Photo: Me on a horse at Bar 41!
From 1985 to 1989, I went to Bar-41 Dude Ranch and Summer Camp. I figured out quick that I could wash dishes and stay the whole summer for free, and so I did. I loved camp. The closest thing to an adult were the counselors who were 18 and we slept under the stars a few nights a week and swam at the beach every day.
I met Kit Topaz there in 1986 and I sent her home with hickies all up and down her neck. We’re still friends after 20 years and today we went for a nice walk and picked secret blueberries. She’s a super-cutie with a voice that could charm a monster.
Sometimes I long for Bar 41. The friendships I made there were strong, though often fleeting, and I belonged there. After teaching middle school for many years, I believe that it is very important for young adults to go to camp so that they have a chance to remake themselves and break out of boxes and explore their talents.
I met Kit Topaz there in 1986 and I sent her home with hickies all up and down her neck.
best sentence i’ve read in a while.
bre, are you serious about coming to san francisco next weekend? if so, sarah and i would love to meet up, especially if it involves your kite.
Bre…I’m loving the trips down memory lane. Thanks for sharing this stuff. It’s cool to see what has made you who you are today.
(Serious blush) You rogue, how dare you tell the world one of my most embarrassing moments???? Do you remember the look on your father’s face when I flipped the collar of my coat down? OMG! Great Bar 41 photo. Now I am curious to dig for some of mine. Love you, B. K
I went to Bar 41 dude ranch camp for 3 or 4 years in my youth is it still A camp?
Tiki- As of 2000 Bar 41 was privately owned and used. I went their on a pilrimmage so-to-speak. It was disappointing because so many of the structures had been taken down. The lodge was still there and mostly unchanged. All of the cabins and the horse facilities had been taken down. The arena was gone as was the arts and crafts building. The lawn and small orchard in front of the lodge were still there. Hope that helps with your curiosity.- K
“There’s a ranch up in the hills….” Does Bar 41 still exist? I loved that camp.
Wow, what a hoot!! I went to the Bar 41 Ranch, (between Easton and Cle Elum, Wash., right???) in 1959 for a summer camp thing then I lived, worked, and went to school there in 1962-63. Dick and Helen Longanecker were running the place.
They had two sons, Robert and Carl and a daughter who’s name I have forgotten. I can still ride a horse like an expert and Easton High School had 42 kids from the first grade through the twelth. In my junior class there were 7 of us.
A good education though. After that year I took the GED Test, kicked ass, and joined the Army.
Many cool memories of the Bar 41, especially the summer girls who thought I was some kind of Cowboy!!
Bre,
Saw you in a Seattle Magazine, Congrats.
I also went roughly 85-89 and did the work thing too. Those summers were great memories. Drove by last summer (2007) with my wife and kids on the way hoem from Spokane and swam at the same beach they took us to 20 years ago. That was a real trip. They are selling property accross the road now, soon to be a housing development. My how things change.
Anyway, great photo. I vagely remember you and kit, glad to see you are both doing well.
Luk
Were you guys councilors or just VW? I remember you both from those years at Bar 41. Went to Camp from 82-90. Those were the best of times for sure. Went back to visit in the late 90’s w/ my sister Heather….so sad that it is all so different…cabins were all boarded up and now from what Kit said they are all torn down.
Luk…so happy to hear you are well and had a chance to stop by our old stomping grounds…
Thanks for taking me down memory lane for a bit….
:o)
Kimberley
I hope more -41 alumni find this website and respond which ranch camp they attended…when it was in Cle Elum, in the Swawilla Basin on the Colvillle Indian Reservation, or where it finally setted in the valley north of Wilbur, WA near Keller Ferry.
I arrived at the ranch spring of ‘68, in time to help them move to the eastside of the state and stayed with the ranch in some capacity ever since. No…it is not currently running as a summer camp but you can stop in and visit the ranch managers, Brad and Kay McDowell who will let you take a hike to those places you remember so well from your summer camp experiences.
Both Helen and Dick Longanecker have passed on as well as one of their sons, Carl. Bonnie is married to Gary Stephan and lives in Hansville when she and hubby aren’t trucking somewhere. Robert and his wife, Laurie, also live in Hansville and are active with their church’s youth group. The youngest Longanecker sibling, Joyce, is married to Flint Van Deest, has a grown son, Konrad, and owns two “Curves” franchises in Airway Heights and Cheney.
Some of you may remember my husband, Bob Braybrook, who, himself, was a camper at the Cle Elum ranch and worked his way up to be a counselor, wrangler, trail rider, life guard and everything in between.
Kim B. directed me to this site and I hope many others find it and respond and reconnect with some of the friends they made at -41. The only program that continues on the ranch premises at this time, is the Japanese Exchange program that began in the summer of ‘83.
Luk…were you in the outrider program with our son, Reid? I’m trying like crazy to remember Kit…the name sure rings a bell.
Life is full of fun at Bar 41…indeed!
sharyn Braybrook…ranch secretary, counselor, campfire leader and crafts director.
Bar 41, Bar 41, can you tell me how you feel…I can’t remember all the words to that song. I went to bed last night singing, “There’s a ranch up in the hills…” after looking at this website my sister pointed out to me. Both Kim and I were at Bar 41 from around 1984 until they went bankrupt. We were there with Luk!
Kim and I have remained in touch with a few fellow camp goers but I would love to reconnect with more!
We have camp pictures we can scan and post to Flickr. I’ll let you know when we do that.
Hi Luk!
Heather
Hi there fellow campers of bar 41, i went there between 1986 to 1989, it was so much fun i loved everything that we did from the beach to camping under the stars to riding up to the haunted house. I went during internationl week when kids from japan came over and stayed a week at a time. Glad that i got to goto this type of camp!! I am looking for something like this for my 8 year old son to go and do but in todays world there is no way they could get away with it! hope everyone takes care. there was a girl that lived down the road from the camp i dont recall her name think it was jenni or something like that she just came down and worked on the ranch and helped out, did i have a crush on this girl ooo yeah!!
jared
Wow, I googled Bar-41 Ranch for fun and I found your site. I pretty much grew up at Bar-41 as my mother was on the foundation board. I believe I went from 1981-1986 and then 87 or 89(?) for the outrider program and then on the horse staff. I remember hanging out with you and Jennifer back in the day and the Gunderson girls. It’s not the haunted house- it’s the Mansion! Remember Indian Village? Deep Cove? Tippy Canoe? Ahh… yes and my rotten pony Shorty. My sister Lisa and I went back in 2007 and we’re sad to see that they burned down the cabins and there was nothing left of the Homestead, the horse corrals or the arena. I was very sad but I’m glad it has not been developed. We had a wonderful visit with Pat & Sharon and they gave me the contact info for Jeremy. Bar-41 will always be in my heart and a big part of my childhood. I still have my ’84 t-shirt, Omak stampede ticket stubs, rodeo ribbons and the weekly shame awards. I still ride horses too!
Glad to see you are doing well.
- Darsie
Hi Kim, Heather, Sharon Jared, and Darsie!
I just re-googled Bar-41 and saw the string of posts from the last few months. Wow.
Sharon. I was a Camper, VW, and an Outrider with Reid. How are Reid and Jenni? Thank you so much for being there and keeping it going as long as it did. It was a huge transforming part of my childhood!
Kim and Heather. I am so happy to hear you are both doing well. I enjoyed the freindship -41 created for us all and have very fond memories of those years. I hope your lives are happy and going well!
Jared. I dont recall you yet but we were definately there at the same time. Jenni is Reid’s Sister, Sharons Daughter. She was such a sweet girl, I dont think you were the only one with a crush on her!
Darsie. Totally agree it will always be a part of my heart and childhood too! Werent you from the Bellevue area too? I seem to remember you working at a Skateboard/ Bike shop next to Skate King?
I dont have any pictures of my time at Bar-41 although I always had a camera. I just dont have any idea where they went. If anyone has them can you please post them and let me know? I would very much like to show my kids.
I am going back to Wilbur this summer. I rented a Houseboat out of the Keller Ferry area and plan on taking my family all over the lake. Swin and go down memory lane.
Take care all!!!
“Theres a place in the hills where the buffalo roam and the dear and the antelope play”
If you’ve got photos, take photos of them or scan them in and upload them to flickr. I started a group where you can put them all. http://www.flickr.com/groups/bar41
I so love Bar 41! I was a camper, wrangler, and junior counselor - just a few years ahead of you. My last year there was probably 1984. My brother Mike worked there a year or two after that. Such great memories. Mandie
I was a counselor at -41 in ‘68 and part of ‘69 the first two years after Cle Elum. 68 was on the other side of the Keller Ferry (San Pouil River Ranch?) ‘69 Brought the move to the Wilbur Side. The dining hall was a hole in the ground and my campers slept in the hayloft of the Barn. No cabins at that time… no lodge. We did go swimming and we rode, hiked and slept under the stars.
I was a camper there for a couple of sessions in the mid 70s; the second year we went to the World’s Fair in Spokane. What a blast!
Water skiing on the lake, doing the rodeo… one of the wranglers shot a rattlesnake on the overnight ride and we got to for breakfast. Making out with one of the ‘bad boys’ at the Friday night dance. Even just vegging out on the grass in the shade of that big tree, listening to the counselor read “The Little Prince”; I was looking through old photo albums recently and found the card she gave me, with the excerpt she’d done in calligraphy:
“Goodbye,” said the fox.
“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret:
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Sad to hear it’s not a camp anymore; I would have liked for my sons to experience it.
Since stumbling into this exchange on Bar 41 last week, Those brief, frozen in time, not thought about in 30 years, memories give me no rest. I’ve got Bar 41 on my mind and it keeping me awake at night. New unremembered images, names, smells and sights just keep popping up.
I have to exorzize these memories so I can get a night’s sleep. This process may exceed the limits of an individual post, and may take more than one session. I appologise in advance and beg indulgence because there is only one other contributor here that will even be able to identify with my ramblings of the ranch the year we had to take to ferry to get to the camp.
When I applied in the spring of 1968 to be a counselor at the Bar 41 Ranch, Summer Camp, I thought that the camp would still be located in CleElum. I was unaware of the circumstances that precipitated to move over to the Colville Indian Reservation that year. I still don’t know what happened, only that the Longeneckers were intent on keeping the foundation and the camp alive. When I spoke with Helen on the phone about the “jobâ€, she told me that they had no money and would be relying on volunteers to staff the camp. I agreed, along with my cousin Brad, to work the summer as a volunteer.
The summer of 1968 came between my Junior and Senior Years of High School. I was still 16 at the beginning of the summer, barely older than many of the campers, who ranged in age from about 8 to 15. The move of the ranch took a heavy toll on the number of campers that year. We did have three groups of boys divided by age. At the start of the summer I have the youngest group. My job was to keep them busy by whatever means necessary. At times that just meant getting dirty with them. There were scheduled activities, like riding, swimming, crafts, and meals, but there was also those empty times like between dinner and campfire, where inventing things to do was the only way to have happy campers.
We also spent quite a bit of “off time†like Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon working on the facilities. We built fences and put up or reset tents and built and rebuilt other structures. I spent very little time with any of the Longeneckers, and really didn’t get to know them at all.
Early in the summer, my co-counselor of the girls group that was of the same age as my boys was a girl name Gail. Gail wanted to be my girlfriend and I uses she was for a week or two. Dick Longenecker would drive an old bus every weekend over to CleElum to drop off campers going home and pick-up the new batch. That was a Saturday/Sunday trip and he needed someone to follow the bus in a car in case of breakdown or other problem. Whoever drove the car got a night in an apartment and a bath. One weekend Gail and I made the trip. There was no impropriety but I did get one really good nights sleep. I only made the trip once because it was a very long and boring drive filled with diesel fumes from following the bus.
Not having ever attended Bar 41 as a camper, I was a little lost as to the “ways†of the camp. Then again, I was not prone to comparing what the ranch had been to what it had become. All in, I had a great summer. The most enjoyable times were when I was the counselor of the oldest group which meant for more enjoyable trail rides, hikes and camp-outs. The country there on the reservation was spectacular. Some of the most vivid memories I have are of individual moments.
- Seeing an owl in flight quickly followed by the sight of a black bear running away crashing through the brush.
- An early hike up to a cliff overlooking the valley and watching the sun come up from behind the distant hills.
- Rattle snake hunting
- Riding strawberry, a square backed roan at an all out charge across a field along side Brad who was riding Joyce Longenecker’s beautiful grey appaloosa.
- The Omak Stampede where I got into a one sided fight with a drunk who would not let go of my shirt.
I also remember some very special people. Sharyn, of course, who was on her first summer at the ranch. She kept me sane and happy and contributed so much to the daily activity from sun up to camp fire. Bob who was head wrangler, trail boss, and cook on the overnights. Patty(?) Ginsburg who was the full time counselor of the oldest group of campers. Others I remember, no longer have names unless they come to me when I try to go to sleep tonight.
Alas I really don’t remember any hickies from the summer of 68.
Wow.
I am choking up as I read this site. I went to the ranch for 3 or four years as a camper and one or two as a “wrangler” in the 1970’s. Most of the Wranglers at that time were troubled boys who’d been sent by the state to work at the camp and show they’d made some progress as young men. But there were often a couple of former campers allowed to work, too. I recal having to manhandle a large anvil up onto the truck by myself as a rite of passage. As a camper I always tried to be there for the very last week if I could, because that was a special week (”Roundup Week”, only vetran campers allowed!) where we got to do things you couldn’t normally do. I remember councelors named Tom, who was a helicopter pilot and Susie Tate and her sister, Terry , who later married a very muscular and nice guy named Tim. I remember having a crush on Susie one year (I think everybody did) and looking at Joyce with eyes full of young lust (when I got old enough) and I remember her boyfriend of one summer named Les, who drove the boat when we went waterskiing every day at the beach. All of these people were just wonderful to us. Of course, I remember the Omak stampede, several of them, all of us sleeping mixed up like a big bowl of spaghetti in the back of the truck on the drive home. I remember we used to have Human Relations class, which was right in there with Arts and Crafts and Archery and Riding. I remember saving my money for the Trading Post. I remember singing all those songs around the campfire. And the Friday Night Dance was where, under considerable duress, I had my very first dance. In fact I had a lot of Very Firsts at the Bar 41, such as the year “The California Girls” came. Gosh, those girls were so beautiful…I remember Robert and Joyce had a couple of nephews who would come sometimes, named Clay and Glade, I think. Both nice young guys. I remember riding in the rodeo doing barrel races and faking my mom’s signature so I could ride a bull.
That camp changed my life in many ways and it really hurts my heart to hear it’s no longer running. I would so much like to send my ten year old son and a couple of his friends!
Anybody remember running up the hill to touch the cross, then pounding back down to try and break the record?
I’m astonished. I have had Bar 41 on the brain all summer. I see that many of you have too.
Two weekends ago I drove by with my family. I was happy to see that there is a big sign and the mail box reads Bar 41 again.
I have been thinking about trying to gather some info and stories and write a book about it. It is a part of me that doesn’t seem to fade away.
I sing the songs to my kids. The slow one (someone else mentioned not knowing the words) is a round and it goes like this: Bar 41, Bar 41, shall we tell you how we feel? You have given us your spirit, we love you so.
Luk- does your last name end with B.
Darsie- you were a counselor when we were campers. Do you remember Shira? She adored you, followed you everywhere. My sister, Chrissy did too.
Sharyn- Bre and I did laundry at your house on our days off.
Anybody know Danni Longanecker? I’m sure she has a different last name by now. Somewhere I think I have a fantastic old picture of her and her horse.
I remember Joyce and Flint. Was Joyce the one who did the “Going on a Lion Hunt” thing for campfire?
I’d love to find more alums, stories, and pictures. Please email me with more.
Kit, My last name is Blackwell. Did you have an old car with a 3 on the tree transmission?
I am driving tomorrow morning to the Keller Ferry for our vacation on one of the houseboats and will be passing by. Like many people I cant seem to shake the memories this past year. Maybe its becuase I have kids now??
I didnt realize the history to the camp. Its really amazing that it touched so many lives over so many years. I am happy to have been a part of it.
Bre, Did you ever think you would get this type of response? Amazing.
Luk
Luk-
Yup, that was me with the ‘65 Fairlane.
What was that ridiculous language you used to speak with your friend? Do you remember it? It used to infuriate me that I could almost understand what you were saying.
I actually tired to look you up a few times. Where do you live? I live in Woodinville.
What is funny about this post is that it generated virtually no response for a year and a half. 2008 seems to be the year for people to think about Bar 41. I am serious about writing a book. I need to go back out there and find some folks to talk to.
Take some pictures for me tomorrow. Have a great time.
K
kittopaz@yahoo.com
Re Comment by David;
I remember the Tates, especially Terry with whom I corresponded after the summer of ‘68. They were older campers then, perhaps wrangleretts. Since I only made it through the first half of 69 as a counselor, I may have missed them that year. I remember Tim as a wrangler in ’69. Thanks for helping with some names.
Bar 41 was a project site for an organization called BVS (Bretheren Volunteer Service). Volunteers came from BVS on one or two year assignments to work at the ranch. Sharyn B. came to the ranch through BVS. She stayed a little longer than 2 years. I went to BVS in Jan. 1970. Joyce L. joined BVS at the same time. We went through training together and also spent three months at the same project site in MD. I lost track of where she went after that but she may have returned to the ranch. I seem to remember hearing of Dick Longenecker passing around that time.
Oh my gosh, I’ve googled Bar 41 before and not come up with much, but finding this blog was great! I’m sitting here with a friend that I drug with me to camp one of the MANY years I went. We just sang the song! Bar 41 was a GREAT time in my life - I wish every kid could have the experience. I was a camper, a “wrangler”, a counselor, a horsemanship instructor, and I think I even led a few trail rides.
It’s really great to see that others have such good memories. I was there in the later 70’s as a camper in 80’s as staff.
How could anyone not remember your smiling face welcoming every camper? You are the best!
Hello Darsie! (Last name with a B, right?)
Hello sharyn!
Really good memories - just the other day I was telling someone I skinned a rattlesnake at summer camp! (Really, I did - as a wrangler - Gary was our “leader”)
Best to all.
Kit,
I can only imagine the language was some sort of pig latin? How embarassing…
I live in Snohomish and work in Bellevue. Didn’t move too far.. If I remember correctly you lived in Oregone all those years ago?
I went to Wilbur 2 weeks ago and went on a houseboat out of the Keller Ferry Marina. (RREHouseboats.com)We had a great time swimming in the Lake with my family 20 years after I swam in it as a camper…. Not alot has changed at the bottom of that Canyon. The cliff above the camp still has what looks like a skid mark down from where the cross still stands at the top.
The Mailbox did say Bar-41 on it and I found a posting about a 4H trip to Bar 41 September of 2008 http://lincoln-adams.wsu.edu/4-H/TeenRally.htm.
Maybe its being resurected? Could you imagine today a camp where you hunt, kill and then skin Rattle snakes? Where the cabins don’t have windows and you sleep in a field with just your sleeping bag? Those were great times and it apeers affected alot of people…..
To all of the people who created Bar-41(Longaneckers, Braybrooks and many more). Thank you for the memories!!!
Luk
Wow, look at all the traffic! I can’t believe I didn’t post a comment back when I first saw these pictures.
I went to -41 from 1978 to 1986, missing only one year when the family sent me to Camp Sealth which was pure hell compared to the wonders of -41. My sister Cassandra went there also, I don’t remember what years she was there. She kept in better touch with Darsie and Lisa.
Memories? Of course!
Horseback riding every day, jeans soaked with horse sweat. Who needs saddles anyway?
The loping trail.
All the horse friends over the years. Kate, Cinder, Kubla Khan, Shawnie, Gingersnaps, Cocoa, Shorty, the sway back who’s name I can’t remember and so many others.
Missy and the way she could whistle!
Grasshoppers and crickets everywhere.
Bee nests between the logs of the arena. 16 stings in 2 weeks, call me the bee sting queen.
Trading Post!
Hikes to the three crosses, hikes to the totem pole, hikes anywhere they decided to go on the hundreds of acres.
Sleeping on the front lawn.
Overnights at Homestead with cheeseburgers for dinner and Cowboy hash for breakfast.
Riding to the swimming area in a hay wagon pulled by a slow tractor, getting covered in dust.
Deep cove drop off swims and getting covered in the clay.
Trips to the Omak Stampede.
End of the week “Rodeo” and awards.
Becoming an “Outrider”
Summer friendships that stay in your memory.
With all these recent posts, I figured I’d start a Facebook group and see if we can share there.
I need to go raid my dad’s house for my old photos from camp and get them scanned. Since I just moved to North Carolina, it probably won’t be until December, but I’ll do my best!
Funny, very funny.
Why didn’t anyone tell me they had a crush on me holy cow. Yes I still live one mile from the ranch. My brother Reid lives in San Diego with his wife and son. I have two daughters 11 and 7. Does everyone remember the sleepouts up at the homestead and the walk or ride up and back. oh the pain.
well hi to everyone mom is cracking up on the song you tried to remember if you want we know it well and can type it out for all of you.
Later
Bre … it took Jenni about a minute to wake up my memory banks … I DO remember you and have a photo of you doing dishes!
Norm … where the hang are you these days? Last time you wrote you were working in an international bank in NYC.
Jennifer S … where’s Cassandra … how is she doing?
Luk … got pictures of you, Reid and Susan as outriders … glad you, too, could rattle my brains in remembering all you kids…WOW!
Kim & Heather … send me your home mailing addresses … I know they’ve changed again … also update me with your email addresses.
Mandy Finley … what a wonderful surprise to see your name … need an update on what you’ve been doing for the past umteen years.
Anxious to read more the next time I log onto this site … Happy Trails,
sharyn
Jenny,
Congrats on the Family! its so weird for me to have children now so close to the ages of us at Camp.. Renting a houseboat on Lake Roosevelt this summer from Keller Ferry was such a trip down memory lane. Whats the deal with the neighborhood being built accross the street from the old camp? Who owns the property there now, and whats it used for?? I saw the name Bar41 on the mailbox this summer, is the camp being resurected?? Please tell Reid hello for me and I hope he is doing well.
Sharon, what would I need to do to get a copy of those photos you have? Regretably I have no photos from the camp. I took so many, I just have no idea what happened to them all???
Luk
Wow. It’s so great to hear from so many fans of Bar 41. Names are sounding familiar… I remember Sharyn of course, and Joyce and Flint, and I remember Clay and Glade. Norm - I am wondering if you knew my father, Bill Finley? He was connected to BVS somehow, I think…
My favorite horses were cricket and challenger. Fond memories…
Sharyn wrote:
“Norm … where the hang are you these days? Last time you wrote you were working in an international bank in NYC.”
Sharyn;
I remain on the East Coast splitting my time between New York and West Palm Beach. My oldest son is an exec chef in Philadelphia, so I also spend some time in SE PA. I’ve been out to Colville a number of times playing golf and having mini reunions with some guys I went to High School with 40 years ago.
My email is np_thomas51@yahoo.com
Wow, what fun seeing all these posts. it’s funny how the memories start to “wake up” (as sharyn said) when you read a post.
I love Jennifer’s memories, especially this one: “Riding to the swimming area in a hay wagon pulled by a slow tractor, getting covered in dust.” I thought it was even better when we were riding BACK from swimming and were wet - then the dust REALLY stuck well!! And Missy’s whistle - I had forgotten about how she could do that! I have pictures of her with that little black dog she had way back when. Of course the sleep outs on the lawn - did we ever sleep? Kate had to have been the most tolerant horse I have ever known.
Remember sleep outs at homestead - we just laid those sleeping bags and pillows in the dirt and then all that dirt that would be in your hair when you woke up? Never stopped me from loving every second.
I watched the most beautiful dry lightning storms from the room above the office late one summer night (before it was finished with a real window)… there were three or four of us. Missy may even have been there if I remember correctly…
And seeing the bats fly under the big light on the pole in the parking lot…
One summer as wranglers we got to canoe across the lake and have a camp out on the other side with Gary - we thought we were so cool!
I have a great picture of Jenny - you must have been 9 or 10, with my undereye concealer makeup on your lips like lipstick! (It did come in the same kind of tube, after all….)
I posted some pictures on the facebook site Jennifer started - still looking for some more. I’ll see if I can post some to the flckr site, too.