Meet Jason, 1880 Ranch Hand

Greetings! My name is Jason Thomas, and I just arrived here on the Blair Ranch a few weeks ago. It seems Aunt Sara has been having some trouble with the hired hands around the ranch lately – they’ve been eating too much and not working nearly hard enough – so she sent a letter to my mother asking if I’d come help out. She believes that family is more reliable than some itinerant workers.

Now, I’ve never thought that I was lazy or anything, but let me tell you, life on a ranch is hard work. I grew up in Eugene City where my parents owned a mercantile. Mostly my days consisted of stocking the shelves, checking inventory and doing some arithmetic.

Life’s much different here in the Ochocos than it is in the valley. Yesterday, I spent six hours chopping wood and kindling. We use the wood stove for heating and cooking, and as the weather cools, we’ll need to have a fire burning continually – which means a lot of work for me. But, as Aunt Sara reminded me, chopping wood in exchange for getting fed isn’t that bad of a deal.

Come and check out how Jason is faring at the homestead and taste life on the frontier in 1880. Help Aunt Sara with the cooking, Jason with the wood chopping, fetch water from the pump, or tend to the goat and chickens. They love having visitors! You might meet one of the Blair’s guests from Prineville too.
Jason and Aunt Sara are at the ranch here at the Museum on weekends, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.