Frequently Asked Questions

During fund raisers, tours and entertainment events, visitors ask Beckwith Board members many questions about the project. Her are answers that one board member, Joe Cascarelli, frequently gives.

• Why are you so committed to the restoration of this old ranch house?
JC: It is not so much the building that has captured my imagination. I’m sure that it will be great when it is completed. This symbol of ranching heritage has special value to me. As a city boy raised in the 1950s “my heroes have always been cowboys.” They were motion picture cowboys for sure, but cowboys none the less. Now, I know that this valley was settled by cowboys and that my childhood heroes lived and worked at the Beckwith Ranch. That’s enough motivation for me to be involved.

• Why should I join the FBR?
JC: Today, we live in a disposable culture. Every thing we buy is either disposable or has planned obsolescence. So, here we have something built in 1869. With hard work, care and a little imagination, it may last another 130 years or so. You could be a part of this worthwhile restoration. It will show visitors that community still cares about its history. Some things are worth preserving. Every time I pass the site, I am reminded that beef doesn’t grow in cellophane.

• How would being on the Beckwith Board enrich my life?
JC: Actually, it may not enrich your life, but it will enrich someone’s life. It will enrich the lives of children, scouts and students. The young of our society, who still find the life of a cowboy a wonder, will be enriched. It will illustrate that the rugged life which brave adventurers lived 130 years ago had its rewarding elements. The rewards didn’t include cell phones, TV, the internet or video games.

• What will this ranch look like in 2007?...2008?...2009?
JC: With a little luck in 2007 the interior will be complete. The ranch will have a full time curator. There will be a talented volunteer staff, who will demonstrate life in the late 1800s. By 2008, the Beckwith Ranch will be a destination for visitors to Colorado. It will be the subject of serious academic research on the Old West. In 2009, it will be a popular self-sustaining attraction. Maybe a movie will be made using it as a backdrop.

• Besides donations, what do you need to complete this project?
JC: We need people who in their mind’s eye can see themselves living at the ranch. People who won’t let 21st century “realities” get in the way of having a little fun. We want the entire ranching community to be proud of this symbol of their chosen life style.

• Your mission says that the project will “recapture the romance of the Old West’s ranching heritage”, why?
JC: Because it is worth preserving. Look, these people, the Beckwiths, were not perfect. They were typical of others who lived during the Victorian era. They conquered the wilderness and made a good life. They had ambitions just like people today. The Beckwiths lived at a time when rugged individualism was something one needed just to survive. President Theodore Roosevelt knew this. That is why he left a privileged life in New York City to start a ranch in North Dakota in the 1880s. He knew what the Beckwith brothers knew; humans need individual life challenges to complete themselves.

• Why should I as a teacher assign a Beckwith Ranch assignment?
JC: Most children know little about the kind of hard work, innovation and resourcefulness one needed 130 years ago. For many, the TV cable going on the fritz for a couple of hours is a life altering experience. A research project concerning the Beckwith Ranch will help give a student perspective. It may make them appreciate modern life’s conveniences. Maybe the next time the TV cable goes down, they will read a book about the Old West that they purchased during their visit to the Beckwith Ranch when they researched their project

• What will be done with the research that my students send you?
JC: The best submissions, we will put on the web site. Maybe someone will write a book which includes student research. That way they can show their kids their name in the bibliography of a Best Seller. Other students may be inspired by their work. No matter what happens to the research, the effort will be worth it. When a critical mass of accepted works is accumulated, a bibliography of authors will be linked to the website.