Finding Hope in Unexpected Places with Toby Dorr
The Storytellers Porch
"We are not defined by our mistake... We are defined by our character." - Toby Dorr, bestselling author, host of Fierce Conversations with Toby, and today’s guest on The Storytellers Porch Welcome to The Storytellers Porch! Join Jill as Toby recounts her experiences of resilience, reinvention, and redemption. Through a poignant narrative, Toby reveals how a chance encounter with a young man experiencing homelessness sparked a profound shift in her perspective, inspiring her to dedicate her life to helping others. From her upbringing in a family that valued self-reliance to her...
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Meeting Donny Osmond and Heartfelt Connections with Kerry Kruegler
The Storytellers Porch
"I met Donny Osmond. The moment was real. I had to keep telling myself that it was real, though. I had to focus pretty hard to understand it was really happening.” - Kerry Kruegler, today’s guest on The Storytellers Porch Welcome to The Storytellers Porch! Experience the magic of Kerry’s journey as she recounts her quest to meet her childhood idol, Donny Osmond. From childhood idolization to the exhilarating moment of finally embracing him in person, Kerry's journey is a testament to the transformative power of passion and perseverance. Sometimes, the stars align to make the...
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Pillowcases and Connections with Heather Wilde
The Storytellers Porch
Remember all that you have accomplished. Today on the Porch, Heather Wilde joins Jill while sipping coffee and Bailey’s. Come on over and grab a seat with your favorite drink while Heather and Jill discuss Heather’s teaching career, her belief in being a good person, and the legendary pillowcases she gave to her students upon their graduation. Links: Heather Wilde: Connect with The Storytellers Porch: The Storytellers Porch on Facebook, The Storytellers Porch on Instagram, Thank you joining us on The Storyteller's Porch this week! Make sure you subscribe and follow us...
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Learning the Charleston with Harry Slick
The Storytellers Porch
“Every time we started to go to school, the old gray mare would wait till we got out on the road, right by our house, and then she'd go back into the ditch with the buggy that she was hitched to and head for the barn.” Welcome to the Storytellers Porch! Today, Jill is joined by Mrs. Barbara Ewing and her daughter Jacquie. Mrs. Ewing (who just celebrated her 100th birthday… on a motorcycle!) will be telling us stories about her childhood growing up in the farmlands of Kansas, riding a horse to school that always got spooked, and the dirt storms and the grasshoppers that plagued the...
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Peace, Solitude, and More Lessons Learned on the Farm
The Storytellers Porch
“The reason my great-great-grandparents came over here was for freedom and hope for their family. To start this generation and to give generational hope and freedom of living. Some place like here.” - Deb Nyenhuis, today’s guest on Following the trend of last week’s episode with , Deb Nyenhuis and Jill talk today about life growing up on a farm. In a slight contrast to Dr. Wright’s childhood, who was a frequent visitor of his grandparent’s farm but didn’t live there, Deb lived her life on her parent’s farm in South Dakota until she went to college. So much can be learned...
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Lessons Learned on the Farm
The Storytellers Porch
Trigger warning: This episode contains dialogue of life on a sheep farm, which includes mentions of hunting and the death of animals. No animal cruelty is discussed. “When somebody walks in my practice, they're in my house. I want them to be at home.” - Mark H. Wright, DDS, today’s guest on The Storytellers Porch Today’s story on The Porch at The Farm is a unique one, in the best way possible. Jill chats with , who spent a lot of time growing up at his grandparents sheep ranch and currently resides in the city of Colorado Springs, CO. Dr. Wright doesn’t consider himself...
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Life Continues after Loss
The Storytellers Porch
“I can look to the seasons, and I can look to the controlled burns and the growth that comes up a week later and use that as a reminder: that nature, and the seasons, and those cycles have been here long before we have and will be here long after. And I think that's really all the hope I need.” - In our last adventure out to Stockport Farm, Jill talked about the intentional burning of her barn, to keep the land and the surrounding area safe. In today’s episode, Jill and her co-host, Gracie Jenkins, discuss a far more tragic burn… an unplanned burn...
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A Little Bit of Whiskey and a Lot of Community
The Storytellers Porch
What do you do when you get a call saying you have to fix your 130-year-old barn that is falling down and causing a hazard to your neighbors? You grab some friends, some beer, some food, and some love and figure it out. In today's exciting episode, Jill Davis and Emily Chase Smith talk about the hardship that came when Jill had to say goodbye to the family barn at the family farm. After having been in the family for 130 years, taking down the barn was an incredibly emotional moment for Jill and her family. Her brother perhaps surmised the emotions best: "It's like we're burning down dad."...
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A Daughters Love and a Brownie Camera
The Storytellers Porch
This episode of the Storyteller’s Porch begins with our host Jill Davis and her daughter, as they open a discussion about life growing up, Jill’s parents (Gracie’s grandparents), and much more. Our drink of choice for the porch this episode is made by Gracie’s girlfriend who is a barista at Dutch Bros. Previously, we’ve dived into the stories of Jim and Sue Davis, known to Gracie as Grandma and Grandpa. Gracie’s earliest memory of the farm is from a time when Jill and the kids were staying in Kansas at a hotel and there was a tornado warning. It was the first time Gracie...
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Mom Said It Was a Pickup but It Was Also a Love Story
The Storytellers Porch
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 at 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...
info_outlineThis episode of the Storyteller’s Porch begins with our host Jill Davis and her daughter, Gracie as they open a discussion about life growing up, Jill’s parents (Gracie’s grandparents), and much more. Our drink of choice for the porch this episode is Strawberry Pineapple Rebel made by Gracie’s girlfriend who is a barista at Dutch Bros.
Previously, we’ve dived into the stories of Jim and Sue Davis, known to Gracie as Grandma and Grandpa. Gracie’s earliest memory of the farm is from a time when Jill and the kids were staying in Kansas at a hotel and there was a tornado warning. It was the first time Gracie had ever witnessed a tornado warning, sirens wailing, and precautions being taken.
The next day, the family went to the farm. Gracie remembers playing on the farm the next day, hanging out in the back behind the barn and being grateful for not being swept away by the tornado.
Jill, of course, remembers more about the aftereffects of the tornado. She and the other adults visited one of Grandpa’s friend’s houses the day after the storm. The friend had irrigated farmlands, meaning they had many large cast iron sprinkler systems that watered the lands. Jill had never witnessed the sheer power of a tornado this close up before but quickly came to realize the intensity of damage a tornado can inflict when they came across a part of the sprinkler system that had been picked up and completely twisted into a corkscrew shape and then tossed across the field.
Recently, Gracie had a chance to visit the farm again for the first time since she was very little. Gracie and Jill spent a few days out on the farm playing music, cleaning the house, and connecting with the land. Since that trip, Gracie has expressed that she now feels much more connected to family history, lineage, and the way that the land holds memory of all people (even beyond her own kin).
Honoring that new feeling of connectedness, Jill and Gracie decided to read a bit of what they have each written on Grandma and Grandpa, their memories of them and their appreciation for who they were as human beings and a part of a long line of family history. Jill’s contribution comes in the form of a eulogy.
You can read the full eulogy here and as an added treat, please enjoy this explanation/example of the Tarzan yell mentioned in the eulogy.
The second of Jill’s contributions is a birthday letter Jill wrote to her father for his 91st birthday (and just shortly before he was told he had 6 weeks left to live).
In turn, Gracie’s contribution is a mixture of her public speaking experience and written word. Although she has always felt connected to language and wordsmithing in general, one of the ways Gracie conceptualizes and reflects on relationships is through poetry.
Although Gracie admits she did love and honor her grandfather, she often found herself feeling a bit more distanced from him. His personality was not quite as warm, silly song, and sugar cubed infused as Grandma’s was.
When Gracie was 14, she got into photography and as a gift, Grandpa gave Gracie a brownie camera that he carried with him during World War II.
You can read the full poem titled, ”in honor of the brownie camera that sits proudly on my nightstand” here.
We thank you for joining us for another episode of The Storyteller’s Porch and we’d love to hear the stories of your life, your loved ones and how you continue to honor them.
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 about Gracie by following her online at the links below:
Always drink responsibly, don’t drink and drive.