Innkeepers Steve and Beth Knolle Naiser have a unique
partnership that allows the bed and breakfast to offer
the very best in ambiance, service and amenities. Both
have operated in agriculture-based industries for the
past 20 years - Steve in grass
planting and Beth in raising beef cattle. They fully
understand and adhere to the practice of "land stewardship"
as keeping their ranch beautiful
and healthy results in a thriving community of wildlife,
cattle and people -- all who share in the delicious
bounty that land-ownership brings. They also share
a love of entertaining and of welcoming their guests from
near and far into their lives.
Their individual strengths and talents also contribute
to the ranch and bed and breakfast. Beth, with a degree
in art from the University of Texas, brings a creative
mind and love of aesthetics, interior decorating, landscaping
and renovation. She has been responsible for most of
the motif of the bed and breakfast exteriors, as well
as the combinations of styles inside each cottage. Her
favorite styles are French country, British colonial
and simple East Coast charm, interspersed with splashes
of color native to the Caribbean West Indies. Beth has
also been a pioneer in the current ranching industry
trend of diversification. Small ranches lack the economies
of scale from which larger ranches benefit, which threatens
their survival during cattle price downturns and droughts.
To sustain themselves through cyclical troughs, small
ranchers have realized over the last decade that they
must diversify their income streams. The result hasn't
been just one of "survival" though; instead,
it has allowed ranchers to more fully realize the potential
that land ownership can bring and has opened many creative
juice floodgates. Ranches have become thriving communities
in themselves, with animal, plant and person becoming
symbiotically intertwined, each sharing in what the
other naturally brings to life on earth.
Steve adds to the ranch his own talents, including
attention to detail, strong management skills, a visionary
mind, a disciplined work ethic and an organized approach,
making sure everything is kept in line. His thriving
grass company is a testimony to his business reputation
and Knolle Farm & Ranch & Barn & Bed and
Breakfast has been further enhanced by this. He has
a tremendous personal reputation of consistency, fairness,
knowledge, discipline and rugged personal charm. Steve
is also able to take Beth's unbridled creativity and
mold the concepts she develops into ones that work economically.
Between Beth and Steve, they have 4 children. Pamela
(Steve's daughter) lives in Houston and is married
and a full-time mom. Emilie (Steve's daughter) lives
in St. Louis and is a teacher. Dabney (Beth's oldest daughter) is a married mom and practices maritime law in Corpus Christi, and Mandy
(Beth's youngest) is an investment banker in New York City.
