Grandpa's House

Grandpa's House
2217 Oak Grove Road
Red Boiling Springs
    Send Mail to:
    2163 Oak Grove Road
    Red Boiling Springs, TN 37150
(615) 699-2738 (Voice)
Contact: Rita Watson
Hours: Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Web Site: www.grandpas-house.com

Storytelling

“It was our favorite place when we were kids – full of adventure, laughter and family.” Dewey Ritter’s granddaughters invite you out to their Grandpa’s House, a mile and a half outside Red Boiling Springs on Oak Grove Road to visit, to relax, to reminisce.

More than sixty years after Mr. Ritter purchased the farm on Oak Grove Road; the hundred year old farm house is now filled with the work of local artists, craftsmen, storytellers, writers, and musicians. Opened in 2004 to provide an outlet for quality traditional handcrafts in an era of mass imports and large chain stores, Grandpa’s House allows visitors to step back to a calmer more personal time. The house is both gift shop and museum. The walls are lined with pictures and memorabilia of life on the farm and in a small town. All the crafts at Grandpa’s House are one-of-a-kind, handmade; no mass production here. All the craftsmen are family members, friends and neighbors from Macon County and the surrounding area.

Crafts include: pottery, paintings, clothing, metal work, rag dolls, wooden swords, Christmas ornaments, furniture, candles, purses, tote bags, aprons, pillows, quilts, afghans, linens, woodwork, hand made soap, photo cards, knick-knacks and more.

To honor their rural heritage, the second Saturday in October the whole family comes together on the Ritter Farm for "How’d Dey Do Dat? Day", a rural heritage celebration. Grandpa Dewey’s blacksmith shop is opened, the grist mill is hauled out, the quilting frame is set up and traditional craftsmen and musicians gather to demonstrate how the old crafts are done. You might see a team of mules plowing the garden, a basket weaver or a marble maker. Almost always the potter is at work. Sometimes soap is being made or candles dipped. You'll have a chance to try your hand at the corn sheller. There will be stick horse barrel races for the kids (young and old) and certainly blue grass musicians under the shade of the old maple trees.

In December Karen Davis (Dewey’s granddaughter) invites everyone to Grandpa’s House for Storytelling. Seated in the parlor Karen captures her guests’ imagination as she tells of the way life used to be for Grandpa and his children. She also invites the listeners to become storytellers themselves as they share their own history with each other. Then it is time for hot cocoa and homemade cookies.

Grandpa’s House is operated by Edna Davis (GiGi), Dewey Ritter’s daughter and Rita Watson, his granddaughter. They open the house on Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. or by appointment. Visit www.grandpas-house.com for more information.

If you’re in the neighborhood, stop for a visit, sit a spell on the front porch, make a friend and then come again.

Blacksmith	Bucksaw
Checkers	Checkers
Dolls	Field Trips
Field Trips	Grist Mill
Wagon Rides	Display Wall
Wagon Rides	Grist Mill
Story Telling	Story Telling
Story Telling	Story Telling
Quilters	Quilters
Potter	Picnic
Painting Pumkins	Music
Music	Music
Music	High Tech