Howard "Ed" Davis was born in Oklahoma in 1927. He was the second of eight boys born to Henry and Ara Foster Davis. In late 1939 the family worked their way to California. This was the end of the Dust Bowl period so like so many others they were migrant farm workers. They worked their way up to Washington and at the end of the apple season they moved to Sacramento, California. They lived in the Perkins area of Sacramento and worked in the hop fields during the summers.
Ed graduated from Sacramento High School and enlisted in the army. When he returned from the army he went to work at Csmpbell Soup where he met Virginia Mitts.
In 1954 Ed's older brother Henry Jr was running a small country store in Sloughhhouse, California. Sloughhouse was nothing more than a wide spot on Jackson Highway eighteen miles east of Sacramento. Ed and Virginia bought the store from it's owner and changed the name to Davis Market. With their two sons, Terry and Gary, they moved into the apartment that was attached to the building which also housed the post office.
Ed believed in giving the customers the best for their dollar. He remembered his childhood and the migrant worker experience so he extended credit to those who came to work in the fields surrounding the store. During the winter rain would frequently cause Deer Creek to swell and flood the road to the store. So he would meet them at the top of the hill and row them to the store.
And the family grew. By 1960 they added Donald (Pete), Jimmy and Gregory. Ed's parents had instilled a strong work ethic in all of their sons including Ed. He decided to lease some farm land from local ranchers and started growing tomatoes for the canneries. The boys worked in the store and in the fields but school was the priority. They rarely missed school and their homework was always finished before bedtime.
It wasn't all work though. Ed coached his boys baseball teams. He taught them to hunt and fish. He and his brothers went deer and elk hunting in Idaho. They also made frequent fishing trips to the coast.
As a child I spent a lot of time at Uncle Eddie's. The store had the old fashioned butcher section with sawdust on the wooden floor. I wasn't even eight years old when he put a hairnet on my head and tied a huge apron around me. He had me stand on a milk crate in front of the meat grinder and a big pan of beef and fat. He showed me how to turn the grinder on and then said "Mary Kay, my customers don't like the taste of fingers in their burger so be careful". And then he walked away. I never felt so important in my life. As an adult I realize he was just trying to entertain me because the boys (including my brother) didn't want to play with me because I was a girl.
In 1970 Ed planted an acre of sweet corn. He and the boys started selling it on the side of the road. $1 for a dozen but he always threw in an extra ear in case one was bad and the $3 bag usually contained 38-40 ears. As the popularity of the corn grew Ed eventually turned his tomato operation into a sweet corn phenomenon. He sold the store to his younger brother Floyd and moved down the road closer to his corn fields. The operation grew to 180 acres of sweet corn and other vegetables.
Ed and Virginia's two oldest boys moved on to pursue their own careers. Gregory was killed in an automobile accident on Jackson Hwy between the store and the ranch. Pete and Jimmy continued to run and expand the "corn stand" operation so Ed could retire.
Ed was preceded in death by: Parents Henry and Ara Davis, wife Virginia, son Gregory, grandsons Donnie and James, brothers Henry Jr and Stanley
Survived by: Sons Terry of Sacramento, Gary and Pete of Sloughhouse, and Jim of Wilton; brothers Ronnie, Floyd, Norman and Tom of Sacramento and Bob of Wilton; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren. He will be missed by dozens of nieces and nephews and of course his customers.
Ed graduated from Sacramento High School and enlisted in the army. When he returned from the army he went to work at Csmpbell Soup where he met Virginia Mitts.
In 1954 Ed's older brother Henry Jr was running a small country store in Sloughhhouse, California. Sloughhouse was nothing more than a wide spot on Jackson Highway eighteen miles east of Sacramento. Ed and Virginia bought the store from it's owner and changed the name to Davis Market. With their two sons, Terry and Gary, they moved into the apartment that was attached to the building which also housed the post office.
Ed believed in giving the customers the best for their dollar. He remembered his childhood and the migrant worker experience so he extended credit to those who came to work in the fields surrounding the store. During the winter rain would frequently cause Deer Creek to swell and flood the road to the store. So he would meet them at the top of the hill and row them to the store.
And the family grew. By 1960 they added Donald (Pete), Jimmy and Gregory. Ed's parents had instilled a strong work ethic in all of their sons including Ed. He decided to lease some farm land from local ranchers and started growing tomatoes for the canneries. The boys worked in the store and in the fields but school was the priority. They rarely missed school and their homework was always finished before bedtime.
It wasn't all work though. Ed coached his boys baseball teams. He taught them to hunt and fish. He and his brothers went deer and elk hunting in Idaho. They also made frequent fishing trips to the coast.
As a child I spent a lot of time at Uncle Eddie's. The store had the old fashioned butcher section with sawdust on the wooden floor. I wasn't even eight years old when he put a hairnet on my head and tied a huge apron around me. He had me stand on a milk crate in front of the meat grinder and a big pan of beef and fat. He showed me how to turn the grinder on and then said "Mary Kay, my customers don't like the taste of fingers in their burger so be careful". And then he walked away. I never felt so important in my life. As an adult I realize he was just trying to entertain me because the boys (including my brother) didn't want to play with me because I was a girl.
In 1970 Ed planted an acre of sweet corn. He and the boys started selling it on the side of the road. $1 for a dozen but he always threw in an extra ear in case one was bad and the $3 bag usually contained 38-40 ears. As the popularity of the corn grew Ed eventually turned his tomato operation into a sweet corn phenomenon. He sold the store to his younger brother Floyd and moved down the road closer to his corn fields. The operation grew to 180 acres of sweet corn and other vegetables.
Ed and Virginia's two oldest boys moved on to pursue their own careers. Gregory was killed in an automobile accident on Jackson Hwy between the store and the ranch. Pete and Jimmy continued to run and expand the "corn stand" operation so Ed could retire.
Ed was preceded in death by: Parents Henry and Ara Davis, wife Virginia, son Gregory, grandsons Donnie and James, brothers Henry Jr and Stanley
Survived by: Sons Terry of Sacramento, Gary and Pete of Sloughhouse, and Jim of Wilton; brothers Ronnie, Floyd, Norman and Tom of Sacramento and Bob of Wilton; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren. He will be missed by dozens of nieces and nephews and of course his customers.
Howard "Ed" Davis was born in Oklahoma in 1927. He was the second of eight boys born to Henry and Ara Foster Davis. In late 1939 the family worked their way to California. This was the end of the Dust Bowl period so like so many others they were migrant farm workers. They worked their way up to Washington and at the end of the apple season they moved to Sacramento, California. They lived in the Perkins area of Sacramento and worked in the hop fields during the summers.
Ed graduated from Sacramento High School and enlisted in the army. When he returned from the army he went to work at Csmpbell Soup where he met Virginia Mitts.
In 1954 Ed's older brother Henry Jr was running a small country store in Sloughhhouse, California. Sloughhouse was nothing more than a wide spot on Jackson Highway eighteen miles east of Sacramento. Ed and Virginia bought the store from it's owner and changed the name to Davis Market. With their two sons, Terry and Gary, they moved into the apartment that was attached to the building which also housed the post office.
Ed believed in giving the customers the best for their dollar. He remembered his childhood and the migrant worker experience so he extended credit to those who came to work in the fields surrounding the store. During the winter rain would frequently cause Deer Creek to swell and flood the road to the store. So he would meet them at the top of the hill and row them to the store.
And the family grew. By 1960 they added Donald (Pete), Jimmy and Gregory. Ed's parents had instilled a strong work ethic in all of their sons including Ed. He decided to lease some farm land from local ranchers and started growing tomatoes for the canneries. The boys worked in the store and in the fields but school was the priority. They rarely missed school and their homework was always finished before bedtime.
It wasn't all work though. Ed coached his boys baseball teams. He taught them to hunt and fish. He and his brothers went deer and elk hunting in Idaho. They also made frequent fishing trips to the coast.
As a child I spent a lot of time at Uncle Eddie's. The store had the old fashioned butcher section with sawdust on the wooden floor. I wasn't even eight years old when he put a hairnet on my head and tied a huge apron around me. He had me stand on a milk crate in front of the meat grinder and a big pan of beef and fat. He showed me how to turn the grinder on and then said "Mary Kay, my customers don't like the taste of fingers in their burger so be careful". And then he walked away. I never felt so important in my life. As an adult I realize he was just trying to entertain me because the boys (including my brother) didn't want to play with me because I was a girl.
In 1970 Ed planted an acre of sweet corn. He and the boys started selling it on the side of the road. $1 for a dozen but he always threw in an extra ear in case one was bad and the $3 bag usually contained 38-40 ears. As the popularity of the corn grew Ed eventually turned his tomato operation into a sweet corn phenomenon. He sold the store to his younger brother Floyd and moved down the road closer to his corn fields. The operation grew to 180 acres of sweet corn and other vegetables.
Ed and Virginia's two oldest boys moved on to pursue their own careers. Gregory was killed in an automobile accident on Jackson Hwy between the store and the ranch. Pete and Jimmy continued to run and expand the "corn stand" operation so Ed could retire.
Ed was preceded in death by: Parents Henry and Ara Davis, wife Virginia, son Gregory, grandsons Donnie and James, brothers Henry Jr and Stanley
Survived by: Sons Terry of Sacramento, Gary and Pete of Sloughhouse, and Jim of Wilton; brothers Ronnie, Floyd, Norman and Tom of Sacramento and Bob of Wilton; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren. He will be missed by dozens of nieces and nephews and of course his customers.
Ed graduated from Sacramento High School and enlisted in the army. When he returned from the army he went to work at Csmpbell Soup where he met Virginia Mitts.
In 1954 Ed's older brother Henry Jr was running a small country store in Sloughhhouse, California. Sloughhouse was nothing more than a wide spot on Jackson Highway eighteen miles east of Sacramento. Ed and Virginia bought the store from it's owner and changed the name to Davis Market. With their two sons, Terry and Gary, they moved into the apartment that was attached to the building which also housed the post office.
Ed believed in giving the customers the best for their dollar. He remembered his childhood and the migrant worker experience so he extended credit to those who came to work in the fields surrounding the store. During the winter rain would frequently cause Deer Creek to swell and flood the road to the store. So he would meet them at the top of the hill and row them to the store.
And the family grew. By 1960 they added Donald (Pete), Jimmy and Gregory. Ed's parents had instilled a strong work ethic in all of their sons including Ed. He decided to lease some farm land from local ranchers and started growing tomatoes for the canneries. The boys worked in the store and in the fields but school was the priority. They rarely missed school and their homework was always finished before bedtime.
It wasn't all work though. Ed coached his boys baseball teams. He taught them to hunt and fish. He and his brothers went deer and elk hunting in Idaho. They also made frequent fishing trips to the coast.
As a child I spent a lot of time at Uncle Eddie's. The store had the old fashioned butcher section with sawdust on the wooden floor. I wasn't even eight years old when he put a hairnet on my head and tied a huge apron around me. He had me stand on a milk crate in front of the meat grinder and a big pan of beef and fat. He showed me how to turn the grinder on and then said "Mary Kay, my customers don't like the taste of fingers in their burger so be careful". And then he walked away. I never felt so important in my life. As an adult I realize he was just trying to entertain me because the boys (including my brother) didn't want to play with me because I was a girl.
In 1970 Ed planted an acre of sweet corn. He and the boys started selling it on the side of the road. $1 for a dozen but he always threw in an extra ear in case one was bad and the $3 bag usually contained 38-40 ears. As the popularity of the corn grew Ed eventually turned his tomato operation into a sweet corn phenomenon. He sold the store to his younger brother Floyd and moved down the road closer to his corn fields. The operation grew to 180 acres of sweet corn and other vegetables.
Ed and Virginia's two oldest boys moved on to pursue their own careers. Gregory was killed in an automobile accident on Jackson Hwy between the store and the ranch. Pete and Jimmy continued to run and expand the "corn stand" operation so Ed could retire.
Ed was preceded in death by: Parents Henry and Ara Davis, wife Virginia, son Gregory, grandsons Donnie and James, brothers Henry Jr and Stanley
Survived by: Sons Terry of Sacramento, Gary and Pete of Sloughhouse, and Jim of Wilton; brothers Ronnie, Floyd, Norman and Tom of Sacramento and Bob of Wilton; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren. He will be missed by dozens of nieces and nephews and of course his customers.
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