Page 10 - full mag fall 2017 flip

10 Friends oF red rock canyon
The Homecoming (continued from page 9)
The structure on top of the hill was a ten thousand recalled that it always seemed to be raining when the
gallon water reservoir pumped from the spring by tires went flat.
a windmill to provide water pressure to the houses.
Robert remembered that the windmill came from Both brothers would graduate from Annapolis,
Aermotor in Chicago and shipped as a giant erector marry and continue to visit the ranch with family
set and assembled on site. and friends. When the ranch was sold to the BLM
in 1993, there were hopes it would be turned into a
park such as Spring Mountain Ranch. In the early
2000s, an outdoor environmental education school
was in the planning stages but died a slow death. At
present, there is talk about having the property listed
on the National Register of Historic Places.

hen you finally go
“Wback to your old

home, you find it wasn’t the
The Model A truck with ranch caretakers, the Frejlach family,
in front of the casita. old home you missed but your
Photo provided by Ken Frejlach
childhood.”
Robert and Bruce recalled that the most important
ranch vehicle was the Model A purchased in Chica- Sam Ewing
go. They had the back torched off and replaced with
a pickup truck bed. The two brothers drove the truck That Monday in July, the family slowly returned
out to the ranch in the summer of 1942. They had 27 to their parked vehicles, taking photos and recalling
flats on the way out and, since it was during the war special memories from younger days. Then a final
with no new tires available, they became experts in stop at the gate for a group photo by the “Oliver
Volunteers dedicated to the preservation of Red Rock Canyon
removing the tire and patching the inner tubes. They Ranch” sign.

The Oliver Family

Standing (L to R)
Eric Oliver, Barbara
Oliver, Robert Oliver, Patty
Oliver Koch, Randy Koch,
Julie Oliver Curran, Riley
Curran, Bruce Oliver, Tom
Curran, Evan Koch, Bill
Koch and Tyler Oliver

Seated: Carin Oliver and
Thalia Oliver

Photo and memories provided by the Oliver Family
Authors Note: I was unable to establish communications with the Oliver family when researching the Oliver Ranch
chapter for “Seekers, Saints & Scoundrels” and always felt the chapter would have been more complete with their
input. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from Robert Oliver in June offering a chance to discuss
the ranch history. On June 30, we taped a 40-minute interview and I was invited to join the family when they visited the
ranch on July 24, 2017.

the Rock - Volume 8 Issue 1