Ole's Ranch/Sally Starr's Ponderosa (not the pizza place)

[MikeBickerson]

So was part of the ranch and property on the east side of dutchtown road? This is now the hospital. Prior to the hospital being built I explored quite a lot of it and that area is always a mini pine barrens and intrigued me. I found a kingsnake and lot of others reptiles and amphibians on the property. I relocated many of the box turtles I found and the kingsnake to other areas nearby that weren’t going to be bulldozed. Certainly need hospitals so it was better than big box stores but it was sad to see such a nice property go away. Was always curious what animals they likely saw on the property 50 years ago. Was a special spot for sure.

From the 1957 overhead photos, it looks like the complex proper stayed to the west of what is now the current configuration of Dutchtown Road, not where the hospital building is today.

 

[MikeBickerson]

That looked like a lot of fun. Buck Owens, that was a real coup to get him I think.

Definitely . The Buckaroos with Don Rich were a force of nature, this gig (or really, any gig of theirs) would have been something to see. The gig would have been sometime between 1965 and 1969 when almost every album they put out was going to #1 on the country charts (and they put out 3 or 4 almost every year during that stretch).

 

[enormiss]

https://southjerseytrails.org/2015/05/03/olesranch/

Amazing place, and the stories keep on coming.

View attachment 21686

Great read!

 

[BeachandBarrens]

Updating this article in just under a decade each update... pretty sure it's now on my third different website.

"A dude ranch in Voorhees, NJ that could feed 1,000 people in its restaurant? That saw legendary musical acts from Lefty Frizell to Buck Owens to Bill Haley to children's hero "Our Gal Sal" Sally Starr? That once saw an unarmed WWII vet chase of five armed robbers?

Ole's Dude Ranch. Twin Lakes Lodge. Sally Starr's Ranch. The Ponderosa. The place went by many names."

https://southjerseytrails.org/2015/05/03/olesranch/

Amazing place, and the stories keep on coming.

View attachment 21686

Mike, I mentioned your article in an article I wrote last year for Lines on the Pines entitled Our Gal Sal. It appeared in a book compiled by Linda Stanton about horses and horse people in the Pine Barrens. Since Sally was a resident of Waterford, I tried to find Me, Thee, and TV, the autobiography she wrote, at the local library to get more information about her, but they unfortunately didn't have it.

 

[BeachandBarrens]

BTW, I noticed the pizza place on Jackson road that was owned by Sally Star and later someone else, has removed her name recently and changed names.

I noticed that! Glad I was able to write my article before the change happened since I was able to talk to the employees, and they remembered her eating there, although, according to them, Sally didn't actually own the restaurant itself. They licensed the use of her name and likeness from her.

I checked out the restaurant under the new owners a couple months ago. They still have her photos up, and the menu was largely the same. They are serving breakfast now