose learning center. It’s a large building that gets larger once you get inside. As we entered the double doors there was
a surprisingly well stocked library to the right and a classroom to the left. Entering the second set of double doors we are in the basketball court where
kids are running, playing and reading throughout. Just off the court were more classrooms.
In one of the classroom I met a little boy creating a hand turkey masterpiece. He smiled as he dutifully glued feathers on to the construction paper.
Innocence. Pure Joy.
The walls of the gym are adorned with paintings and framed articles of Pepper’s success stories. The atmosphere is light. Happy. The kind of place that
would have become my safe haven when I was in care. There’s something calming about a place designed specifically for play. My hours spent at the
YMCA came streaming back as we walked the carpeted floors to the different corners of the gym.
We walked back outside to find a sno-cone trailer parked in front of the building. Tonya explained that a tornado hadn’t randomly dropped this cart
here, rather it was donated. Pepper’s donors are one of the reasons these kids have so many options on the ranch.
After I daydreamed of sno-cones and summer days at the ranch for a few minutes, we headed to the Ag center.
When I say Tonya is Oklahoma, you need look no further for proof than to read the names of the animals at the ranch.
The star of the animal team is a goat named Kevin Durant. Yep. Kevin Durant, the star Forward for the Oklahoma Thunder. There are also chickens
named Russell Westbeak and Serge Ibeaka (Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaaka also of the Thunder). The fun just oozes out of this place.
I guess you could say that I’m kind of urban. The animal time was filled with me not wanting to touch the goats or horses and not being very interested in
meeting the chickens. I prefer to meet these animals on a plate. Seeing them makes me question my eating habits.
After getting our fill of animals, we made our way around the neighborhood. Looking at the homes, learning about the people who inhabit these houses.
The process of becoming a Pepper’s Ranch family is akin to working at the Pentagon. Background checks, questionnaires, credit checks, references.
The works.
Tonya explains that this community is collaborative effort and all steps must be taken to ensure that the best families populate the neighborhood.
The entry process, while a rigorous one, is effective and fair.
Owner/Editor - Chris Chmielewski