This post is connected to two older posts, the first, “Down Memory Lane….The Homestead, and my last post, “Sheep Camp.” I mentioned in Sheep Camp, that my great-great-grandparents lived in a nice home in Bruneau. This is a picture of that house; “the home place.” This picture was probably taken in the late 1800’s. That is Gran Holverson standing in the pasture. Directly behind the pasture fence you can see the large orchard I mentioned.
I was told my great-great- Grandmother usually went by Gran. I found a couple of pictures written on the back identifying her as Suzie, and Missouri Suzie. Her obituary has her name as Missouri Catherine Harris Holverson. That is a pretty long name. She was married once before to a F.E. Thompson, so I’m assuming the Harris is a family name. I don’t have any information about Mr. Thompson, so again family or Bruneau friends, if you know anything about him please write a note on my post. The only thing I do know is that he died when he was only 34 years old.
Ed came to Bruneau when he was 21 years old. His obituary said he became involved with the stock industry (livestock) shortly after and his achievement was “substantial.”
I was asking my dad about their large orchard, and if they used it all for their own use or if they sold some of the produce. He wasn’t sure but said it was common back then to trade extra home “commodities”, like produce, eggs etc., to the local store for credit against other things they might need.
This picture stirs a lot of emotions in me. When I look at this picture I see where I came from, and the people from whom I came. I wish I would have known my great-great-grandparents. I was lucky enough to know their daughters (Ed’s step-daughters) Edna, my great-grandmother and Effie, my great-aunt. I loved them both dearly.
The ranch was later handed down to or sold to my grandfather, Ed Craig. This is where my father, Jim Craig, was born and raised, and where I spent the first five years of my life. Because of my young age when I left Bruneau, my memories are not plentiful, but the ones I have are precious.
Many of those memories are of dances at the Legion Hall, which will be the subject of my next post.
backhomemt 
There’s something about the expression, “the old home place,” that stirs so much emotion. I suspect it’s fallen into disuse in some parts of the country simply because everyone moves so often, or travels. There’s no sense going to see Grandma and Grandpa, because they’re in the Virgin Islands, or off to Colorado for the summer. And so on, for too many people.
When I was young, we went to my grandparents’ house nearly every Sunday, and that’s where the family gathered for holidays, coming in from all around the country. A few years ago, I went back, but never will again. Of course there had been renovations, and great changes to the property. On the other hand, the old pump was still there in the back yard, and the fruit cellar that doubled as a storm cellar. It was good to see. Those stirred some emotion, too.
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What you say is so true. My parents moved quite often as I was growing up. Dad always looking to better himself to provide better for us. I have 3 “old home places” in my heart; the true home place, belonging to my Dad’s family in Bruneau, one in Idaho, and one in California. The last 2 are ranches where my dad worked for someone else. Though those ranches never belonged to us, the childhood and family memories formed there always will. I returned to our old home in California a few years back, and the changes were so severe, that I could not recognize it as the same place. It was as if someone had trashed my childhood memories. It devastated me..I cried my eyes out, and like you will never go back again…..except in my precious memories. Bruneau on the other hand is much the same.
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Reblogged this on backhomemt.
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