Photograph: Jason Wilson for the GuardianĬal Farley’s Boys Ranch is accustomed to the generosity of well-heeled donors, but is less used to having its reputation called into question. A very wealthy ranch – and a revoltĪ postcard of Cal Farley’s ranch that Steve Smith has kept. The ranch’s current CEO, Dan Adams, acknowledged the weight of the accusations against Waldrip, who died in 2013, but he said that other boys had had “very different experiences” with him and “admired and liked” him.įor the survivors who want to make the ranch accountable for the abuse – and have been encouraged to break their silence after Steve Smith brought them together in a Facebook group – this is an unbearable affront. Last month, at the behest of a wealthy donor who wrote a cheque for $1m to build a new dormitory, the ranch named the new building Waldrip House. They say Lamont Waldrip, a long-serving superintendent, was one of the worst abusers. They say the abuse went beyond them, and was systemic, affecting hundreds of others who went through the ranch. Rick, Steve, and six other men the Guardian spoke to named staff members responsible for the abuse, which lasted from the 1950s until at least the early 1990s. The other is when he talks about what happened to his younger brother Rick, and how powerless he was to help him. The first time is when he describes how a succession of dogs he owned, all called Boots, were killed by staff members.
He’s a tough man – he served in the Vietnam war and was wounded in the line of duty – and his piercing blue eyes only sprout tears twice. The ordeal has permanently damaged their lives.Īt the kitchen table in his immaculate home in the Amarillo suburbs, Steve, now almost 70, goes through all of the details of what happened to him without showing much pain. Some boys, including Rick Smith, were also sexually abused while under the care of the ranch. Along with the physical punishment, Steve’s pets were killed, and his friends were worked to the bone in atrocious conditions.