Simply Country Ranch brings agritourism fun to McAlester

Sep. 24—Susie the Pig and her piglets oink as they follow Lauren Denny along a fence line outside the Simply Country Shop shop.

"They're always telling me they're hungry, even if I just fed them," Lauren says with a laugh.

Lauren and Ben Denny, married co-owners of Simply Country Ranch at 7838 Krebs Lake Road in McAlester, said they love the farming-and-ranching lifestyle and they hope to inspire the next generation.

They recently won Oklahoma's top award for AgriTourism and continue growing in popularity on social media — with 655,000 followers on TikTok and more than 2,900 likes on Facebook featuring videos of the owners and the animals on the ranch.

Videos show them laughing with their dogs, letting out the ducks and chickens in the morning, building an event center on the ranch, and more about their everyday experiences.

The Dennys started ranching in Boise, Idaho while Ben owned a construction company and Lauren was a teacher.

They also started a sign company and established the ranch with orchards and hay fields — "all the work was done," Ben said.

The couple looked to expand the ranch on another 40 acres, but high land prices in Idaho led to consider other options.

Lauren's grandfather owned several acres of land in McAlester on Krebs Lake Road before he passed 30 years ago. The land remained in the family, but Lauren's mom told her it would likely have to be sold due to taxes and upkeep costs if the Dennys did not have interest in it.

"That just kind of really broke our hearts that something that had been in our family for about seven generations was like just going to be ended," Lauren said.

So they flew down to check out the land with the notion that the Oklahoma land would be flat and barren, in stark contrast to Idaho, known as "The City of Trees."

But they were pleasantly surprised when they arrived to see green pastures, tons of trees, and an overlook of Lake Eufaula, the state's largest lake.

"It was beautiful and right on the lake," Ben said. "It was really pretty here so we shipped our cows down, our Highlands from Idaho, and all of our animals and moved down."

Lauren said they gave themselves a week to move the nearly 2,000 miles to their new McAlester home in July 2020.

THE LIFESTYLE

"The lifestyle we're trying to live and want to live and promote and show to everyone, I think it's very important but I think it's extremely difficult," Ben said.

The Dennys talked about the importance of agriculture in everyday life and the challenges farmers and ranchers face in an industry that requires diversification.

They started a fall festival last year and host several events throughout the year like tours, movie nights, and more.

But they also want to be part of growth in the community with goals of providing agriculture education field trips, hosting concerts and community events, and other partnerships.

"It's great if we grow, but it doesn't do any good if we're the only people growing," Ben said. "The whole community needs to grow and benefit — and when it does, then everybody's successful."

Simply Country Ranch hosted a fall festival last year — and the Dennys said they're excited to expand it this year with more fall-themed activities and concerts.

Sam Wampler's Freedom Ford, Big V Feed Center and the city of McAlester all sponsored this year's Country Music Festival — which Lauren said will open at 11 a.m. Sept. 30 with lots of activities through Oct. 2.

"We'll do all of the main fall fun — we're going to have a train ride, we've got a zip line, a jumbo slide, pumpkin launching and a mechanical bull," she said.

Lauren said the festivities will also include a pumpkin patch, pie eating contests, farm animals, and fall-themed activities.

A western-themed saloon will open that evening with McAlester's BierKraft brewery and Angel's Diner offering drinks before the music starts.

Friday's musical lineup includes Jim Calhoun, McAlester fireman and musician Landon Walker, plus Oklahoma native and Nashville country artist Justin Adams.

Saturday entertainment will go all day with dancers from local dance studios, local youth bands, and more. Local bands Country Junction and Kinlock will open the evening concert for Derek Jones, an Indiana-based country-rock musician and Navy veteran.

Tickets for the fall festival cost $15 for Friday and Saturday, or $25 for the entire weekend. Children younger than 5 enter for free. Tickets are available on the Simply Country Ranch website.

Ben said military personnel and veterans will not be charged admission to this year's event.

"We'd like to do something like that every year where we help one group or support them somehow," Ben said.

Contact Adrian O'Hanlon III at aohanlon@mcalesternews.com