Print
Comment
Rate
Quarter Horse Motel and RV Park celebrates 40 years in business
 |
| Four generations: Standing, from left, Katie Barrera, Pat Barrera, Dan Barrera, Ernest Hendrix, Emily Barrera, Chris Jaegers at the Quarter Horse Motel and RV Park. Seated, Steven Barrera, Tula Swafford holding Matthew Steven Jaegers. The business on Fourth Street continues to be family run. (Thelma Grimes/photo.) |
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
The Barrera family celebrated four generations and four decades of success in Benson Friday night, as they hosted a special event to honor the anniversary of opening of the Quarter Horse Motel on West 4th Street.
The motel was purchased by Bill and Tula Swafford in 1969. Tula Swafford happily greeted guests of the motel/RV park, as well as members of the community who attended the event to help the family celebrate.
Tula joked about she and her husband's bringing their 13-year-old daughter Pat from North Carolina to Benson, and the two struggling to come up with the down payment.
Pat, now married to Dan Barrera, said at the time she thought her parents were crazy. They didn't have the entire down payment to buy the property, but promised the bank they would in 90 days. After they purchased it and got ready to open for business, they had $40 left in the bank.
"I was scared to death when we decided to do this," Tula said. "I just worried we wouldn't be able to make the payments every month. But we made them."
Tula said when she and her husband decided to stop punching a time clock, and find a business of their own, they searched everywhere, starting in Florida, and somehow made their way to Benson.
From there, the Quarter Horse Motel became a family business. Pat shared a room with her grandparents and cleaned rooms. Her grandparents did laundry, and all contributed to make the property, which at the time had 16 motel rooms, two trailers and seven apartments, a success.
Now, the complex has four motel rooms, 50 RV spaces and 25 mobile homes.
Standing at the 4th Street property, Dan Barrera talked about how Benson had a much different look back then, noting that looking across the street now, they see the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy, but several decades ago, it was the Texaco truck stop, and 18-wheelers made the town's main street noisier than the train does now, Tula said.
Pat, who has served with the Benson Post Office for the last 20 years, said her family has an emotional attachment to the Quarter Horse, looking at the sign and saying that when discussions come up to sell the property, it's tough because it means so much to the entire family.
"There's a lot of history here," Pat said. "The apartments used to be barracks for Ft. Huachuca; we used to rent rooms around the clock. I remember we would get up and clean rooms as quickly as we could."
Pat and Dan currently manage the complex with their children, Emily, Steven and Katie. The Barrera family was excited Friday as they introduced the fourth generation of the family to the community. Emily recently gave birth to a little boy, Mathew Steven.
Tula talked fondly of watching the Benson community and her business thrive over the last 40 years, noting that it wasn't always easy. She remembered 1974 specifically.
"That was the year that gas went up to a $1 a gallon," she said. "The highway bypassed us, and it was just a tough year. We didn't know what was going to happen."
Dan said after marrying into the family, he quickly formed an attachment to the business, noting that with all the winter visitors, his children all had plenty of grandparents. Besides growing up in a great community, they have been able to see the importance of having a true family business.
Katie, now a teacher at Benson High School, joked that in Benson, all scenarios somehow trace back to Dan Barrera.
Dan has dedicated himself to the local school district, teaching in the Benson Middle School for about 20 years.
Dan has also served on the Benson City Council, the Benson Volunteer Fire Department and the Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Power Cooperative.
The Barrera family continues to talk about how proud they are to serve the Benson community, noting that it's not just about having a business and making money, it's about planting their roots and being a part of the community's growth and success.
The Barrera family celebrated four generations and four decades of success in Benson Friday night, as they hosted a special event to honor the anniversary of opening of the Quarter Horse Motel on West 4th Street.
The motel was purchased by Bill and Tula Swafford in 1969. Tula Swafford happily greeted guests of the motel/RV park, as well as members of the community who attended the event to help the family celebrate.
Tula joked about she and her husband's bringing their 13-year-old daughter Pat from North Carolina to Benson, and the two struggling to come up with the down payment.
Pat, now married to Dan Barrera, said at the time she thought her parents were crazy. They didn't have the entire down payment to buy the property, but promised the bank they would in 90 days. After they purchased it and got ready to open for business, they had $40 left in the bank.
"I was scared to death when we decided to do this," Tula said. "I just worried we wouldn't be able to make the payments every month. But we made them."
Tula said when she and her husband decided to stop punching a time clock, and find a business of their own, they searched everywhere, starting in Florida, and somehow made their way to Benson.
From there, the Quarter Horse Motel became a family business. Pat shared a room with her grandparents and cleaned rooms. Her grandparents did laundry, and all contributed to make the property, which at the time had 16 motel rooms, two trailers and seven apartments, a success.
Now, the complex has four motel rooms, 50 RV spaces and 25 mobile homes.
Standing at the 4th Street property, Dan Barrera talked about how Benson had a much different look back then, noting that looking across the street now, they see the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy, but several decades ago, it was the Texaco truck stop, and 18-wheelers made the town's main street noisier than the train does now, Tula said.
Pat, who has served with the Benson Post Office for the last 20 years, said her family has an emotional attachment to the Quarter Horse, looking at the sign and saying that when discussions come up to sell the property, it's tough because it means so much to the entire family.
"There's a lot of history here," Pat said. "The apartments used to be barracks for Ft. Huachuca; we used to rent rooms around the clock. I remember we would get up and clean rooms as quickly as we could."
Pat and Dan currently manage the complex with their children, Emily, Steven and Katie. The Barrera family was excited Friday as they introduced the fourth generation of the family to the community. Emily recently gave birth to a little boy, Mathew Steven.
Tula talked fondly of watching the Benson community and her business thrive over the last 40 years, noting that it wasn't always easy. She remembered 1974 specifically.
"That was the year that gas went up to a $1 a gallon," she said. "The highway bypassed us, and it was just a tough year. We didn't know what was going to happen."
Dan said after marrying into the family, he quickly formed an attachment to the business, noting that with all the winter visitors, his children all had plenty of grandparents. Besides growing up in a great community, they have been able to see the importance of having a true family business.
Katie, now a teacher at Benson High School, joked that in Benson, all scenarios somehow trace back to Dan Barrera.
Dan has dedicated himself to the local school district, teaching in the Benson Middle School for about 20 years.
Dan has also served on the Benson City Council, the Benson Volunteer Fire Department and the Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Power Cooperative.
The Barrera family continues to talk about how proud they are to serve the Benson community, noting that it's not just about having a business and making money, it's about planting their roots and being a part of the community's growth and success.
 |
 |
|
| City Finance Director: 'Yes' on Prop. 300 | Candidate forum scheduled Thursday |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bensonnews-sun.com.
Ronnie wrote on Mar 16, 2011 8:26 PM: