Full Product Details
Author: Ken Mather
Publisher: Heritage House Publishing Co Ltd
Imprint: Heritage House Publishing Co Ltd
ISBN: 9781772035377
ISBN 10: 1772035378
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 29 May 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Not yet available
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.
Reviews
""Ken Mather came to the O'Keefe Ranch in 1984 as manager and curator. His love and dedication to history make him the ideal person to write this important story. It is my pleasure to recommend this as the 'only family authorized story of the O'Keefes.'” —Eileen O'Keefe Giuliani, granddaughter of Cornelius O'Keefe and family historian “This multi-generational history of Cornelius O’Keefe and his family, pioneer ranchers of the North Okanagan, is a very welcome contribution to British Columbia’s social and economic history.” —Patricia E. Roy, professor emeritus of History at the University of Victoria and and recipient of the Canadian Historical Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award “Ken Mather is a thorough researcher, knowledgeable historian, and prolific author, and in his latest book, he combines that expertise with a brilliant ability to conjecture. Using all these skills and tools, he presents an engaging, comprehensive story of the O’Keefe Ranch, its founder Cornelius O’Keefe, and his family.” —Donna (Yoshitake) Wuest, bestselling author of Coldstream: The Ranch Where It All Began and Douglas Lake Ranch: Empire of Grass ""This clearly written and well researched study, with excellent illustrations, recounts how Cornelius O’Keefe, followed by his son Tierney, built up a large cattle and grain ranch, just north of Vernon in the Okanagan Valley."" —Jean Barman, award-winning author, historian, retired academic, and winner of the 2015 Governor General's History Award for Scholarly Research ""A meticulously researched account of the life and times of cattle baron Cornelius O’Keefe. In lively and engaging prose, Ken Mather recounts the saga of a family-run ranch that is intricately linked to the history of both the local Syilx people and white settler farming and ranching in the Okanagan Valley."" —Ian Pooley, Okanagan historian
Author Information
Ken Mather has been researching western Canadian heritage for over four decades, working in curatorial, management, and research roles at Fort Edmonton Park, Barkerville, and the O’Keefe Ranch since the early 1970s. He is the editor of the Okanagan Historical Society Report and is the winner of the Joe Martin Memorial award (2015) for his contribution to BC Cowboy Heritage. He is the author of several books on pioneer and ranching history, including Stagecoach North, Trail North (a finalist for the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Historical Writing), Ranch Tales, and Frontier Cowboys and the Great Divide.
