Jared's Wild Rose Ranch History
McLloyd
Barney,
has enjoyed fishing and vacationing on his land at the Wild Rose and has
developed a great love for it. His youngest son Jared loved to fish
along side his father and they became fishing partners in the years
after Mac purchased the Wild Rose.
 During
this time, Mac fought hard to finance the land; however financial
difficulties plagued the Wild Rose under several managements and it
seemed for a time that the Wild Rose would have yet another owner.
The
biggest trial came when Mac's son, Jared,
who was seven-years-old, was diagnosed with a
malignant brain tumor. In addition, his insurance company dropped him
and Mac's debt soared to new heights.
Jared had numerous
operations, however the cancer kept returning. Still, his love of the
Wild Rose held strong and he continued to fish with his dad whenever he
wasn't hospitalized. At age 9 he told his dad,
"Don't you ever sell
this land."
On
October 19, 1992 after 22 months of fighting for his life,
Jared returned to his Heavenly
Father. It was during his final year that the Wild Rose Ranch
was renamed "JARED'S WILD ROSE
RANCH RESORT."
Mac followed his
son's advice, despite the difficulties. Then on August 2, 1996
Mac brought one of his older sons in to manage Jared's Wild Rose
Ranch Resort in order to fulfill this promise to Jared.
Mac continues to
find peace and solace on his land and proclaims it to be the
most beautiful place on earth.
The
Wild Rose Ranch was founded in the 1890's by William Bowers.
The original water rights dating back to 1898 are still in the
Wild Rose files.
In the early years, the Wild Rose
property was used for sheep herding. The help stayed in the
small cabin and the cafe functioned with four original tables.
Since the Wild Rose was one of the first establishments of the
late 1800's in the Henry's Lake area, it became a community of
it's own. The small cabin to the west of the old lodge was
the original Island Park
post office and the present site of the pump house was
originally an icehouse.
The second owner of
the Wild Rose Ranch was a man named Gil Telford. The Wild Rose
Ranch passed through the hands of several owners:
-
Sold to
Vic Moore from Gil Telford
-
Sold to
Mrs. Boger from Vic Moore
-
Purchased from Mrs. Boger in the late fifties by Gil Day
-
In 1975
purchased by Kent Jolly
-
In 1981
purchased by Scott Goldsmith, later included two
business partners, Thomas Blair and McLloyd Barney as
joint owners.
-
In 1986
purchased by McLloyd Barney
During
the early days and until the late 1970's Henry's Lake had been strictly
a fly fishing lake. However, other methods were being introduced (i.e.
bait, popgear, spinners) which puzzled local guides. Some purists still
argue that flies are the surest and best way to catch fish on Henry's
Lake.
The Famous Western Writer,
Zane, Gray wrote segments of many western novels in Cabin 1.
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