When Ralph Showers opened the doors of Rainbow Acres as a home for adults with developmental disabilities in 1974, he didn’t know how big the organization would grow.
Today, the ranch-style community covers 27 acres and is home to more than 90 residents, or ranchers, as they are called.
Last weekend, Rainbow Acres celebrated more than 40 years of service and ministry to the community and a legacy that has helped more than 400 ranchers.
It was the ranch’s annual open house and there was a lot more to celebrate than just helping out the ranchers.
It’s just part of a larger event, which brought family members of ranchers in from all over the country.
The organization held an official dedication for the Oikos House, the latest modern residence for the organization.
“It’s the last house in our original layout, so we’re excited about that,” said Margie Beach, Rainbow Acres spokeswoman.
She said that the new home construction was funded by the American Baptist Churches of Los Angeles, the Southwest and Hawaii. It was a $450,000 project.
“It’s our 12th house,” Beach said. “It’s pretty exciting.”
The house will be home to ten ranchers, Beach said, along with some support staff.
There’s a lot for the ranchers to do.
They even have a radio station.
KOTR, or K-Over the Rainbow, broadcasts everything from music and news to sports and inspirational messages keeping in line with Rainbow Acres’ core Christian mission.
There are also things growing at Rainbow Acres. The local greenhouse was open to families and the public over the weekend.
Radishes, tomatoes, squash, peppers, garlic, herbs and spices, everything grown in the greenhouse is put to good use.
The ranchers also turn out a variety of crafts, many of which were on display for the event.
Ranchers made items like decorative stepping stones with colorful glass.
The ranch turns out more than 400 stones a year, said Diane Turner, a Rainbow Acres associate who works in the computer lab.
Around 120 of those stones were on display and for sale.
While not everything is for sale, the ranchers are proud of the work they produce.
Susan Welch showed off a painting of a bear she had created.
“It’s my first bear painting,” Welch said. “It took me around three weeks.”
The ranchers also take care of animals.
The ranchers are supervised at all times when riding the horses that are on the property, but nearly 30 of the ranchers participate in caring for the animals, including making sure they are fed and their stalls are mucked out.
Kelly O’Neill, who lives at Rainbow Acres, was demonstrating her skill with a horse.
“I’ve been here for about six-and-a-half years,” O’Neill said.
The barn at Rainbow Acres also has a room filled with books about horses, where ranchers who are part of the “horse crew” learn all about the animals.
Other animals were brought out, including cows, llama and emus, to look and be looked at by the public.
There was food to give to the animals and it quickly became apparent emus aren’t impressed with bagels.
Cows are less picky, however.
