October 2024 Issue

Page 32 October 2024 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Oct. 10-20, 2024 Farm Show Complex Harrisburg, PA H H H H H 78 th Y E A R Team Night Foundation Friday $100,000 Grand Prix de Penn National Turnham Green/USEF Junior Jumper National Championships Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final USEF/NCEA Medal Final – East Marshall & Sterling Penn National Children’s & Adult Championships LifeVac Therapeutic Riding Championships Family Fun Day and Much More! Enriching Lives Through Equestrian Sport P urchase T ickeTs and M ore aT Pa naTional . org Fundraising to Replace Iconic Barn at Beebe Ranch Begins According to Cindy, a lot of thought has gone into how renovations will affect the ponies on the property. They want to do what is best for them as well. “We’d promised Billy we would keep the ponies on the property, so they’d be there for visitors to enjoy,” Cindy said of Billy’s three Chincoteague Ponies. Of the three ponies, Angel and Drizzle are Misty descen- dants. Pearl is an island born pony out of Black Pearl. “Since Billy passed, his next- door neighbor, Mike has been taking care of them, day in and day out with no pay, but they don’t get a whole lot of daily atten- tion,” Cindy said. “Then, Billy’s sister Barbaras’s son, Jeff Massey reached out to Bonnie with a plan for the ponies for the winter. He offered to bring the ponies to his farm in Greenbackville, Virginia for the winter. It’s something he will do every year. With him, they’ll get one-on-one attention every day throughout the winter. He’s even volunteered to take care of their medical expenses and get them socialized with other ponies. This is another huge gift.” The museum is applying for a grant to help pay for the barn, but even if they do receive the grant, it will not cover the full cost. They are hoping Misty fans will pitch in again. “Billy and his friends had been working on a redesign of the corral area, with two square [pasture] areas for the ponies and a walk- way between that leads toward the barn,” Cindy revealed. “That side will look like the old barn, but it will be wider and large enough to accommodate what we need.” Special fundraising events to help with expenses included a fall wine tasting at the museum, a talk on Chincoteague Ponies by pony tracker, Darcy Cole, and a Septem- ber 21 dinner cruise with Daisey’s Island Cruises with stops at a series of island restaurants providing din- ner. In addition, student Abby Mast made a horse-themed quilt as part of her Target 4-H Club’s Diamond Clover project which she donated to the museum. In a drawing last month, she drew the winner - a Chincoteague Pony lover from California. That raffle raised $2,500 for the Beebe Ranch. Then, there was the shingle fundraiser. “The cedar shingles on the Beebe house had been painted. Many were damaged and some had mold or were decomposing,” Cindy shared. “Billy had suggest- ed we not throw away the good cedar shingles.” Bonnie remembered how it unfolded. “Billy came in the house one day and said, ‘That dumpster is filled up with shingles from the house.’ He said, ‘I am going to call Suzanne. We need to get them out of the dumpster,’ Bon- nie recalled.” He was talking about Su- zanne Cox, owner of the Beach and Bead shop on the island “She had done these orna- ments the year before that were sort of laser cut. She had some of Misty, some of Paul and Mau- reen, and Grandpa Beebe. Being Miss Rule-Follower here, I said, ‘Billy, that’s not your trash. You should call Cindy at the museum to ask if you can get in there.’ Of course, she said yes.” Cindy said Billy and Su- zanne climbed into the dumpster to save those shingles. And after Billy passed, Suzanne turned them into unique works of art. “We worked on quotes to make a variety of images and then put them online for auction,” Cindy said. “We paid her a small amount of money for her help, because she spent hours on it. I would say Suzanne spent hundreds of hours working on these shingles. That is not an exaggeration.” The shingles fundraiser brought in about $8,000. According to Cindy, people continue to come forward to offer help in various areas of expertise, including architects and drafts- man who have offered their time to design the new barn. Museum personnel are pains- takingly going through items in the attic of the house and finding unique items, including letters from children written to Misty, letters to Paul and Maureen Beebe, and even letters from author, Marguerite Henry to the Beebe family. Meanwhile, tours continue at the ranch. Billy had always been there for the tours. Now, Bon- nie said their daughter Rebecca helps, along with 13-year-old grandson, Lucas. And Bonnie helps, too. “In January, we will be announcing another fundraiser with a partner people may know,” Cindy added, excitement tinging her voice. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but it is another remind- er of the love for Misty and the Beebe family that people have, and a reminder that this legacy will continue on.” An outreach for donations continues, not only for the barn, but for ongoing upkeep of the property and care of the Chin- coteague Ponies housed there. “Since Billy passed, we have been on a mission to have this barn rebuilt,” Cindy said. “I think he is looking down and watching over us.” Bonnie agreed. “Even though it will not re- place the old barn, it will be a nod to Misty and to the Beebe Ranch,” Bonnie said. “We are looking toward what the future holds.” Donations can be made by mail to: PO Box 352, Chincote- ague, VA, 23336, from their web- site at chincoteaguemuseum.com, or by phone at 757-336-6117. To specify donations for the barn, write in the memo section online or note when donating by phone or mail. (Continued from page 27)