My Mother:
Amy ‘Davis’ Grissom
Written by: Don Grissom
This is the life of Amy Grissom as I remember it. Her parents moved from Missouri in 1886 and homesteaded near the head of Tyler Creek on the Greenspring Mountain.
Amy was born in 1890. She had several brothers and sisters.
Amy got a teacher’s certificate after the eighth grade and taught school for several years in several country schools. She married Lewellyn ‘Lew’ Grissom near 1915. They had three children: Clyde-1916, Donald-1920 and Joyce-1924. She and Lew went into ranching and raising sheep with Lew’s brothers till 1920. When the partnership broke up, they went to work building Hyatt Lake Dam for the Talent Irrigation District and were caretakers of Emigrant Dam for several years.
Near 1926 they moved back to the ranch on Lost Creek where they had a nice home. Her job was raising the children, raising a garden, caring for the milk cows and what ever work was required of a family housewife in those days. Her only mode of transportation was a saddle horse or a team and wagon. It was about 4 miles to the county road. The typical farm wife of the community gathered at each others homes where they canned fruit and vegetables.
Amy had the first pressure cooker, which she carried on her horse to the neighbors to can 5 quarts at a time.
They had a monthly social club at different homes where they made clothes and other projects. The get-together was a lot of social time with lunch, etc.
The community had a telephone so they could talk to one another, but a quite lonely life. The children went to school at Lost Creek school, which was above the covered bridge on Lost Creek Road about a mile. Most students walked, but the distant ones rode horseback and tied our horses in the barn. For high school we tied our horses in Anna Tonn’s barn. Rex & Diane West live there now.
Near 1937 the folks bought 160 acres and built a small house that we could move to in the winter, close to where I now live.
Amy’s life was some easier then. She always had a good saddle horse. She got her children to Sunday School regularly. First at Short’s home or Walch’s home, then Lake Creek Community hall provided by the Wyant family. Some times we had teachers from churches that came out from town, and some times from the community. She realized the importance of community and when there was no money to keep the lights on at the hall, she took that responsibility over.
World War II changes our lives. The boys both got drafted and her husband passed away. I (Don) got out of the army to operate the farm with her. Life changed drastically. The sheep had to go because of time to care for them.
We, she and I, changed to cattle and changed our government range to cattle. She spent more time at the winter home where she could join in community activities. The kids each got married and started families, so she had grandchildren to help her. Clyde had 2 children, Don had 5 and Joyce had 2. Joyce and I lived near, so we could keep the woodshed full and hay for the livestock. She lived by herself until she was near 90; then she fell and spent the last 10 years of her life in Three Fountains Nursing Home. She passed away 3 months shy of her 100th birthday.
She enjoyed life immensely. One of the things I remember was an annual Easter egg hunt for the community she always had at her place.. She always had a better saddle horse then I, thanks to her brother, Eli Davis.
She was on the Lost Creek School Board for the years that her children attended.
Thank you, Amy, for being such a wonderful mother, grandmother and friend.
~ The Lake Creek Letter Fall 2010
Lewellyn and Amy Pearl ‘Davis’ Grissom