Grateful, thankful, blessed
After wildfires nearly claim their ranch, an Oregon family focuses not on what they have lost but on all that they still have.
A sturdy slab of wood emblazoned with the words “Promise Ranch on the River” welcomes visitors to a piece of property that Tony and Donna Kamstra call paradise.
Former high school sweethearts, the Kamstras live in the rural town of Gates, Oregon. Their five-acre spread is home to tall fir trees, green pastures, a small pond and the steady babble of the mighty Santiam River. Sharing the property is Donna’s Quarter Horse Sadie (registered name: Jus A Swinging Star).
“It’s an incredible, incredible place,” says Donna. She and Tony have grown to love Promise Ranch on the River in the three-and-a-half years they have lived there, but their appreciation took on another dimension last fall when they nearly lost it all.
The ordeal started Labor Day 2020. The Kamstras had spent most of the holiday installing a new fence on their ranch. But as they
