Ten-Year Plan

A Brief History

A Tapestry Unfolds

Perry family's extraordinary vision takes shape as building begins . . .

New Project Designed to Reconnect Generations

By Gary Priour, HCYR Executive Director, reprinted from Corral newsletter.

This phenomenal gift to the children of Texas is a testimony to the Perry family’s values and concern for their fellow man. Ranched since 1930 by Mrs. Cora Alice Perry, her son and three daughters, the inspiring landscape stretches along the Frio River near Leakey and is the site known as "the country of 1100 springs".

But the land is about to become more than just a beautiful place to build a children‘s home. That‘s because Oma Bell has persisted in a vision that is emerging as a masterful and timely contribution to American culture. It has taken me two years to begin comprehending the beauty of the vision, but thanks to Oma Bell‘s patient persistence, I‘ve started to see it.

In short, Oma Bell’s idea is to reconnect generations which have become estranged. Ms. Perry has correctly observed that children are not as involved with grandparents as they once were when families relied on each other "till death do us part."

"Older folks need to be around children," she says, "and children need to learn from seniors. We’ve lost that in our busy, fast-paced world. The healing of wounded children can be enhanced by providing them with an opportunity to care for grandparent figures, and to learn from them, too. There is an innate respect present between elders and the young that is sometimes missing between children and their parents."

The idea is to incorporate "grandparent" residences in the village for children on the Big Springs Ranch, then invite seniors to bring their wisdom and experience and become part- or full-time citizens of the village. They will hopefully come from all walks of life and help with everything from running the Ranch to teaching at the school.

In some larger metropolitan communities, foster grandparent programs are already in place bringing elders together with latch-key youngsters. "Now we can accomplish this in a protected natural setting," says Ms. Perry, "where God is still close by."

This project, as with the growth of the Ingram campus, has evoked in me a sense of awe at the Creator’s masterful design in all things, as He has brought together HCYR’s expertise in childcare with Ms. Perry’s bold vision for the future. Truly, it’s a match made in heaven, and we are very excited. It’s a time of dreaming, and we invite you to join us.

When Oma Bell Perry deeded the 7,000-acre Big Springs Ranch to the Hill Country Youth Ranch in 1996, she was fulfilling a family dream. Oma Bell had promised her two sisters, who both died in the summer of 1986, that, as the last surviving member of the immediate family, she would see that the land was given to create a home for orphaned and abused children.

A Note from the HCYR Organization: Big Springs Ranch for Children in Leakey is a sister campus to Hill Country Youth Ranch in Ingram. Both campuses are governed by a Board of Directors and are dedicated to providing long-term therapeutic care and substitute parenting for abused and abandoned children from all over Texas. Ranch life at Big Springs reflects the world we want our children to grow up in. The children live in reconstructed families in residences designed to house 6 to 8 children and houseparents. They receive an education anchored in Judeo-Christian values, and are nurtured by a Christian community of caregivers.