Mildred Kanipe was a strong-willed woman with set ideas. Nobody told her what to do or how to do it. When they tried, she just smiled and said, "That's interesting," and went ahead and did it her way. Mildred carried a pistol-except when she was at home on the ranch. There she carried a .30-30 rifle. She never married, and except for an occasional hired hand she ran her almost 1,100 acre ranch by herself. All who knew her agree she was an unforgettable character. When she died she left her beloved ranch-the part her family had owned and farmed for over one-hundred years and that she had purchased with her own hard work-to the people of Douglas County Oregon for a park. This is the story of Mildred, the history of the land she loved, and the people who came before and after her.