Patricia Holder is a mom not only to her six biological children, but to the girls who live with her at the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch in Batesville.
“I’m a full-time stay-at-home mom that just happens to have up to eight girls living with me at the same time,” Holder said.
“I wake the girls up at 5:30 a.m., and they get ready for school, tidy up their rooms and eat breakfast. We leave at 6:40 a.m. to go to the bus stop; then I go back to the house and do whatever house chores that need to be done,” Holder said.
“I go back to the bus stop at 4 p.m. There is tutoring, a snack and maybe some television before making dinner,” Holder said.
“When dinner is over, they have nightly chores, shower time and maybe some television before going to bed,” Holder said.
“I am the houseparent for teenage girls,” Holder said. “We have good relationships, they learn what I expect from them, and they are really good about trying to do what is expected.”
“They learn that I am going to be fair to each of them,” Holder said.
“I tell them that trust is a very special thing, and if they do something to break my trust, it takes a long time to get it back, so they all want me to trust them,” Holder said.
Holder lives in the new cottage at the ranch with teenage girls ages 13 to 18. Another cottage at the ranch exists for girls ages 12 and younger.
“Younger girls and older girls have different things they want to do. We’re trying to keep the younger girls young and let the older girls grow up like they need to,” Holder said, laughing.
Holder said many kids come to the ranch angry, resentful or distrustful.
“They have been removed for their home and don’t understand why,” Holder said.
“It’s amazing when you see the anger go away, and the child starts opening up and realizing that the ranch is a good place,” she said.
Holder said she had several different jobs before coming to the ranch, including day care work, restaurant work, farming and banking.
“All of the previous experience seems to fit in well here at the ranch,” Holder said.
“Benefits of the ranch for children include safety, a clean home to live in, the opportunity to learn responsibility and people who care about them and want the best for them always,” Holder said.
Holder said the children have all of their medical, vision, dental and emotional needs taken care of at the ranch.
“The ranch offers them every opportunity to succeed. We even provide tutoring for every child who needs it,” Holder said.
“The hardest part is finding out what these kids have had to go through,” Holder said.
“The abuse or neglect that some have endured just breaks my heart. You can’t help but want to put your arms around them to take away the pain,” Holder said.
Holder said the kids are not only involved in school trips and church functions, but the ranch provides activities all summer long.
Holder said they take field trips to Magic Springs, Altitude Trampoline Park, Loco Ropes, Blanchard Springs, the Little Rock Zoo, Lake Charles and more.
“We even have a summer camp planned for them this year,” Holder said.
“Of course, there are always things to do on the farm, too, like gardening, hauling hay, moving cattle, feeding goats, raking and painting. The list goes on and on,” Holder said.
Holder said kids are expected to follow the rules, be respectful to staff and each other, do their chores and do their best in school.
“We expect the same thing from these kids you would expect from your own,” she said.
“It has been a very rewarding three years. There have been some bad times, but there are lots more of the good times,” Holder explained. “That’s why I stay.”
Holder grew up in Mammoth Spring but moved to Batesville a few years ago.
Holder has six biological children —three boys and three girls — John, Michael, Jacob, Athania, Amy and Samantha, all from her first marriage.
“From these great kids, I now have 15 grandkids and three step-grandkids,” Holder said. “I am truly blessed.”
Patricia’s husband, Bob Holder, died in 2009 after a long illness.
“My husband, Bob, had five grown daughters when we married — Tammy, Kim, Kelly, Lori and Tracy. There are nine grandkids on that side of the family, plus great-grandkids now,” Holder said.
Holder also has five brothers and sisters.
“I tell these girls here at the ranch that they might try to pull something on me, but there isn’t much I haven’t seen or dealt with,” Holder said.
“I’m in awe by how much these kids have gone through and how much strength they have to keep going every day,” Holder said.
Holder said she has learned that while we all have our pasts, that doesn’t have to define who we can become.
Cheyenne Ingram, a full-time boys houseparent at the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch, has been working there since 1983.
“My husband already worked at the ranch as the mechanic, and they needed someone to do relief, so I volunteered. Little did I know at that point I would be hooked,” Ingram said.
“Having lost my own father [when I was] 9 years old, I felt a connection to the children,” Ingram said.
“Later in February of 1985, I lost my mother. It was a done deal then. I could not leave these children who needed someone to care about them,” Ingram said.
“I was young, but I found it came naturally for me. I had always wanted to be a probation officer, but this was even better,” Ingram said.
“The most important thing about my job is making sure my boys feel safe and loved,” she said.
“Patricia Holder is an extremely dedicated, hardworking woman who loves the children like her own,” Ingram said.
“It would be hard to pick out just one memorable time with Patricia because we here at the ranch do everything together like one big happy family,” Ingram said. “There is never a dull moment.”
“The need for more children to have a place to call home is even greater now than ever before,” Ingram said.
“We only had one girls house, and the need was great to take in sibling groups. The ranch had an existing house not being used, so they decided to remodel it and put girls 13 and up in there, leaving the other girls house for 12 and under,” Ingram said.
“We have several sibling groups here on the ranch, and this will allow us to take more so kids don’t have to be separated,” Ingram said.
“I am so honored to be a houseparent, and I am so blessed I get to love on these children,” she added.
“I tell each of the girls that they have an opportunity to change what was to what is. It’s up to them to make the choice to make things better,” Holder said.
“We give them the courage and self-confidence to make things better in their lives,” Holder said. “It’s up to them to do it.”
Staff writer Kayla Baugh can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or kbaugh@arkansasonline.com.