Welcome to Spring Valley: A Memoir

By Mary John Eidson

Welcome to Spring Valley

The idea seemed ridiculously far-fetched. Why would a young couple with small children want a place in the wilds of east Texas?

Deep in the forest of east Texas lots of hickory and oak trees grow. A beautiful part of the state, there is lots of wildlife; whitetail deer roam, beaver hide in marshes, raccoons play, and a whole world of birds call it home.

This is a story about my family. Getting acquainted with varied forms of wildlife was truly an exciting adventure. The whitetail deer racing to jump the fence, raccoons peeping in the window at us, beaver splashing in the water, and placing small fingerlings in a new pond to grow and get ready for the frying pan were activities that will not be forgotten. Was this a dream or a nightmare?

A site overlooking the valley was the chosen spot for our cabin to be built. It also prompted the name of this book as live springs were discovered in the valley; springs bubbling out of the earth, too beautiful to describe.

Each trip was full of challenges; but also many rewards. Building a pond and the purchase of a fl at bottom boat made fishing, swimming, and relaxing in the sun possible. Soon it became important to own horses. Six horses soon called Spring Valley home.

When we look back at memorable times, many things come to mind. I will be forever grateful that the No in my mind became Yes on my lips.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Aug 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9781458204554

Mary John Eidson

MARY JOHN EIDSON has a BS in Elementary Education and a MS in Home Economics. As an educator, she has taught public school and college. For her, family is #1. Adjusting to living in the woods on weekends was challenging, but more than rewarding.

Book preview

Welcome to Spring Valley

A Memoir

9781458204547_TXT.pdf

Mary John Eidson

missing image file

Welcome to Spring Valley

A Memoir

Copyright © 2012 Mary John Eidson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Abbott Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Abbott Press

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.abbottpress.com

Phone: [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4582-0454-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-0455-4 (e)

Abbott Press rev. date: 8/3/2012

Contents

Chapter 1    Welcome to Spring Valley

Chapter 2    Who’s Idea Was This?

Chapter 3    The Cabin in the Woods

Chapter 4    Bull Dozers at Work - the Pond is Built

Chapter 5    Animal Friends in the Forest

Chapter 6    Who is Sommers Durden?

Chapter 7    Surprises at Spring Valley

Chapter 8    Another Weekend at Spring Valley

Chapter 9    Scouts Camp Out

Chapter 10    Alligators in Texas - Yes Sir!

Chapter 11    Christmas at Spring Valley

Chapter 12    Time Flies! Random Thoughts

Author Bio

Chapter 1

9781458204547_TXT.pdf

Welcome to Spring Valley

The idea seemed ridiculously far fetched. After all, why would a young couple with small children living in the city want a place in the wilds of East Texas?

It was one of those moments, a simple statement that would forever change my life. As Lewis, my husband, walked into the kitchen that evening where I was preparing dinner, he said, It’s just what I’ve always wanted.

Lewis had met a realtor in East Texas to look at some land we could use for a weekend get way, a home away from home. His eyes were full of excitement and he was very eager to share his findings. He began telling me about this piece of land he wanted to buy. My heart sank. He spoke of a wooded area where animals play and a place where our own children could enjoy the beautiful outdoors. His enthusiasm grew as he spoke, and the No in my mind became Yes on my lips. I knew he desperately wanted this dream.

The days flew by and by Saturday of that week we were on our way from our home in the city to who knows what in the country, our children watching every little turn in the road as we made our way to this Heaven on Earth about ninety miles away. As we drew near the site and left the highway, we rumbled over bumps in the road, curves ahead, and were finally faced with what seemed to be an endless journey. An abrupt turn took us down a long steep hill to to another gate. Anxious eyes were looking for a haven. This one lane country road was taking my family to the most wonderful place in the world. A long sandy road and a forest of trees were all we could see.

Out of nowhere, a huge whitetail deer leaped in front of us as we made our way down a long bumpy road. Yikes! Did you see that? I was as surprised as the deer. Startled, the deer ran in front of the big station wagon, his white tail standing up straight.

As we approached the gate, huge grasshoppers raced through the air from an adjacent field. They hit the windshield with a ping. They zoomed through the air and past the big tall trees to check out this strange vehicle; they dove into the windshield like a bullet being fired. My love for grasshoppers has never been at the top of the list. I shrieked and made sure all the windows in the station wagon were closed. I looked frantically to find this piece of heaven on earth.

As the station wagon bumped its way down a long hill with ruts that had been carved with the passage of time, I wondered where this one lane country road was taking us.

Driving through ruts filled with all kinds of grass and weeds, we finally reached the entrance to our land. Our son, Mike, was the first to hit the ground. At only six years of age, he was