Oken, Stan, 2016 Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award recipient
Item
Title
Oken, Stan, 2016 Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award recipient
Description
Discusses his upbringing and early loss of his mother, working at a summer camp and being inspired by it and playing baseball in college. He talks about working as a coach and teacher before going into a partnership to open Riverway Ranch Camp, a children's summer camp. He later bought Wonder Valley Ranch and raised his children in the business. He talks about surviving the MGM Grand fire in Las Vegas and how it affected him and how it inspired him to partner with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation to bring child burn victims to the ranch. He discusses the two books he's written as well as serving on the Chamber of Commerce, the advisory board of the Fresno Grizzlies and with the San Joaquin Political Academy.
Creator
Oken, Stan
Relation
Leon S. Peters Legacy Collection
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
2016
Format
Microsoft Word 2013 document, 2 pages
Identifier
SCMS_lspl_00037
extracted text
>> Stan Oken: Well, I was born in Chicago and moved, my parents moved to Los Angeles when
I was ten years old. My mother became very ill at the age of 37 and was bedridden for seven
years before she passed away. So we always felt the responsibility to try to bring some money in
and so I went to work at the age of 12 and then when my mother passed we were kind of,
I was kind of my own I went to work in the mountains at a camp as a pot washer, a
dishwasher and I remember I was fifteen years old at the time and I remember looking out the
windows and seeing all the kids having such a great time, and I know someday I'm going to
direct this camp.
I went to junior college, city college. I played baseball there, then I went to Cal State LA I played
baseball there so I was a--I ended up with a five-year varsity letters in baseball and decided that I
was never going to be good enough to be a major league ballplayer, even
though I was offered some contracts as a minor league player, I decided that
I would go into coaching. While I was coaching and teaching at the same time I
went into a partnership with two other coaches and we opened up Riverway Ranch
Camp, which is a children's summer resident camp. We leased land in Three
Rivers.
I bought Wonder Valley in 1973 my partners did not want any part of it, they didn't
want to take the risk so I had to resign my teaching, gave up my coaching, took all
my retirement money and spent one month. This is not a job to a lot of people, this is
a lifestyle and we have been very fortunate to have a nucleus of some great people that have been
very loyal to the company. All three of my children started as dishwashers they worked in
maintenance, they worked as housekeepers and maids. They started to get into activities they
were all waterfront directors staff, all ski instructors, learned every activity including the ropes
course and talents and so they knew every aspect of the business.
Most of our clientele are successful businesspeople, professional people, doctors, lawyers, movie
Stars and we had royalty from many different countries. Riverway Ranch Camp is the name of
the camp and it was listed number two as one of the fifty most amazing camps in the United
States. Seventy-four percent of our children come back, we get almost 90% of
our adult groups that come back, so we’ve divided you know the camp for three months. We do
the burn camp for one week, we work with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation.
When I first started with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation it was a result of my
being in the MGM fire.
>> Newscaster: At this point, smoke rising from the MGM could be seen for miles around and
firefighters were rushing toward the MGM from all over the Las Vegas area. Police requested
assistance from all available helicopters to help in the evacuation.
>> Stan Oken: My survivor’s guilt that did not go away until I started bringing these burned kds
over. What I did for them it was for me, it made me feel better about myself. It made me feel
there was a reason why I survived that.
The book is called Raising the Whole Child, Gardens of Destiny. It takes adults that will nurture
children, nurture children like you would nurture a garden. If you don’t nurture the garden, it
turns to weeds and dies, no different than a child. And I have taken everything that I’ve learned
and put it into that first book and then the second book is a history book of Wonder Valley, it’s
called Wonder Valley Then and Now and it includes all the previous owners, it includes the
homesteaders that lived in this area and goes all the way back to the days of the Indians, the
Choinumni Indians.
I've always had an interest in the political arena. I’ve always kept abreast of what was happening
so I did serve that one-year term and two four year terms and two terms as chairman of the
board. It was a tremendous experience. I was asked to start and I was the first chairman and
remained chairman of the San Joaquin Political Academy. The Chamber of Commerce wanted to
raise the bar for people running for political office in Fresno County. I’m working with the
Grizzlies; I’ve been working with them for fifteen years. I chair their advisory board. I have
always felt that the Leon S. Peters Award was the probably the highest honor that somebody
could get, so it was surprising to me. I was very surprised, never thought that I would be
considered to be with such an esteemed group of people, but I am very honored.
I was ten years old. My mother became very ill at the age of 37 and was bedridden for seven
years before she passed away. So we always felt the responsibility to try to bring some money in
and so I went to work at the age of 12 and then when my mother passed we were kind of,
I was kind of my own I went to work in the mountains at a camp as a pot washer, a
dishwasher and I remember I was fifteen years old at the time and I remember looking out the
windows and seeing all the kids having such a great time, and I know someday I'm going to
direct this camp.
I went to junior college, city college. I played baseball there, then I went to Cal State LA I played
baseball there so I was a--I ended up with a five-year varsity letters in baseball and decided that I
was never going to be good enough to be a major league ballplayer, even
though I was offered some contracts as a minor league player, I decided that
I would go into coaching. While I was coaching and teaching at the same time I
went into a partnership with two other coaches and we opened up Riverway Ranch
Camp, which is a children's summer resident camp. We leased land in Three
Rivers.
I bought Wonder Valley in 1973 my partners did not want any part of it, they didn't
want to take the risk so I had to resign my teaching, gave up my coaching, took all
my retirement money and spent one month. This is not a job to a lot of people, this is
a lifestyle and we have been very fortunate to have a nucleus of some great people that have been
very loyal to the company. All three of my children started as dishwashers they worked in
maintenance, they worked as housekeepers and maids. They started to get into activities they
were all waterfront directors staff, all ski instructors, learned every activity including the ropes
course and talents and so they knew every aspect of the business.
Most of our clientele are successful businesspeople, professional people, doctors, lawyers, movie
Stars and we had royalty from many different countries. Riverway Ranch Camp is the name of
the camp and it was listed number two as one of the fifty most amazing camps in the United
States. Seventy-four percent of our children come back, we get almost 90% of
our adult groups that come back, so we’ve divided you know the camp for three months. We do
the burn camp for one week, we work with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation.
When I first started with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation it was a result of my
being in the MGM fire.
>> Newscaster: At this point, smoke rising from the MGM could be seen for miles around and
firefighters were rushing toward the MGM from all over the Las Vegas area. Police requested
assistance from all available helicopters to help in the evacuation.
>> Stan Oken: My survivor’s guilt that did not go away until I started bringing these burned kds
over. What I did for them it was for me, it made me feel better about myself. It made me feel
there was a reason why I survived that.
The book is called Raising the Whole Child, Gardens of Destiny. It takes adults that will nurture
children, nurture children like you would nurture a garden. If you don’t nurture the garden, it
turns to weeds and dies, no different than a child. And I have taken everything that I’ve learned
and put it into that first book and then the second book is a history book of Wonder Valley, it’s
called Wonder Valley Then and Now and it includes all the previous owners, it includes the
homesteaders that lived in this area and goes all the way back to the days of the Indians, the
Choinumni Indians.
I've always had an interest in the political arena. I’ve always kept abreast of what was happening
so I did serve that one-year term and two four year terms and two terms as chairman of the
board. It was a tremendous experience. I was asked to start and I was the first chairman and
remained chairman of the San Joaquin Political Academy. The Chamber of Commerce wanted to
raise the bar for people running for political office in Fresno County. I’m working with the
Grizzlies; I’ve been working with them for fifteen years. I chair their advisory board. I have
always felt that the Leon S. Peters Award was the probably the highest honor that somebody
could get, so it was surprising to me. I was very surprised, never thought that I would be
considered to be with such an esteemed group of people, but I am very honored.
>> Stan Oken: Well, I was born in Chicago and moved, my parents moved to Los Angeles when
I was ten years old. My mother became very ill at the age of 37 and was bedridden for seven
years before she passed away. So we always felt the responsibility to try to bring some money in
and so I went to work at the age of 12 and then when my mother passed we were kind of,
I was kind of my own I went to work in the mountains at a camp as a pot washer, a
dishwasher and I remember I was fifteen years old at the time and I remember looking out the
windows and seeing all the kids having such a great time, and I know someday I'm going to
direct this camp.
I went to junior college, city college. I played baseball there, then I went to Cal State LA I played
baseball there so I was a--I ended up with a five-year varsity letters in baseball and decided that I
was never going to be good enough to be a major league ballplayer, even
though I was offered some contracts as a minor league player, I decided that
I would go into coaching. While I was coaching and teaching at the same time I
went into a partnership with two other coaches and we opened up Riverway Ranch
Camp, which is a children's summer resident camp. We leased land in Three
Rivers.
I bought Wonder Valley in 1973 my partners did not want any part of it, they didn't
want to take the risk so I had to resign my teaching, gave up my coaching, took all
my retirement money and spent one month. This is not a job to a lot of people, this is
a lifestyle and we have been very fortunate to have a nucleus of some great people that have been
very loyal to the company. All three of my children started as dishwashers they worked in
maintenance, they worked as housekeepers and maids. They started to get into activities they
were all waterfront directors staff, all ski instructors, learned every activity including the ropes
course and talents and so they knew every aspect of the business.
Most of our clientele are successful businesspeople, professional people, doctors, lawyers, movie
Stars and we had royalty from many different countries. Riverway Ranch Camp is the name of
the camp and it was listed number two as one of the fifty most amazing camps in the United
States. Seventy-four percent of our children come back, we get almost 90% of
our adult groups that come back, so we’ve divided you know the camp for three months. We do
the burn camp for one week, we work with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation.
When I first started with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation it was a result of my
being in the MGM fire.
>> Newscaster: At this point, smoke rising from the MGM could be seen for miles around and
firefighters were rushing toward the MGM from all over the Las Vegas area. Police requested
assistance from all available helicopters to help in the evacuation.
>> Stan Oken: My survivor’s guilt that did not go away until I started bringing these burned kds
over. What I did for them it was for me, it made me feel better about myself. It made me feel
there was a reason why I survived that.
The book is called Raising the Whole Child, Gardens of Destiny. It takes adults that will nurture
children, nurture children like you would nurture a garden. If you don’t nurture the garden, it
turns to weeds and dies, no different than a child. And I have taken everything that I’ve learned
and put it into that first book and then the second book is a history book of Wonder Valley, it’s
called Wonder Valley Then and Now and it includes all the previous owners, it includes the
homesteaders that lived in this area and goes all the way back to the days of the Indians, the
Choinumni Indians.
I've always had an interest in the political arena. I’ve always kept abreast of what was happening
so I did serve that one-year term and two four year terms and two terms as chairman of the
board. It was a tremendous experience. I was asked to start and I was the first chairman and
remained chairman of the San Joaquin Political Academy. The Chamber of Commerce wanted to
raise the bar for people running for political office in Fresno County. I’m working with the
Grizzlies; I’ve been working with them for fifteen years. I chair their advisory board. I have
always felt that the Leon S. Peters Award was the probably the highest honor that somebody
could get, so it was surprising to me. I was very surprised, never thought that I would be
considered to be with such an esteemed group of people, but I am very honored.
I was ten years old. My mother became very ill at the age of 37 and was bedridden for seven
years before she passed away. So we always felt the responsibility to try to bring some money in
and so I went to work at the age of 12 and then when my mother passed we were kind of,
I was kind of my own I went to work in the mountains at a camp as a pot washer, a
dishwasher and I remember I was fifteen years old at the time and I remember looking out the
windows and seeing all the kids having such a great time, and I know someday I'm going to
direct this camp.
I went to junior college, city college. I played baseball there, then I went to Cal State LA I played
baseball there so I was a--I ended up with a five-year varsity letters in baseball and decided that I
was never going to be good enough to be a major league ballplayer, even
though I was offered some contracts as a minor league player, I decided that
I would go into coaching. While I was coaching and teaching at the same time I
went into a partnership with two other coaches and we opened up Riverway Ranch
Camp, which is a children's summer resident camp. We leased land in Three
Rivers.
I bought Wonder Valley in 1973 my partners did not want any part of it, they didn't
want to take the risk so I had to resign my teaching, gave up my coaching, took all
my retirement money and spent one month. This is not a job to a lot of people, this is
a lifestyle and we have been very fortunate to have a nucleus of some great people that have been
very loyal to the company. All three of my children started as dishwashers they worked in
maintenance, they worked as housekeepers and maids. They started to get into activities they
were all waterfront directors staff, all ski instructors, learned every activity including the ropes
course and talents and so they knew every aspect of the business.
Most of our clientele are successful businesspeople, professional people, doctors, lawyers, movie
Stars and we had royalty from many different countries. Riverway Ranch Camp is the name of
the camp and it was listed number two as one of the fifty most amazing camps in the United
States. Seventy-four percent of our children come back, we get almost 90% of
our adult groups that come back, so we’ve divided you know the camp for three months. We do
the burn camp for one week, we work with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation.
When I first started with the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation it was a result of my
being in the MGM fire.
>> Newscaster: At this point, smoke rising from the MGM could be seen for miles around and
firefighters were rushing toward the MGM from all over the Las Vegas area. Police requested
assistance from all available helicopters to help in the evacuation.
>> Stan Oken: My survivor’s guilt that did not go away until I started bringing these burned kds
over. What I did for them it was for me, it made me feel better about myself. It made me feel
there was a reason why I survived that.
The book is called Raising the Whole Child, Gardens of Destiny. It takes adults that will nurture
children, nurture children like you would nurture a garden. If you don’t nurture the garden, it
turns to weeds and dies, no different than a child. And I have taken everything that I’ve learned
and put it into that first book and then the second book is a history book of Wonder Valley, it’s
called Wonder Valley Then and Now and it includes all the previous owners, it includes the
homesteaders that lived in this area and goes all the way back to the days of the Indians, the
Choinumni Indians.
I've always had an interest in the political arena. I’ve always kept abreast of what was happening
so I did serve that one-year term and two four year terms and two terms as chairman of the
board. It was a tremendous experience. I was asked to start and I was the first chairman and
remained chairman of the San Joaquin Political Academy. The Chamber of Commerce wanted to
raise the bar for people running for political office in Fresno County. I’m working with the
Grizzlies; I’ve been working with them for fifteen years. I chair their advisory board. I have
always felt that the Leon S. Peters Award was the probably the highest honor that somebody
could get, so it was surprising to me. I was very surprised, never thought that I would be
considered to be with such an esteemed group of people, but I am very honored.