By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer 

Down by the old Southern Pacific Railhouse on E. Houston in Sherman sat a nondescript welding shop. It was to this welding shop that Bert Bond trekked in the summers of the 1950s and 60s. 

His granddad had opened the shop around the 1920s, and his dad went to work in it after World War II. There were always chores for Bert to do—sweeping the floors, painting metal projects. His main reason for being there, though, was because he had an endless curiosity for how things worked and how to fix them. That curiosity led Bert to an electrical engineering degree and a 41-year career at Texas Instruments. 

Now retired, Bert is still fixing things.

Around Reba’s Ranch House—a home away from home for caregivers—there is always a lightbulb that needs to be changed, a sink to unstop, or a flapper valve to replace. Bert is on call for the ranch house whenever they need him, whether it’s fixing something, or saying a prayer with a ranch house guest. 

“God is good to us,” Bert says. “A lot of times people just need someone to listen to them and cheer their day up. I think everyone could use a good word, or for someone to say a prayer for them and their family. It gives them hope and lifts them up for the day. And that’s basically what we’re here for, to make this place a better world.”

Helping people, especially with their medical needs, runs in Bert’s family through his mom and sister who were in healthcare. He is also using his retirement years to work in his church as the maintenance person and especially helping elderly ladies who need lightbulbs changed. 

A Jack of all trades, Bert’s early days of working in his granddad’s welding shop, and his Boy Scout merit badges for electricity and plumbing prepared him for the good work he now does. 

“And it keeps me out of trouble,” he said with a laugh.

The staff couldn’t imagine the world without Bert.

“He keeps us running,” says Marilyn Bice, director of Reba’s Ranch House. “He is kind, considerate, and solves most of our problems.”

Bert started helping around the ranch house over a decade ago when he installed handicap grab bars for the guest bathrooms. He saw the mission of the ranch house up close and knew he wanted to continue being a part of it.

“Reba’s Ranch House is such a blessing to our area and those needing a place to stay and unwind after a long day and night staying with their loved one in the hospital,” Bert says. “It is a privilege and pleasure working with all the wonderful individuals who work and volunteer here at the Ranch House.”

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

“They were looking for a sucker, and I didn’t realize it.” 

That was how Jim Bono became involved with the committee that organized the fundraising tournament for the local hospital, and later, Reba’s Ranch House.

Jim had no regrets after getting roped into helping wrangle the annual affair that featured celebrities from Dallas Cowboy players to up-and-coming country music stars. And of course, Reba always made an appearance.

Ronnie Cole, who was on the committee from the first year onward and was later chairman of it, recalled, “Reba would ride around on a golf cart visiting each team. That meant a lot to everyone. A couple of times, she stayed to hand out trophies. It was huge to have a superstar like her spend time with us.”

But long before prizes were awarded, a load of work faced the 15 committee members and dozens of volunteers. After months of planning and coordinating, Memorial Day morning started on the golf course at 6AM for Jim and Ronnie. Some years, they slogged through muddy terrain to prepare for the 18 teams and 180 golfers. But in over 15 years, the tournament was never rained out. 

Before the 9AM tee time, they welcomed celebrity golfers like Micky Mantle, Troy Aikman, Barry Switzer, and Vince Gill, though the country music singer had to leave early to prepare for that evening’s Reba concert.

Not everything was a hit with the participants, nor the committee. Ronnie and Jim still scoff about the “infamous yellow ball” contest.

“It was awful,” Ronnie said. “I don’t know whose idea it was, but I’m going to blame Jim.”

“I don’t know who to blame, but we want to blame someone for it,” Jim said with a laugh. “Like we needed something else to make the day longer.”

The bad idea was a scramble tournament where every team had a yellow ball to keep track of. If you lost your yellow ball, you were out, and the team that came in with the lowest score won a prize.

“People got so tired of keeping up with their yellow ball, they’d hit it out of bounds on purpose,” Ronnie added. 

There was plenty of success at each tournament, especially the number of sponsor prizes given out that ranged from umbrellas to golf shoes. The committee was proud of the number of women golfers who competed.

“We had prizes for women only,” Jim said. “Very few tournaments do that.”

At the end of each tournament, the committee kicked back and talked about the day, accessing what went well and what didn’t. The putting green and high number of prizes remained over the years, and sometimes the committee quadrupled their fundraising goal.

“I think people took an interest in the cause, which was the ranch house,” Jim said. “The house is one of those things you hope you never have to use, but you’re so glad it’s there when you do. We felt like we had a small piece of something to help others for years and years to come.”

“That’s what I think back on, the legacy of having the ranch house,” Ronnie said.

The work Ronnie and Jim put in, along with many committee members and volunteers, pays dividends today. Seven days a week, weary caregivers take refuge in Reba’s Ranch House during some of the stormiest days of their lives. 

Become a caregiver of caregivers today by contributing here to the daily operations of the house.

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

It was springtime, and Horace Groff just couldn’t say no when asked to volunteer for the upcoming fundraising concert. That was how he became involved with “feeding the masses” each Memorial Day weekend before the annual Reba concert, raising funds for the local hospital and Reba’s Ranch House. 

What started as a one-day event exploded when the concerts shifted from the football stadium where Horace and fellow volunteers grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. The concerts moved to the airport and the grills were replaced with mega smokers where the cooking crews fed people 15-18 hours a day for a whole week. Reba would bring in multiple semis plus buses filled with equipment.

“That was the kind of show she put on,” Horace said. “It was always top quality, and there were a lot of people in the background to make it happen.”

With those semis and buses came lots of people backstage looking for something to do—and something to eat. Then there were the local volunteers to feed: Staff from the hospital freely offered their time; students from the high school earned a concert ticket by setting up chairs; the ladies of the Reba Development Committee who organized everything.

And Horace was in the midst of it all, helping keep hundreds of people fed.

“Some workers would start at daylight, then they’d finish and another crew would come in,” Horace recalled the shifts. “The food service director at the hospital coordinated and bought the food. We would show up and do briskets and sometimes fried fish. There were several of us with cooking equipment, and we always felt good about giving back to the community.”

Born and raised in Denison, Horace served as the county judge for 21 years, so another unique task fell to him. He became a liaison between the committee and the airport, helping iron out wrinkles in flight schedules, timing for setup and the concert.

The Memorial Day concert got underway at dark as the late spring heat cooled from the day. Horace and the brisket smokers were set up backstage and he had no trouble hearing the lively concerts. 

Still, the best part for him was the fellowship—everyone from big name country stars to high schoolers.

“You had a lot of people backstage,” Horace said. “It got to be quite a production to get all that done, but we had hundreds of volunteers show up and pitch in. A good time was had by all.”

The monumental effort Horace and his cooking crew put forward is paying dividends today for every caregiver who finds refuge at Reba’s Ranch House.

After 30 years, “Feeding the masses” remains part of the ranch house. Churches and other community members bring food weekly for exhausted caregivers to have a hot meal and snacks. The kitchen in the ranch house is available to caregivers 24/7.

You can continue Horace and the food crew’s legacy of feeding hungry souls by contributing to the ranch house here! 

By Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer

Reba’s Heroes:

A Series Highlighting Our Wonderful Volunteers

From the early days of Reba’s Ranch House, the heart of volunteers beat throughout the space to bring peace and comfort to all the guests who walk through the door.

This series is our chance to publicly thank our precious volunteers who consistently show up and provide for the many needs we have. The ranch house operates like any home — laundry, meals, cleaning, bedding, prayers. 

We couldn’t exist without our dedicated volunteers. Thank you!

Handmade Comfort

When guests come to Reba’s Ranch House, it’s because they are experiencing a crippling crisis, something that pulls them almost to the floor.

But instead, they have a place to rest. Opportunities to talk with someone and pray. Handmade quilts to draw over them like a grandmother’s hug.

In 1990, before Reba’s Ranch House officially opened, local ladies worked through the Grayson County Extension Office to take on a tremendous project — crafting twenty handmade quilts for the bedrooms where guests at the house stay.

It started when Jerri Lane, Grayson County Extension Agent, was asked to gather a small troop of ladies to dedicate two years to design and make the quilts. Jerri was an agent at the extension office for over thirty years.

With several ladies on the project, they started at a quilt shop in Denton to choose colors and decide on patterns. On that first trip, they bought $1,000 worth of fabric. The volunteers consisted of Anne Gary, Jeanie Graber, Jerri Lane, Jana Caroyl, and co-chairman Gerry Dougherty.

Gerry fondly recalls the adventure. “We had a plan, a full committee, designs for each quilt, and a start. Two of the ladies taught us the new name for a certain red — the Reba Red. It was more of a barn red, but that and the blues we used throughout our project took on a whole new meaning!”

They worked out of the extension office at the Grayson County Courthouse, tables spilling over with fabric, supplies, and always a quilt in the frame. The ladies kept busy for a year and a half and were ready to present the quilts at a special tea attended by Reba McEntire’s mom and dad. The quilts were added to the guest rooms at the original Reba’s Ranch House and later transferred to the new building.

“We also did thirty-one shams for the pillows on the beds — eight bedrooms full,” Gerry says. “We were delighted to be involved in such a worthy project. Ann Arnold, who worked at Reba’s Ranch House for a long time, took good care of the quilts. When she washed them, she would dry them over the rails of the porch. What a pretty sight they were!”

And what a sight they are for everyone who walks into a guest room at Reba’s Ranch House, greeted with the comfort of a handmade quilt.