Cathrine Hayden - Operations

Cathrine lives on site full time and is responsible for daily operations and coordination of OAC. Cathrine has attended a variety of colleges and trade schools. She started out by going to the University of Missouri, Columbia, and then finished the year at a community college in St. Louis. After traveling to a job in Wyoming at Flagg Ranch, she returned to eventually attend a trade school for computer programming. She spent time raising her children and going to another trade school to learn drafting and CAD. She worked in that field for a number of years until 9/11, when the telemarketing field took a big hit and she and others lost her job. After that she worked for a small food service business to finish raising her children. When the children enrolled in college, Cathrine decided to take her brother up on his offer to help out with the OAC project. She realized that it was a good time for a life change. She was not satisfied with city life and thought a change to the country would be a stronger positive move. She sold her home, resigned from her job, and moved to OAC.

Cathrine absolutely loves her decision of moving to a country farm. In her words, “I can look out my bedroom window and see the Gasconade River. In the winter I watch Bald Eagles fly over the river. In the summer I love the weekends because we sit in the river to wash the day’s work off us and enjoy watching the people that float by in their boats and canoes. We generally barbeque and sit in the river and watch the beautiful sunsets as they reflect off the rivers surface. We watch the stars come out and enjoy the ambiance of the environment, and smile, knowing that we don’t have to check out from our resort. During the spring, I love watching everything come to life. All of the fresh new colors after the ice and snow have finished. I watch the new born animals as they emerge from behind their mothers on shaky legs. The fall is especially beautiful with the abundance of trees and the colors they display. Their colors of gold and rusty reds, yellows, and during all that you will see the fields ripe for harvest. During all these seasons you see different flowers pop up. Then you see the multitudes of butterflies fluttering around the flowers. It is so peaceful and awe inspiring. The move to Belle from St. Louis was the best thing that could have happened to me. I have reached an inner peace that I was unable to find in my former life. I live in God’s country. I am content walking the property, feeding the animals, and attending to daily chores. Walking the property, you see all of the wild life you do not see in the city; there are quite a few eagles, deer, skunk, raccoons, rabbits, hawks, turkey, buzzards, humming birds, blue birds, and I could go on. It is a very good life on the farm.”