Photo: Darren Handschuh

After announcing an early closure last month, Vernon's O'Keefe Historic Ranch has found enough money to stay open through the fall.

"It's been a rollercoaster of a year, and the rollercoaster hasn't stopped. The O'Keefe Ranch has found the means to stay open for weekends through October and possibly for its operations in December," ranch management said in an email sent late Thursday night.

Due to pandemic restrictions, the popular historic attraction north of the city had to reduce activities and as a result eliminated gate fees, which severely reduced income for the year.

That put its operations in peril, and the ranch announced in August it would wind down operations this month, cancelling popular events like the Halloween Field of Screams.

?"We're simply running out of money," Bruce Cummings, chair of the ranch's board of directors, said in August.

But, in its latest announcement, the ranch says recent support from the City of Vernon has alleviated some of the financial stress, and the ranch saw much of the community step up for (its) Fill the Steer fundraiser.

Earlier this month, the city agreed to defer a $70,000 promissory note and all annual property insurance recoveries from 2019 to 2021 until Dec. 31, 2022.

"We want to give a public thanks to the city for granting our  requests." says Cummings. "We have been contacted by the public, volunteers and the staff on ways to keep operations moving along. We need to make sure the ranch has enough funds to open again next season, but we also understand the positive impact of keeping up momentum and keeping a presence in the community."

Due to COVID, the Field of Screams is not able to run this year, however the ranch will be keeping the family corn maze open and some activities through October, with admission by donation.

"With a large open space, the ranch can provide families a safe place to enjoy outdoor activities which may prove difficult in other settings this October," it said. 

"The support received to keep the animals on site has ensured all the critters will remain and can be enjoyed by visitors in October. Ghost tours will also be returning for some select dates in October."