Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People
A full-color photography book showcasing Oklahoma paired with the histories of companies, institutions, and organizations that have made the state great.
A full-color photography book showcasing Oklahoma paired with the histories of companies, institutions, and organizations that have made the state great.
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ZINK RANCH<br />
Top: “The Rendezvous” building.<br />
The John Zink Ranch was<br />
first envisioned by John Steele<br />
Zink. After his company’s<br />
foundry burned in 1945, John<br />
used the settlement from his<br />
insurance claim to purchase<br />
“a picturesque parcel of land<br />
in Osage County” and, for the<br />
next sixteen years, gradually<br />
bought much of the land<br />
around it. John was passionate<br />
about the site and began improving it almost<br />
immediately. He added a 110 by 160 foot<br />
building he christened “The Rendezvous,”<br />
which included bunk beds and hunting-lodge<br />
style furnishings. He later added a state-ofthe-art<br />
rifle range, which Precision Shooting<br />
magazine named in 1956 as the “nation’s best<br />
bench rest shooting range.” He built roads<br />
and ponds and even a “replica of a frontier<br />
boomtown for the Boy Scouts.”<br />
Today that original passion and vision<br />
remain in the hearts of the Zink family and<br />
are lived out across the unique landscape of<br />
the Ranch. Following John’s death in 1973,<br />
his son Jack continued to build the Ranch<br />
into “a combination of wildlife preserve,<br />
outdoor park, and ever-changing venue for<br />
activities as diverse as motorcycle races and<br />
bird watching.”<br />
Much of the property is home to permanent<br />
Boy and Girl Scout camps with outstanding<br />
facilities, which are used by tens of thousands<br />
of Boy and Girl Scout members, parents, and<br />
volunteers every year. The family scouting<br />
complex, Cub World, was built to include<br />
The Land Ship, The Native American Nature<br />
Center, Turkey Creek Village, and King Arthur’s<br />
Castle. There is also an Aquatics Sports Center<br />
at nearby Skiatook Lake. Lodges and cabins<br />
for families of scouts offer modern amenities<br />
across the Ranch.<br />
The Red Castle Gun Club, with more than<br />
2,000 members, is also situated on the<br />
Ranch. Many other groups also use the beautiful<br />
hills of Osage County within the Ranch’s<br />
borders for activities as diverse as motorcycle<br />
endurance races, equestrian events, dog<br />
tracking, orienteering, bird watching, and a<br />
wide variety of other events and activities.<br />
O K L A H O M A : A S t o r y T h r o u g h H e r P e o p l e<br />
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