History of Homeplace Ranch

This page is dedicated to my relatives who established our tradition with horses. In 1903 my great grandfather and grandfather trailed to Alberta to sell horses to the new settlers who came west following the railroad and the lure of free land. They were so impressed with the land they returned to Nebraska, sold their holdings and headed north. One of the reasons they later told me was "crime was creeping into the mid-west." Ruby Makenny, my mother, was one of the 11 children who was born & grew up ranching west of Ponoka. She and all the children were born at home, many of the youngest in a sod roofed house, whose doorway was 5' 8" tall.

Mom met my Dad, Bill, when he came to Canada to hunt moose. He came back in 1935 and when he was preparing to return to Connecticut he kissed her and said, "Ruby if you don't find anyone you like better than me, I'll be back next year (1936) to marry you." He did. In 1946, after returning from 5 years in the US Navy's Seebees, Dad, Mom and myself, along with my Aunt & Uncle, moved to Jasper to go into the outfitting and summer trip business.

With 80 head of horse it was a boys dream, one which never left me even when going to university and working to make enough money to start my own outfit. Every summer it was back to Jasper to help out. Finally, in 1978, the opportunity was there to start The Homeplace Ranch.w

When riding I often think of the dedication to the business and the horses my relatives exhibited and I wanted to have them shown on our Homeplace Ranch web site.

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Five page Photo Gallery
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Mac on Dime
(1939)