The Cherry Tree

This is from a Gird Story as related by Annie Lamb-Hindorff on July 7, 1996, at age 100 yrs, as related by her daughter, Margaret Ray. It is a wonderful story. My sincere gratitude to her for all the photos and stories she contributes for the creation of these familiy records.

This story that took place in the 1840s, during the Courtship days of Martha Stites & Henry Gird. They were married on February 15, 1849 at her father's farm, later Trenton, Illinois.

Martha Stites Lewis was expecting Henry Gird to visit her this Sunday afternoon. She got all ready and went outside to sit under the Cherry Tree to wait for him.

She looked up in the tree and it was so inviting, so
she slipped off her shoes and her heavy outer dress and climbed up into
the tree. It was pleasant up there, and the breeze felt good.

After awhile, her father came out to rest on the bench in the shade of that
very same cherry tree. Martha kept quiet, thinking she'd hurry down as
soon as he left...But he didn't leave.

When Henry arrived, he sat down there too, and chatted with Mr. Lewis. They both sat there puffing on their pipes and blowing the smoke up into the tree. Martha thought she heard them say something about "...not setting the tree on fire....", and she was getting tired
of standing up there on those limbs in her stocking feet, so she decided to try to get down. A limb broke when she started to step down, and she got caught up there.

Martha called to Henry to help her get down. Of course the men had been
wondering how long she could stay up there. Henry never let Martha
forget that he once had to rescue her from a cherry tree!

Henry Gird and Martha Stites Lewis Gird were my Great-great-grandparents. They
settled in the valley now known by their name, Gird Valley, Fallbrook,
California.

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