THE HISTORY OF OUR COLORADO GUEST RANCH
The C Lazy U Boasts a storied past as twisting as the river that suggested its name.
The story begins with two families and two ranches. Both the Smillies and McQuearys were territorial pioneers of Colorado. The Smillies owned the F Slash Ranch on Willow Creek while the McQueary family owned a ranch on Dexter Ridge. These two ranches were connected by what the families came to refer to as “the Midnight Trail,” and later became forever joined through the marriage of Aubrey Fenton “Jack” Smillie and Gertrude McQueary.
Gertrude’s father Milton Green McQueary ran the inn at Dexter and the post office known as Dexter (this building was our “Dexter House,” used for staff housing, before being lost in the East Troublesome Fire). What became the F Slash Ranch was purchased by Jack’s brother, Wilson Smillie, in 1917 under the encouragement of their mother, Christina, who wanted a ranch for Jack to manage or own. Jack had always wanted to be a cowboy, even though his parents had put great effort into educating him to be a professional of some kind, like his siblings. Jack arrived at the ranch in the summer of 1917 and subsequently married Gertrude in 1919.
Today’s C Lazy U started out as a working ranch in 1917. The family of Aubrey “Jack” Fenton Smillie bought the property on Willow Creek that year and soon had guests knocking on the door of what they branded as the F Slash ranch. The “F” was a nod to Aubrey’s middle name, Fenton. Jack enlisted in the army in 1917, was discharged in 1918 and he and Gertrude McQueary secretly married in Denver in 1919. It was after their marriage that they returned to the F Slash to begin their guest ranching enterprise in earnest. They developed the F Slash into what would be a successful working guest ranch through its sale in mid-1945.
Smillie and his family of four children built the barn without side wings in 1922 along with several other structures which are still standing: the Meadow House, River House, the old Bunk House, Spring House and Aspen House. They also built the Ranch House, which served as home to the Smillies with a kitchen and dining room for their guests. Today, that house has four additional guest wings and a lower level office and is home to our winter spa. The small log structure between the Ranch House and the Lodge was the bathhouse, which contained his and her showers; a rare luxury at the quarter century. With this expansion, the ranch could accommodate approximately two-dozen guests. They offered horseback riding, trout fishing and bear hunting, plus all the steaks and fresh baked pies you could eat, prepared by Gertrude Smillie. During the 1930s, guest rates were approximately $40 a week or $125 a month.
After running the F Slash for nearly 30 years, in 1945, the Smillies sold the ranch to Paul Carmichael and Colonel Jess Hart, a pilot for Continental Airlines. Eight months later, Carmichael and Hart sold the ranch to two Chicago businessmen, Mr. Peterson and Mr. LeFleur who were disillusioned with big city life, and purchased the ranch as a wonderful escape.
A year later in 1946, Dick and Katie Schoenberger of New York City, and their partner Ivor Peterson purchased the ranch. The Schoenbergers met as executives working with the renowned New York design firm Norman Bel Geddes. Peterson was an electric motor manufacturer. The Schoenbergers later bought out Mr. Peterson, and Dick and Katie renamed the F Slash Ranch the C Lazy U Ranch after the shape of Willow Creek which runs through the ranch. Before the creek was dammed in the late 1940’s, its meandering course seemed to spell out a C with a U on its side underneath it when viewed from above, hence, the name C Lazy U.
The Schoenbergers brought with them just the right dose of New York sophistication to complement the rustic charm of the ranch. Throw in a dash of Katie’s southern manners and a sprinkle of Dick’s humor, and the newly christened C Lazy U Ranch began a new era of success.
Construction of the Lodge began in 1947. The lodge pole pine logs were all felled from the Baldy hillside directly adjacent to the lodge site and dragged to the construction location by chains attached to Jeeps. All of the stripping, notching, and joining were done on site. Most of the custom log work was performed by the project foreman, a one armed man named Pate Nunnley. The quality of their work never ceases to amaze guests and owners alike. The lodge became the immediate focus of the ranch for dining and entertaining. Guest rates in 1947 were $130 per week.
One year later, in 1948 the east and west wings were built, adding and connecting six guest rooms to the Lodge. With this final expansion, the Schoenbergers decided to entertain guests during the winter months as well. But the ranch still needed one extra ingredient: a program for children.
Marion “Mare” Palmer came to the C Lazy U Ranch as a guest in 1949, from Oak Park, Illinois. Already an accomplished horsewoman, she immediately fell in love with the beauty of the Rockies and became friends with the Schoenbergers. What the ranch needed, she thought, was a way for families to be together on vacation but also have opportunity for adult time, so she started the children’s program. The program provided riding instruction along with entertainment and learning.
The ranch became a place where children could ride, eat, and play together, yet still be with their parents a considerable amount of the time. Mare continued her own riding, showing horses and winning numerous prizes and awards in prestigious events such as the Denver Stock Show, the American Royal in Kansas City, and Madison Square Garden in New York. The young lady who came to the ranch as a guest never looked back.
Another long-time familiar face was Dawn Cone, forever head horse wrangler at the C Lazy U Ranch. Dawn started working at the ranch in 1955, sharing his expert horsemanship, dry humor and tenor voice. His was a voice you heard both on the trail and by the campfire. Sadly, Dawn passed away in February of 2013, while partaking in one of his favorite activities – cross-country skiing in the Rocky Mountains near the ranch.
The Patio House and swimming pool were built in 1957, just before construction of the trap shooting range. The ranch was changing quite rapidly during this time, flourishing as a full-scale resort with the addition of new facilities and new programs for its guests. Sadly, Dick became suddenly ill and died in 1963. Katie continued to operate the guest ranch successfully for 11 years until she sold it in 1973.
The new owners were George and Virginia Mullin of Denver, who discovered the ranch on their honeymoon. They too, fell in love with the C Lazy U Ranch and operated the ranch as successfully as they did their other companies in Denver. The Mullins continued the high standards set by the Schoenbergers, adding their charm and hospitality along with the construction of new guest units, a racquetball court, whirlpool, sauna, and game room. The Mullins extended the summer season into October and further developed the winter program by adding groomed cross-country ski trails. The Mullins ran the ranch for 15 years, before selling it to the Murray family of Kansas City.
Clark and Peg Murray were vacationing with friends in Colorado when they first heard of the C Lazy U back in 1958. They telephoned Katie Schoenberger, but the ranch was booked that week in July, however Katie extended an invitation to dinner since she couldn’t accommodate them for lodging. One dinner was good enough for Clark and Peg. The next summer they came back with their twin sons. Then four years later, they all returned and also brought along their youngest son, and continued to return nearly every summer for the next 30 years. But it wasn’t until the summer of 1988, that the fates of the C Lazy U Ranch and the Murray family were to intertwine.
Over the next 30 years, the ranch became a second home for the Murray family, a haven in which to relax and be with friends who shared their love of the ranch. The dream of owning the C Lazy U Ranch was never seriously considered until a chance visit by Clark and his youngest son, Brian, brought them to Grand County on newspaper business in August of 1988. That visit spurred a series of negotiations, which resulted in transfer of ownership of the C Lazy U Ranch from the Mullins to the Murrays later that year. The Murray family continued in the footsteps of their predecessors and the tradition of providing guests with “the vacation of a lifetime.”
An extended family partnership was announced by Brian Murray on May 1, 2008. Just as it has been over its long and storied history, the ranch remained family-owned. Four families united through their mutual love and appreciation of C Lazy U Ranch to preserve its legacy. The new family partnership brought together the expertise and resources necessary to improve the ranch vacation experience and infrastructure, while maintaining the core values of a family guest ranch.
The Murray family was delighted to welcome the families of Don Bailey and Leslie Stanford, Linda and Bill Jacobs, and Adrienne and Dean Singleton as partners in ownership of the C Lazy U Ranch. Not long after the expanded family partnership the Jacobs and Murrays decided to sell their share of the ranch to the Singleton and Bailey-Stanford families in 2011. The two remaining families united with a common goal to continue to operate as the Premier Guest Ranch in North America for generations to come, upholding the C Lazy U Ranch legacy and maintaining and preserving the land while providing a superior experience for guests and members.
Don and Leslie of Denver along with their three children, Brooke, Tristan and Dorian, fell in love with the C Lazy U Ranch during a Buck Brannaman horsemanship clinic in 1999. The Baileys have since built a home at the C Lazy U Homesteads and spend several weeks a year at the ranch. While all three daughters have actively enjoyed the children’s program in their younger years, they have also demonstrated their love of the ranch by working on staff as children’s counselors and as part of the wait staff.
Adrienne and Dean Singleton, also of Denver, along with their children William, Adam, and Paige, have spent many winter holidays at the ranch. The Singletons were so enchanted with C Lazy U Ranch’s legacy that they contributed to its preservation by acquiring significant portions of land that are critical to maintaining the picturesque views. The Singleton’s participation ensured the ranch could preserve a combined total of 8,500 acres for the enjoyment of all.
We think you will find the spirit of the C Lazy U Ranch unchanged, yet with a new energy that will spark a wonderful revival. The atmosphere around the ranch is truly exciting, especially as people hear about our commitment to preserving and revitalizing one of the last great American western experiences.
East Troublesome Fire
On October 14th, 2020, a small brushfire started 13 miles from the ranch but within one day spread to over 4,000 acres. It was named the East Troublesome Fire due to its origination point in the East Troublesome basin west of the C Lazy U Ranch.
Due to its exceedingly rapid growth, the C Lazy Ranch guests, staff, horses and livestock were evacuated along with valuables, saddles, and historical documents. This extraordinary task was completed with the assistance of many local residents and caring individuals who came from as far away as Colorado Springs and Aspen. Horses were evacuated twice: once from C Lazy U Ranch and then again from a private ranch in Granby. Though the C Lazy U Ranch compound was spared early on, the erratic weather and fast-moving pace of the spread left no confidence that it was over.
In a joint effort between the ranch and firefighters, many precautions were taken to protect the property, such as starting controlled burns, removing flammable debris and digging firelines. The ranch compound remaining mostly intact is attributed to these amazing efforts.
On October 21st, the wind shifted and accelerated towards the ranch over Dexter Ridge. At 5:00pm that evening the emergency evacuation was ordered by the Fire Incident Command Center.
On October 22nd, the fire rapidly spread through the entire ranch property including the main compound, member communities and over extensive land and trails. Firefighters were called in after Sheriff Brett Schroetlin checked in on the ranch on his way home and discovered the barn on fire. Though it was too late for the barn, the fire at the Patio House was put out just in time. Their timely, valiant efforts saved a majority of the ranch property.
Ultimately the East Troublesome Fire caused significant damage to C Lazy U Ranch including the loss of two on-property employee housing residences, eight member owned homes, 700 bales of hay, countless miles of fencing and of course, our iconic and beloved barn.
After the fire, ranch ownership and management formed a task force called Vision 2121, to assist in the fire recovery and conduct the planning for the ranch for the next 100 years. Some tasks were short term; filing insurance claims, replacing lost hay, preparing to reopen after 5 months, while other plans continue to be longer term; caring for the landscape and designing a barn appropriate for the next generation of the ranch.
East Troublesome Fire was a challenge for the ranch team, and in many respects the ranch came through the tragedy stronger and with a clearer vision for the future of the property.