Today's episode of The Storyteller's Porch begins with a signature drink to honor our host's Jill Davis' "daddy", peppermint schnapps. (Check out the show notes on The Storytellers Porch blog page at https://thestorytellersporch.com/mom-said-it-was-a-pickup-but-it-was-also-a-love-story/ to see some exclusive pictures of Jill's parents and the farm!)
Jill's dad, Jim Davis, was 91 years old when he passed away in November of 2018. One thing that remained true for Jim throughout his entire life is that he LOVED peppermint. Jim was known to end his day with a nice shot of peppermint schnapps. In fact, this habit went so far that Jill's sister once snuck in a bottle of peppermint schnapps to Jill's dad while he was recovering in rehab from a broken hip.
Jill's dad was a couple of years younger than her mom and that's almost all we know about how they met. They were in the same state and around the same age as one another. Though Jill and her siblings asked many, many times to hear the details of their love story, the full details were never divulged. Jill's mom, Sue, just always said… "well… it was a pickup."
Eventually, Jim moved to Leadville, Colorado where he worked in the mines. At the time, Climax Mines was mining molybdenum. While Jim lived and worked in Colorado, Jill's mother remained on the farm in Kansas with the children. They kept up this way of life for a long while. With Jill's mother not knowing how to drive, seeing one another was completely dependent on Jim. During this time, tragedy struck when Jim and his wife lost their two daughters in an accident.
Following the accident, Jill's parents relocated once again to Colorado Springs, which is where Jill was born. Jim started a construction business in Colorado Springs and the tides began to turn.
In the '70s, Jim's business became very successful. By the '80s, when Jill had grown and moved away from home, Jim was offered to become part owner of a local bank in Colorado Springs that specifically catered to and supported small businesses.
Sometime during the time of Jim's business growing and the bank coming into the family's life, the farm in Kansas went out of the family. In the late 80's, the family that purchased the farm land reached out to Jim and let him know they had given the farm a go but to no avail. The family was at a loss and asked Jim if he wanted his family land back.
By this time, Jim was well off and in a solid position to repurchase the land so he did so for $14,000.
Sue did not want to move to the land and so the family stayed in Colorado Springs and Jim went back and forth each season to help farm the land. Eventually, Jim had tenants on the property to care for the homestead and the building for him. Longtime family friends, the Kresses and the Bursches, continued to grow crops on the land.
Though Jill's parents never lived on the farm again, the few years that they did are a symbol of the power of love, showing respect for one another's needs, and working through life as one half of a partnership.
We would love fort you to share your story with us! You can submit your stories here to be featured in a future episode. We look forward to hearing from you and can't wait to share a signature drink with you.
Find out more and see Jill's pictures of the transformation of her farm at:
The Storytellers Porch on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellersporch
The Storytellers Porch on Instagram, @thestorytellersporch, https://www.instagram.com/thestorytellersporch/ Behind the scenes information from the Stockport Farm https://www.facebook.com/StockportFarm
Thank you joining us on The Storyteller's Porch this week! Make sure you check us out at https://thestorytellersporch.com/, and subscribe and follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you don't miss a single story with us on the Porch. And we'd be honored if you give us a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode!
Always drink responsibly, don't drink and drive.
