Leigh Ann Wolfe’s smile grows wide at the mention of her father, Russ, who founded the famed Flying W Ranch on Colorado Springs’ west side back in 1953.

I caught up with her last week and asked what she thought he’d think of his old ranch on this eve of the summer season, which begins this Friday night. Many of us feared the Flying W was gone forever after the Waldo Canyon fire swept down into the city back in 2012. So did Russ. There’s a video of him assessing the devastation days later.

“The only thing that’s left is the parking lot,” Russ laments as he looks over the charred debris. “Everything else went down the tube.”

That could have been the end of the story, but Leigh Ann made sure it was only the beginning of a new chapter of the city’s greatest comeback story of all time.

It’s been nearly three-quarters of a century since Russ and his beloved wife, Marian, began serving simple but hearty chuckwagon suppers under the stars, all the while serenading guests with cowboy music. There were only 64,000 people in town back then, but little by little, a little becomes a lot.

Tears fill Leigh Ann’s eyes when she looks back and talks about her parents, but excitement and enthusiasm fill her when she looks ahead.

“The brisket is going to be better than ever,” she told me. “We brought in Lonnie Smith of Bubba Grills (of Georgia) and asked him where we could improve. He’s recommended all the right ingredients. We’re injecting it, rubbing it. It tastes great.”

It’s difficult to improve upon excellence, but that doesn’t stop Leigh Ann from trying. She doesn’t see her primary role as a business owner but rather as caretaker of a special and sacred legacy. She wants to help preserve the spirit of the West, sow seeds of love, and help families turn moments into lifetime memories.

Once upon a time, the Flying W Ranch was mainly a summer destination. The “Winter Steakhouse” — formerly the Ute Theater — opened for special occasions, but the tempo was slower. The Flying W is now a year-round operation, hosting corporate events, partnering with The Broadmoor, and presenting a full slate of Christmas dinner shows each December. Leigh Ann doesn’t try to run it by herself.

Daughter Ruth serves as general manager, son Hutch is back and pitching in, then there’s operations manager Sam McKee who’s been working at the ranch since he was just 17. There’s also a whole team, of course.

Running anything is hard work, and especially a dinner theater that serves hundreds of people every night. Does Leigh Ann grow weary and tired of the challenges?

“Nothing good comes easy except for God’s grace through Christ,” she told me. “If you’re going to do something, you better do it right or you better quit.”

But the Flying W’s secret to its longevity isn’t just its excellent service, but also its insistence on working to get better every year. The brisket has always been great, but could it be tastier? The Wrangler music is the west side’s summer soundtrack, and you can hear them rehearsing when the picnic tables are empty, hours before the crowds arrive.

“It’s the things that no one sees that bring the results that everyone wants,” said pastor Craig Groeschel.

UCCS and Colorado College’s business departments and even the Harvard Business Review would be wise to study the Flying W Ranch’s dramatic rise from literal ashes.

Leigh Ann let slip that the Wranglers have been working extra hard on “The Wayfaring Stranger,” an American folk and Gospel song. It’s been performed by various artists, including Johnny Cash.

The piece emphasizes man’s challenging quest for hope and peace “through this world below,” all the while knowing the best is yet to be in the world above. As Cash sang:

“There is no sickness, no toil, no danger, In that bright land to which I go, I’m going there to see my father, And all my loved ones who’ve gone on.”

Leigh Ann knows she’ll see her father and mother again, but until then, she’s committed to pushing back against the woes of this world — and serving up the best chuckwagon supper and cowboy music in the West.

Paul J. Batura is a local writer and founder of the 4:8 Media Network. He can be reached via email Paul@PaulBatura.com or on X @PaulBatura