This story was excerpted from an interview in August 2026 with Marlene and Owen Davis.

Marlene Davis: We were raised in Gordon. 

Shyanne Bellamy: Gordon.  

Marlene Davis: Yeah, Gordon, and he was in Bateson, South Dakota. 

Shyanne Bellamy: Awesome. 

Marlene Davis: So, we went to high school and, well, all of our schooling, country school for me, through eighth grade, and then just went to Gordon. 

Shyanne Bellamy: And then, how did you end up in Rushville? 

Owen Davis: We moved down to our Family Ranch in 1974. The ranch was homesteaded by my great-grandfather in 1893. So it’s been in the family a long time. 

Marlene Davis: 1974, yeah.  

Shyanne Bellamy: And then, do you have any stories about living there? What was like your daily routine of like living there? 

Marlene Davis: Well, we had to pivot, so we farmed, had cattle. We tried everything, had pigs. Don’t ever do that.

But yeah, I mean, it’s a hard life. Farming on a ranch is a hard life.