property complete with pony rides and train rides and some hard-dip ice cream, where the kids can safely run around and the adults can relax. It makes for the perfect way to spend an afternoon if you need a little downtime but the kids have energy, or you just need the recharge that’ s inevitable when baby animals are involved.
Raised in the agricultural world and then with a number of years railroading, Thane said with a laugh that buying Old Mac- Donald’ s Farm 12 years ago was“ as random as you can get.” But it is a random that has clearly worked for this family of six. Gina was employed at the time for a campground company, where she worked for 24 years before quitting in the last year to be more available for the farm, cave, and her family, and she happened to answer the phone one day when the previous manager of the farm called to say that they were selling. The manager was adamant that it could do well as a business and, she said,“ It needs to be here.” When Gina got home that evening, she posed to Thane one of those questions husbands love to hear:“ So do you want to buy a farm?”
It is a business that has thrived under their care and their family has thrived running it, allowing a dynamic that hasn’ t just blessed their family but has undoubtedly overflowed into the way they run the farm and the feel of the farm, from their employees who come from all over the area to their guests who come through on a regular basis just to say hi to their favorite animals and unwind for a while.
Many of their guests are families with kids, and for the Rose family their own kids are an integral part of the business and the dynamic.“ It’ s really unique,” Gina said,“ because we can bring our kids here. Especially in this job, I love getting their take when we walk in someplace and they’ re excited about something. It helps us know how to do business for that age. Like toy unboxing – Thane knows he hit the jackpot if the girls get excited. The flexibility is really awesome, being able to have our kids involved with us.”
And what a great life for their four daughters, getting to work and learn alongside their parents and play alongside each other, and provide their own unique perspectives into the family business!
Their two youngest daughters, 5 and 9, gave me a personal tour of the far m, and their enthusiasm was infectious, as they bounced around from favorite animal to favorite animal, showing off everything, stopping to offer pets t o the friendly horses who came over to greet us, catching a frisky goat kid for a quick cuddle or rubbing cheeks with a downy chick.
Chickens of the barnyard mix variety meandered around, freerange, scratching at the ground and catching bugs, and gentle, contended bleats and neighs and squawks and chatters just about made you forget the sound of traffic outside.
54 Black Hills Adventure Guide 2025