Promise I'll Stay for Mother's Day

It was 1933, and Bress Thompson's 14-year-old daughter, Lois, had just confronted him. She demanded that he allow her to continue to go to school. He picked up a stick and drew a line in the dirt road leading away from their mountain home in Promise, Oregon. He threatened her with loss of home if she crossed it.

"Scared and shaking so bad I could hardly make my way, I followed Pop into the house and set about packing my belongings. I put what little I had into my pillow case and left. I couldn't stay and have all my dreams die in that house."

This is the story of Lois Thompson, who took charge of her life at age 14. She did not lose her home. She finished high school and in 1943, moved to the city with her husband and two kids, where we moved into our own home. She set an example for us to celebrate change, which we embraced when we returned her to Promise to forever rest in peace. The house is gone, but her home is still there.