October 2024 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN October 2024 Page 27 By Lois Szymanski Each year, fans of Margue- rite Henry’s book “Misty of Chin- coteague” flock to the islands of Chincoteague and Assateague in Virginia, and many make their way to the iconic Beebe Ranch to see where Misty of Chincoteague once lived. In 2023, the Beebe family found they needed to sell the ranch. While they had an offer from a developer, no one in the family wanted that. That’s when Billy Beebe spoke to Cindy Faith, executive director of The Museum of Chincoteague Island. The museum had been conduct- ing tours at the ranch for some time. Could they raise funds to purchase the ranch? Many thought raising that much money was a bridge too far, but they underestimated the dedication and love Misty had inspired across the country. What a surprise it was when the mu- seum raised the full asking price of $625,000, with settlement on June 30, 2024. For Billy Beebe, this was a dream come true. After the sale, he continued to work with the museum on fundraising, mainte- nance, continued tours and future plans. One of his goals was to see the museum rebuild the barn which had been lost to fire in 2019. Then, without warning Billy was diagnosed with leukemia. On May 24, 2024, after a six-week battle, he passed away at the age of 70. Bonnie spoke of Billy’s dream for the barn. “He was hoping they would try to get it as close to what the original was. But he understood they needed extra space for classrooms, and storage. It wasn’t your typical big, tall barn with a hay loft,” she said of the old barn. “It always reminded me of a low-slung shed with a low roof, almost like a long run-in, or the long front porch on an old house with all the windows.” They’d been away in North Carolina when the barn caught on fire. Bonnie recalled how Denise Bowden from the fire company had called them at 11:40 p.m. that night. “She was the first one on the scene. Before the trucks even got there, she had the water hose out soaking the ground around the house to protect it,” Bonnie shared. “After the barn burned, we didn’t know what to do about the tours. The barn was a huge part of our tour. We’d had display cases in there, and the historic stalls, and we played a movie in there for visitors. But then we decided, even if the barn was gone, its history was still here. Now, by rebuilding the barn, we will be picking up where history left off. We are looking forward to the future of the Beebe Ranch.” Cindy said for at least two years before he passed, she and Billy had talked about how great it would be to rebuild the barn. “In the process of talking and dreaming about it, we thought, wouldn’t it be nice to Fundraising to Replace Iconic Barn at Beebe Ranch Begins have it look like the original barn from the front. I knew we would need to start on house renova- tions first and I didn’t want to start another fundraiser right on the heels of the first one,” she said. “The first phase of reno- vation was going to be $88,000, but we did get a $50,000 grant toward that.” Offers to help came quickly. “Arne Breland, of Breland and Son construction company on the island, got the quotes and contracts for the repairs. He did quite a few things on the exterior that I didn’t even ask for, just because he saw the need, and he didn’t charge us for those things. Like, under the house, he realized the steps were vulnerable because the slabs were not supported. He fixed that and didn’t charge us. Then, in phase two, I mentioned we wanted a handicap accessible bathroom. I was away for two weeks and when I came back, he had torn down a wall, extended the bathroom and made it com- pletely handicapped accessible with no charge.” She hesitated. “If you look for the good people in this world you will find them.” While the new barn will not be exactly the same, it will be (Continued on page 32) an homage to the original barn. Cindy shared how the museum hopes to add storage space, with room in the center to park the bus they use for their Road Scholar program tours. “Mostly, it has to be a nice home for the ponies,” she said. “We hope to have classes in the barn, too, and a pavilion.” A 2019 fire destroyed the original Beebe Ranch barn. The Museum of Chincoteague Island is raising funds to rebuild the barn, adding storage space, classrooms, and a pavilion in addition to space for the Chincoteague ponies.