by Gary Priour, HCYR Founder and Director

On Tuesday evening, December 11, at 5:45 p.m., a fire broke out in the General Store and Staff Quarters building in the center of the campus of Hill Country Youth Ranch in Ingram.  Within two hours, the 3,500-square-foot structure, valued at $200,000, was a total loss, along with all its contents.

“We’ve lost an old friend,” says Executive Director Gary Priour.  “The General Store was a gift from two Texas Foundations -- the Dougherty Foundation and the Moody Foundation -- in 1981.  It was among our very first facilities, and was for years the hub of village life.  Everyone shopped there, and that’s where we had our first central offices upstairs.  Everyone who applied for a job came there, and Youth Ranch business centered in that building.  Our receptionist of 17 years, Joyce Dommert, remembers starting to work there.  All the houseparents gathered at the store to get groceries and visit.  I met my wife Carol there in 1985.  And the stories go on and on.”

When the Turner Foundation gave money in 1986 for an administration building, the second story of the Dougherty Building was converted to a female staff quarters.  The lower story and basement continued to be used as a central supply and storage facility, containing a clothing store where children’s clothing was kept.  One local clothing vendor kept the store stocked with new clothing that had been discontinued or returned.  The basement was for food storage, including a walk-in freezer with months of frozen meat and other goods. Another room contained linens, towels and other household items to stock the entire campus.  Still another room served as storage for children’s personal items, and in this season, Christmas gifts.

In addition to the community loss of an historic and important facility, along with so many supplies, seven women lived in the upstairs apartment complex, and have lost virtually all of their worldly goods.

Says Priour, “these wonderful women have been living with us like missionaries, in one-room quarters on the campus, going out to be houseparents in the children’s residences and returning to their rooms during off-duty times.  It’s the only place they had to keep their personal things.  We’ve learned that a number of them had irreplaceable items like childhood scrapbooks and family keepsakes that are gone forever.  Two of them lost automobiles parked next to the building, and another a new Schwinn mountain bike.  Their rooms were used as storage for a host of other things, all gone now.”

“There are some blessings emerging,” continues Priour.  “The first is that no one was hurt.  Right behind that is the emergence of the character of a community.  In our own way, we’ve seen what the people in New York did about individual heroism and compassion.  When the fire was discovered, one of our newest staff members, Rene, went running through the building to be sure no one was in it, having to force open one door and dislocating her shoulder doing it.  As the evening went on, the entire Ranch staff and resident community acted as a well-honed machine in a crisis.  Therapists, led by Clinical Director Jeannie Williamson, found the staff who were suddenly homeless and counseled with them.  Our Chaplain, Doug Lanier and his wife Laurie, went to cabins to visit with children and staff to reassure them.  Staff and children, who were cut off from their homes by the fire, gathered and waited and asked how they could help.  Some brought drinks and food to those working the fire.  I cannot imagine, if we had practiced it a hundred times, that it could have gone any better in terms of the human dimension, the rising to the occasion by our people.”

“Last night, on Wednesday, at 6:00, we met with the entire Ranch community, children and staff alike.  It was amazing.  Children, who have themselves lost everything in their personal lives, were focused on the victims and not on themselves.  They rose to offer support.  One cabin wants to have a bake sale.  One child offered his allowance money to the victims’ fund.  Another offered an extra pair of shoes.  Everyone wanted to help, with cleaning up the charred site to giving extra time for any required task.  On the night of the fire, we had to place the women out in children’s cabins.  Some of the children gave up their beds to sleep on couches so the women had a warm bed to sleep in.  They made supper, and gathered round the stunned houseparent guests to offer a listening ear and the kind of comfort they had received previously in reverse.  A circle of caregiving was completed as the children turned it back toward these staff members.

“The most moving part of the meeting came when one of the victims, Jen Alumbaugh, a 22-year old woman who works with some of the more traumatized girls and helps lead the chapel music program, stood to share back with the group.  ‘I wish I could get through this without crying,’ she said, ‘but I can’t.  I appreciate so much all the help.  Some of the things I lost cannot be repurchased.  Many of my most precious childhood keepsakes are gone, and I am very sad.  But right now, I am the wealthiest person on the planet.  What I have seen and felt from this community is a treasure no one or no event can ever take from me.”

“Linda Teague, 53-year-old houseparent for younger boys, felt the worst of anyone.  She had been in the building just before the fire broke out, and is concerned that her Christmas candle might be the culprit, as the fire started in her room while she was fixing supper in the kitchen.  ‘I was very sad,’ she said while talking with me about the incident, ‘and I feel very sorry if my candle caused this.  I want to tell you that I could not have made it through today if not for the love and kindness shown to me by the staff, the children and by you personally.  I’ve had a rough life myself, and I’m not used to such nice people.  I expected to be terminated, and instead I’ve been comforted and reassured.”

The response from the larger community has been just as gratifying, according to Priour.  “One of the first calls came from my old friend and long-time Youth Ranch supporter James Avery. He wanted to know if we were all right and wanted to help.  Then Wes Dorman, another long-time friend and trust manager for Wells Fargo Bank, called and offered to set up a fund where people can donate to help  (Contact Lanette Arredondo at 792-1748, or ask for information on the HCYR Fire Relief Fund at Wells Fargo Bank).  The Auxiliary opened the Thrift Shop early on Wednesday to get the victims clothing, and the Presidents of both Auxiliary chapters called to find out how to help and to offer prayer and encouragement. 

And, the calls keep pouring in.  Thursday morning, the American Red Cross came to visit with the women to give immediate help for necessities (Toys for Christmas gifts to replace the lost ones can be left at the Red Cross on Earl Garrett Sreet – unwrapped, please, so that they can be divided appropriately).  One person brought a car-full of clothing.  A church sent care packages of toothpaste and toiletries.  Another church gave a gift to each of the women for shopping for personal items.  The Hospice Thrift Store called and offered to send linens (our entire supply of linens and household items was lost in the fire).  A leader in the Central Texas Methodist conference called and offered a team of volunteers to help clean up the site.  And the phones keep ringing.”

“And then there was the incredible response from the fire departments and law enforcement officials.  Fire personnel and trucks came from Ingram, Mountain Home, Hunt, and Kerrville.  As I listened to their radios during the fire fighting, I overheard people leaving family suppers and holiday events to join the effort.  Trucks were recruited from throughout the county, and others brought refreshments.  The flames and caustic smoke threatened to engulf the men and women on several occasions, and they continued their assault on the blaze.  With two automobiles on fire, they fearlessly charged them with water to avoid the further catastrophe of an explosion. When our fire hydrant turned out to have different threads than the fire hoses on the trucks, more water trucks were called into a round-robin of supply.  After the fire was out, the Kerr County Sheriff’s department left personnel round the clock to ensure safety as the skeletal frame of the building presented further dangers in the days following the blaze.  The Ingram Fire Marshal, Rowan Zachary, offered his services to work with the Sheriff on getting answers to the fire’s cause.  There were many heroes that night, as all worked to keep the fire contained to the one building.”

Much has been lost.  The children’s clothing room had been freshly stocked by a clothing store.  Several motels had given linens enough to last years.  All the appliances and furniture, and, of course, the building, are gone.