Local ranchwoman, Dorothy Louise Beasley, has taken her extensive years of experience both growing up and living on a ranch and brought together a collaboration of stories to pen a book. Voices From The Prairies: Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Ranch Women, features stories from other ranchwomen across the Prairies, like Beasley, who share their lived experiences.

“I get so enthused about the co-authors’ stories and the learnings that can be gleaned from them, as ranch women are a breed of their own with ingenuity, thoughtfulness, resilience to create something out of nothing, preserving foods from the garden and making jams and jellies with wild and tame fruits,” said Beasley. “They teach us about becoming self-sufficient, living off the land, and depending upon the income from the sale of the livestock they raise to put food, clothing and other necessities on the table. “Ranch women support their rural communities by volunteering to keep things moving forward. Our rural communities, with the school at the heart, help us raise our children to be whatever they want out of life. Most of the children raised within the livestock industry in these rural communities have become responsible, successful people within our society.”

Beasley has spent her entire life living on a ranch and she knows the trials and tribulations, along with incredible hard work and resiliency it takes to fully provide for one’s family. Beasley’s journey has led her across the Prairies and into Boggy Creek, where she continues to travel back and forth between her two properties. “I was born and raised in a small rural community called North Gem,” said Beasley. “My paternal grandparents were livestock ranchers in Alberta. My grandfather came to Canada from England as a young lad of 16, in 1904, and lived with his cousin, learning how to ride a horse and become a livestock rancher. He married a young girl who was an excellent horsewoman. They raised four children, one of whom was my dad, Gordon Douglass. My father married a school teacher and raised three children, on a sheep and cattle ranch. “I married a cattle rancher, Carl, and after 48 years of marriage, we raised four children who are all successful people who have families of their own. We ended up living in Manitoba in 2010, as a result of buying the Kidd ranch north of Boggy Creek in 2002, as Beasley Ranching Company, which became a family-run ranching company comprised of three brothers and their mom and dad.

“In 2002, there was a drought in Alberta and Beasley Ranching Company Ltd. had 600 head of Black Angus cattle that needed to be fed,” said Beasley. “The land out here was a third of the price of land in Alberta and we had friends who came out here to Manitoba in 1999, so we bought the land, and shipped 600 cows to the ranch here north of Boggy Creek. My husband and his nephew, John Beasley, came out here and fenced all the land for cattle and the rest is history. “Carl and I moved out here to the Boggy Creek ranch in 2010, and have lived here part-time ever since. We also have a house near Patricia, AB, where we spend some of our winters helping our son Lee with the livestock ranch there.” Beasley has taken a different approach to her involvement in ranching. She went from being very hands-on to now sharing the experience with others. “I spend my time between the two ranches and now am almost fully retired, as the younger generations take over the reins,” said Beasley.

“I’m now a grandmother of 10 amazing grandchildren. Our children are all involved in the ranching industry and also want their children to be raised on a livestock ranch so they can learn about responsibilities and doing what their grandparents and parents have done to make a living off the livestock they raise. “This has left me with free time and so now I have a life of my own, doing the cooking show online, travelling as I can to visit relatives with my cousin Jacqui from Scotland and spending quality time with family and friends here in Boggy Creek and Patricia.” Beasley sent her book Voices From The Prairies: Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Ranch Women to the printers in mid-June and now has it available for purchase. The book also has a website, www.voicesfromtheprairies. ca. The launch of the book is just the beginning of more ventures for Beasley. “I’m also beginning a business called Prairie Voices Ranch Retreats that will be transformational four-day retreats for anyone wanting to learn more about ranch women, the things they did and still do, on an annual basis,” said Beasley. “The retreats will include making nutritious healthy meals together. As well as picking berries from wild fruit trees like the hawthorn bushes, saskatoons, and chokecherries and then making great pancake syrup. It will include relaxing with new friends around an open campfire, collaborating and connecting with four other people, as it will be an intimate group retreat.”