In 1971, our grandparents Heinrich & Ursula Grimm bought four acres of land in Three Rivers, California, a small river town nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Sequoia National Park. After many sketches, they hired local architect Gary Cort to help build their dream home on the river. Every weekend, the two of them would drive up from Los Angeles to stay in the trailer, enjoy the river, and lend a hand with the building. Finally in 1984, Heinrich retired from working as an engineer at Howard Hughes in El Segundo and Ursula from working at Nolan Miller’s shop in Beverly Hills, and they made the move to Three Rivers.

Heinrich and Ursula were both very active in the Three Rivers Theater Group and Art Guild. Ursula developed a strong passion for painting & watercolor during her time in Three Rivers, and her work was displayed in many shops and galleries throughout town. My sister and I would spend many summers with them in Three Rivers, enjoying the river, visiting Sequoia, doing arts & crafts, watching Laurel & Hardy movies and tennis (Boris Becker!) with Opa, and watching old black & white movies with Oma. After Opa passed away in 1992, Oma rented out the guest house to a young woman who had arrived in town, Arlene, and with great luck the two of them became wonderful friends, walking to the river together daily with their two dogs and taking trips around California.

We cherish greatly all the memories we made there and Three Rivers will always hold a very special place in our hearts.

Opa walking along the South Fork

Oma with her beloved view of Mt Dennison, this spot would become the ‘backyard’ to their house, & you can see the path to the river behind her.

Opa loved to spend his days clearing brush and blasting rocks! He created a clear path to the river and cleared out a swimming hole for us. I remember Oma would would ring the bell to call him in for lunch.

Nelly their German shepherd overlooking the river. The giant log she is sitting on is still there today, it’s actually a piece of a Sequoia tree trunk that came tumbling down the river from up the mountain, long ago.

Oma with her view of Mt Dennison, this is exactly the spot where they built their home.

One of my favorite watercolor paintings she made. It’s the view from her backyard, with Mt Dennison in the background.