Debbie Dygert, who hails from Kansas and whose family used to summer on their ranch in Toponas, Colorado, met her husband, Andy, who comes from upstate New York, in Colorado. When the two of them got married, they took a job as caretakers of a 300 plus acre ranch in Northwest Colorado located near the Moonhill one room schoolhouse, which is still in use, minutes from Clark’s general store and the village of Hahn’s Peak. They both love the view of the Rockies, as well as playing host to bears, elk, moose and sometimes mountain lions. That was 22 years ago, and though, they are still caretakers for the same ranch, Debbie has since built a national company on the ranch.
Debbie explains, “Coming from Kansas, I was used to growing flowers and vegetables. When I first arrived here I quickly discovered that the deer eat everything but the lavender. We were inundated with lavender. What was I going to do with all that lavender? I thought to myself, ‘Why not make soap?’ I began to experiment and to study other ingredients, doing all the work in the barn. Two things were important to me: one, that it be a hands on operation producing small amounts at a time, and, two, that all the ingredients be natural and organic.”
Debbie produces today, still in the same barn, not only soap but also lotions, body wash, shampoo and conditioners. Her essences include goat milk, peppermint and cedar wood. She has a store in Steamboat Springs where she wraps her products in handmade colorful paper from India and places them in small baskets or cowhide pouches. Her products named aptly, Ranch-Organics, can not only be seen online, but are also sold across the country in over 250 small boutiques including such stores as Anthropologie. Hotels and guest ranches, like Resort at Paws Up in Montana, feature her products in their bathrooms. Debbie says, “My husband helps only when he has time. I love it when he comes into the house smelling like cedar wood or roses.”
Edith Lynn Hornik-Beer is a freelance author/journalist/lecturer. Her articles have been published both here and abroad including in The Sunday New York Times, The Denver Post, Elle, Berlin Tagesblatt. She gives seminars on writing at Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs. Edith is our ground reporter from Denver.