Paradise Guest Ranch
Posted on 03/24/2008 01:09 am by Corisa
Paradise Guest Ranch, Woodland Park, Colorado
Paradise Guest Ranch is one of those places that remains dear to anyone who has ever been a guest or employee. The guests from Chicago, New York, LA, thought they had been dropped into the middle of a Roy Rogers movie. The employees were the movie crew. Wranglers had the supporting roles and the horses, well, they were the stars. Four-hundred of them. Percherons and Shires pulling stagecoaches and beerwagons, Harry Vold’s bucking horses frolicking on top of the mountain, racing like runaway steam engines down to the ranch before each Sunday rodeo, ponies patiently carring the kiddies while the parents fell in love with their special horse that was assigned to them. Yours truly, one of twenty wranglers and the foreman Joe Hooper’s wife, led guests into country that you swore was the painting of a famous artist.
Today, the ranch is a memory beneath a Safeway shopping center, the rodeo arena, the red hiproofed barn, the cabins straight out of Zane Gray books, flattened into what is supposed to be progress. Some of us have photographs, some a few pieces of Indian jewelry from the western giftshop, a navajo rug, a lamp, or some other trinket that sold when the ranch closed its doors as the greatest, and largest dude ranch in the United States.
Here are some folks I am trying to find who were at the PR: Buffalo McCormick (cowboyed at one time possibly on big AZ ranch), ‘Little’ Joe Massingale (he might have been in the movie Stir Crazy), Vern Vaughn, the general Manager for Frank Snell, Tom and Steve Collins (Tom met Ginger who worked at the ranch and they married- last known, someplace south CO or?), the Chef who had been trained or cooked in Switzerland, Bill and Debbie Ward (Bill was there off and on since 63 to 70’s, married Debbie, who worked in the lodge, they had daughter by name of Kimmie), The twins, Marilyn and Carolyn Lewis from New Mexico. Sam Owens, who was foreman before 1965 when my husband Joe Hooper and I came to PR, and Joe was foreman until 1975, when Ranch closed. Arnold Mardis was manager for a short time early senties (he was ex air force, possibly colonel or high rank)
Got stories? Got memories? Got photos? Frank S. and LaVera Snell bought the ranch about 1928 and turned it into the most famous dude ranche of those days. Frank S. Snell had quite a history that goes back to Hollywood where he had a Christmas tree farm and got to know a lot of movie stars whom he sold trees to. He married, had a daughter Gayle (an air force pilot and now deceased), married a second time when he already lived in Colorado. He owned the Cliff House in Manitou for a time (not recorded in their history) and had a limousine-taxi service, which he possibly converted into a stage business during the shortage of gasosline during World War II. It seems (and we need to research a lot more) that his grandfather had a stage business taking people up to Woodland Park. Frank Snell Sr, the GREAT grandfather of Frank S Snell Jr. probably owned a shipping and stage depot in Salt Lake City in the 1870’s. That is possibly why Paradise Ranch had over twenty beautiful horsedrawn coaches, including Brewster Stage Coaches, Canostoga Wagons, Beer Wagons, Streetcars with etched glass and many more. We used to keep them in show condition. Because of his Hollywood connections, it is possibly true that the two chariots used for the Sunday races–with four ups, real races that were pretty hairy–did come from the first movie filming of Ben Hur. That is what Frank Snell said anyway. He was not a bullshitter, rarely talked about anything, so I assume that they really were from the movie. Frank Snell retired in the late to very early seventies, moved to Florida, and soon after both LaVera and Frank died. He takes a legacy with him that unfortunately has never been recorded. I am in the process of reconstructing as much of his life as possible, have had great help from a number of people. If you have any stories, knew Frank Snell or have some story about the ranch, please write. I am collecting memories.
Hope to hear from you
Freia Hooper- Bradford…..wrangler/riding instructor, and the foreman, Joe Hooper’s wife. Just want to let you know that Joe died. He is buried in S. Calif. and has left many real cowboy memories. His great granddaddy was a cowboy and lawman, his father was a cowboy, and Joe would not cotton to any other life. We don’t have men like that come along much anymore. He was the man who was gonna wear nothing but high heeled boots-a Stetson hat, and use those handkerchiefs for more than decoration. Click here to write me
Read about Paradise ranch in my book Roses and Locoweed, laugh a bunch, maybe cry a little.