Jessie Ross Green Grant

This is an AUDIO recording only and though re-mastered is raw and uncut. We suggest you use earbuds or headphones and listen in a quiet place.
On March 17, 1988, St. Patrick's Day, Anne Osborne sat down with Jessie Ross Green Grant at her home for some very engaging conversation. Jessie, though 90 years old at the time of interview, was very articulate in sharing some details of her wonderful life. This interview was conducted 8 months prior to her death.
Interesting facts about Jessie found on ancestry.com:
• When Jessie Ross Green was born on May 11, 1898, in Columbia, South Carolina, her father, Halcott Pride Green, was 31, and her mother, Emma Charlotte Boylston, was 26.
• Jessie was the Queen of Easter Week at the University of South Carolina in 1916. At the time she was a student at Chicora College in Columbia, SC.
• She met her soon to be husband on a blind date the summer of 1918. She married Gordon Grant on November 11, 1921, in her hometown of Columbia. The wedding between Jessie and Gordon was characterized by the newspaper as being one of the most important events of the season in Columbia society.
• Jessie and Gordon had four children during their marriage.
• Her father, Halcott Green died on August 2, 1949, in Saluda, North Carolina, at the age of 82.
• Her mother, Emma Green died on May 21, 1950, in Saluda, North Carolina, at the age of 78.
• Her husband, Gordon passed away on January 17, 1954, in Saluda, North Carolina, at the age of 61. They had been married 32 years.
• She died on November 11, 1988, in Saluda, North Carolina, at the age of 90, and was buried in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Topics during this interview:
• Before Jessie was born, her mother was "overcome" by Saluda and insisted that they obtain a place there. At the time her mother "knew nothing about babies" and wanted to be near two cousins who did. They lived in Saluda.
• As a child, Jessie came each summer with her family to their second home in Saluda from Columbia, SC.
• Jessie says they brought everything with them from Columbia in order to "live proper" in Saluda, including the silver, maids and a "mammy" named Bessie.
• Jessie recalls that there was a servants house behind their Saluda home.
• Jessie's family took the train to travel to Saluda. She said they were greeted by Saluda Boys bearing necklaces made from chinquapins. A Pace man driving a horse and buggy (the buggy had fringe) met them at the train and took them to their home.
• There was an ice cream parlor in town that had a place in the back where they could dance as young teens. When people got older they went to the nearby saloon. She was not allowed at the saloon. Also, it was popular to take the train to Hendersonville to dances.
• Jessie remembers that they had a fun donkey cart that took them around town.
• Later in Jessie's life as an adult, she moved to Saluda to live fulltime. She died in her beloved Saluda.
Over 40 years ago when Anne Osborne and Charlene Pace were working on the book, Saluda, NC: 100 Years 1881-1981, they conducted interviews with some of Saluda's oldest residents. Several were born in Saluda in the late 1800's or had been coming for the summer since the early 1900s. These interviews were captured on cassette tapes from 1980 to 1983. In 2010, shortly after the HSC was formed, these tapes were donated to the HSC's Oral History Committee by Marty Payton a friend of Anne Osborne, who is now deceased. With funding from a grant from the Polk County Community Foundation's Saluda Community Fund the tapes were restored and re-mastered. In 2012, the HSC released the oral history audio documentary, "Saluda, NC: Voices from the First 100 Years" in CD format, which shared a few brief snippets from these interviews. The full re-mastered but UNCUT versions of these interviews are now being uploaded to UA-cam for you to enjoy.
This is a project of the Historic Saluda Committee. Visit www.historicsaluda.org or visit us on Facebook at / historicsaluda for more information. Email: [e-mail].