Family get-togethers at Danny and Margaret O'Quinn's home can get a bit crowded.
The O'Quinns, who operate Still Creek Ranch near Kurten, are the guardians of the boarding school's 33 residents and have nurtured countless others.
And every one of them is like family, the O'Quinns say.
The ranch, which houses and educates underprivileged children, relies almost entirely on community donations and recently marked its 20th anniversary with a fundraiser and dinner.
"We're just celebrating the fact that we've survived on donations and raised about 1,000 kids," Margaret O'Quinn said.
In 1988, the 14-acre ranch operated with a single cottage that housed seven boys. Today, the ranch encompasses 268 acres, four cottages, a horse arena, two school buildings and a bed and breakfast. The children range in age from 8 to 18.
The O'Quinns were working in a children's home in Houston when they were approached with the opportunity to take over the previous children's home on the property and its seven residents.
It's hard work, they said, but it's rewarding to watch the students who have struggled through hardships flourish at the facility.
For the first two years, the students rode a bus to school in Bryan. Because they were the first to be picked up and last to be dropped off, the bus ride was more than two hours long. So the O'Quinns built a one-room schoolhouse, and Still Creek Christian School was born.
Today, the school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and boasts about 20 graduates, many of whom have gone on to college, the military or technical school.
Classes are split by gender until high school, and every child's curriculum is catered specifically to his or her needs. Some have advanced three or four grade levels in one year, O'Quinn said.
The school also has 17 nonresident students. Some of their parents were looking for a private school education for their children but were unable to pay private school tuition, O'Quinn said. Still Creek Christian School charges tuition for families that can afford to pay, but 90 percent of the students pay nothing.
"We never turn a child down who cannot pay," O'Quinn said.
Still Creek tries to instill discipline in the children by putting them in charge of their own laundry and housekeeping while giving them chores around their cottages and responsibility for the animals. The children look forward to growing older because they want more responsibilities, O'Quinn said.
"Instead of having to do it, they think, 'I get to do it,'" she said.
O'Quinn said the children come from a broad spectrum of circumstances. Some have loving parents who can't financially or emotionally care for them, but others are not wanted at home. Some of them had a horrible life before they arrived, she said.
"They are happy to be here because they're loved every day and they're encouraged every day," O'Quinn said.
Still Creek teaches nondenominational Christian values, she said, with the hope of helping the children gain the self-esteem, work ethic and principles to make better choices for themselves.
The O'Quinns, both 61, plan to stay at Still Creek as long as possible, O'Quinn said, and she would someday like to take in babies with the goal of getting them adopted into good families.
Twelve full-time employees work at the ranch, and everyone serves in a number of capacities. Volunteers teach wood shop, welding and cooking and tutor the children.
"Everybody wears about three or four hats," O'Quinn said.
Former resident Jody Satsky says he volunteers at the ranch about once a month. Satsky came to Still Creek in 1994 at the age of 12 and went to welding school after graduation. He now owns a welding business in Bryan and did most of the work at the ranch's horse arena.
"I enjoy giving back from how much they gave me," he said.
John Torres, 24, came to the ranch at 10 years old. He graduated in 2002, and Still Creek gave him a scholarship to Blinn College. He will graduate with a degree in agricultural business from Texas A&M in December and credits Still Creek with getting him out of trouble and on the right track.
"A lot of who I am today, they helped me become," said Torres, who is working as a locksmith to help pay for school.
In 1994, a father dropped off his two sons and a daughter. The ranch didn't accept girls at the time, but three days later, someone donated 20 acres for a girls' cottage. Four years later, the ranch had raised enough money to build a girls' home. The ranch has continued to grow through donations since then, O'Quinn said, but money has been getting tighter.
When the facility opened in 1988, few nonprofit organizations in the area were competing for public contributions. Still Creek's semi-annual fundraisers used to bring in $70,000. This spring's event raised $9,000, O'Quinn said.
Still, she said, the community support is overwhelming.
"We're just so blessed," she said. "We're privileged to be with the kids every day, but we couldn't do it without the community that's been faithful in supporting us."
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