My grandfather, Almon J. Sims, is best known today as the author of the book, "The Pariss Sims Family and Related Families 1765-1965." This book contains an entire chapter about his early life. Many of his family members remember the long hours he and my grandmother, Sammie, spent on the correspondence, research, and writing of this book.
Some of his many other accomplishments were:
- studied journalism at the University of Missouri
- in 1915 he served the "Lawrence Democrat," as chief reporter, assistant editor, advertising manager, and pressman
- in 1917 he joined the "Nashville Tennessean," and became State News Editor, and established the "Agricultural and Market News."
- was a contributor to several farm publication such as "Country Gentleman," "Farm Journal," "Hoard's Dairyman," and "Southern Agriculturist."
In 1920 A.J. Sims became the first Agriculture Extension editor for the University of Tennessee. He was instrumental in building the Agricultural Information Service of the College of Agriculture Extension from scratch, and eventually became its president, 1926-27. He became a full professor. When he retired, his department was distributing a million copies of publications annually through the UT Extension Service. Newspapers were printing 250,000 column inches a year from a pet project of Sims, "The Tennessee Farm and Home News." He was at one time president of the American Agricultutral College Editors and national vice-president of the American Agricultural College Magazine Association. He was also active in the Tennessee Press Association. He was a contributing writer for "Progressive Farmer" for over 30 years.
His obituary states, "He was an agricultural editor of international renown." He completed a two year assignment, 1954-55, with the U.S. Foreign Service and Cornell University in the Philippines to set up a program there similar to the agriculture information system at UT.
After retirement, he completed a two year assignment in Iran with the U.S. Foreign Aid Service and Utah State University as agriculture information advisor for the International Cooperation Administration, assigned to the Karaj Agricultural College near the capital, Tehran.
And he had the good sense to marry my grandmother, Sammie Clark Sims, with whom he raised six children. At the time of his death he had five living children, 16 grand children and 8 great-grand children. Grandsons served as his active pallbearers
He is remembered by his grandchildren for many other things:
He maintained a huge vegetable garden and many fruit trees. At the end of a day in his garden, the lucky grandchild would get wheelbarrel rides back to the garage. This was a red, wooden wheelbarrel, with metal wheels and sides that came off.
He traveled around the world, to the Holy Lands, and across America. He often explored new road construction on weekends, after the workers had gone home. His Sunday drives were ledgendary, and grandchildren sat in the back seat and played the "cow and cemetery counting" game. He knew which turns to make in the road to make sure games remained closely tied.
He brought back large rocks from his road trips and used them to design his own half acre minature golf course under the spreading miamosa trees of his side yard. Be advised to never play a man on his home course.
He had a mammoth desk and typed out his papers on an old black Underwood typewrite, often while smoking a pipe, wearing a cardigan sweater, and waiting for the mailman.
He was a Republican and belonged to Central Baptist Church of Fountain City and the Baraca Sunday School Class. He read newspapers, "Life," "Look," "National Geographic," "Reader's Digest," and "Saturday Evening Post." He watched Walter Cronkite and Jeopardy, and meals were served around the news time slots. He did not drink, but loved to laugh. He owned a fake peanut can with a fabric covered, coiled spring snake inside which was offered to the unexpecting guest.
As he wrote in his book, "The good things that have come to me far exceed the fondest dreams of my boyhood days on Indian Creek in Wayne Co., plowing old Beck (a horse) down the long corn rows and wondering what was beyond the hills that hemmed us in."
And "Having a goal in life and striving to reach it, striving to be helpful to others, is one of the greatest thing a person can have."
- compiled by Gaynelle Hobt Morton, one of his granddaughters
- revised March 2017
- revised July 2020
- revised Aug 2023
Some of his many other accomplishments were:
- studied journalism at the University of Missouri
- in 1915 he served the "Lawrence Democrat," as chief reporter, assistant editor, advertising manager, and pressman
- in 1917 he joined the "Nashville Tennessean," and became State News Editor, and established the "Agricultural and Market News."
- was a contributor to several farm publication such as "Country Gentleman," "Farm Journal," "Hoard's Dairyman," and "Southern Agriculturist."
In 1920 A.J. Sims became the first Agriculture Extension editor for the University of Tennessee. He was instrumental in building the Agricultural Information Service of the College of Agriculture Extension from scratch, and eventually became its president, 1926-27. He became a full professor. When he retired, his department was distributing a million copies of publications annually through the UT Extension Service. Newspapers were printing 250,000 column inches a year from a pet project of Sims, "The Tennessee Farm and Home News." He was at one time president of the American Agricultutral College Editors and national vice-president of the American Agricultural College Magazine Association. He was also active in the Tennessee Press Association. He was a contributing writer for "Progressive Farmer" for over 30 years.
His obituary states, "He was an agricultural editor of international renown." He completed a two year assignment, 1954-55, with the U.S. Foreign Service and Cornell University in the Philippines to set up a program there similar to the agriculture information system at UT.
After retirement, he completed a two year assignment in Iran with the U.S. Foreign Aid Service and Utah State University as agriculture information advisor for the International Cooperation Administration, assigned to the Karaj Agricultural College near the capital, Tehran.
And he had the good sense to marry my grandmother, Sammie Clark Sims, with whom he raised six children. At the time of his death he had five living children, 16 grand children and 8 great-grand children. Grandsons served as his active pallbearers
He is remembered by his grandchildren for many other things:
He maintained a huge vegetable garden and many fruit trees. At the end of a day in his garden, the lucky grandchild would get wheelbarrel rides back to the garage. This was a red, wooden wheelbarrel, with metal wheels and sides that came off.
He traveled around the world, to the Holy Lands, and across America. He often explored new road construction on weekends, after the workers had gone home. His Sunday drives were ledgendary, and grandchildren sat in the back seat and played the "cow and cemetery counting" game. He knew which turns to make in the road to make sure games remained closely tied.
He brought back large rocks from his road trips and used them to design his own half acre minature golf course under the spreading miamosa trees of his side yard. Be advised to never play a man on his home course.
He had a mammoth desk and typed out his papers on an old black Underwood typewrite, often while smoking a pipe, wearing a cardigan sweater, and waiting for the mailman.
He was a Republican and belonged to Central Baptist Church of Fountain City and the Baraca Sunday School Class. He read newspapers, "Life," "Look," "National Geographic," "Reader's Digest," and "Saturday Evening Post." He watched Walter Cronkite and Jeopardy, and meals were served around the news time slots. He did not drink, but loved to laugh. He owned a fake peanut can with a fabric covered, coiled spring snake inside which was offered to the unexpecting guest.
As he wrote in his book, "The good things that have come to me far exceed the fondest dreams of my boyhood days on Indian Creek in Wayne Co., plowing old Beck (a horse) down the long corn rows and wondering what was beyond the hills that hemmed us in."
And "Having a goal in life and striving to reach it, striving to be helpful to others, is one of the greatest thing a person can have."
- compiled by Gaynelle Hobt Morton, one of his granddaughters
- revised March 2017
- revised July 2020
- revised Aug 2023
My grandfather, Almon J. Sims, is best known today as the author of the book, "The Pariss Sims Family and Related Families 1765-1965." This book contains an entire chapter about his early life. Many of his family members remember the long hours he and my grandmother, Sammie, spent on the correspondence, research, and writing of this book.
Some of his many other accomplishments were:
- studied journalism at the University of Missouri
- in 1915 he served the "Lawrence Democrat," as chief reporter, assistant editor, advertising manager, and pressman
- in 1917 he joined the "Nashville Tennessean," and became State News Editor, and established the "Agricultural and Market News."
- was a contributor to several farm publication such as "Country Gentleman," "Farm Journal," "Hoard's Dairyman," and "Southern Agriculturist."
In 1920 A.J. Sims became the first Agriculture Extension editor for the University of Tennessee. He was instrumental in building the Agricultural Information Service of the College of Agriculture Extension from scratch, and eventually became its president, 1926-27. He became a full professor. When he retired, his department was distributing a million copies of publications annually through the UT Extension Service. Newspapers were printing 250,000 column inches a year from a pet project of Sims, "The Tennessee Farm and Home News." He was at one time president of the American Agricultutral College Editors and national vice-president of the American Agricultural College Magazine Association. He was also active in the Tennessee Press Association. He was a contributing writer for "Progressive Farmer" for over 30 years.
His obituary states, "He was an agricultural editor of international renown." He completed a two year assignment, 1954-55, with the U.S. Foreign Service and Cornell University in the Philippines to set up a program there similar to the agriculture information system at UT.
After retirement, he completed a two year assignment in Iran with the U.S. Foreign Aid Service and Utah State University as agriculture information advisor for the International Cooperation Administration, assigned to the Karaj Agricultural College near the capital, Tehran.
And he had the good sense to marry my grandmother, Sammie Clark Sims, with whom he raised six children. At the time of his death he had five living children, 16 grand children and 8 great-grand children. Grandsons served as his active pallbearers
He is remembered by his grandchildren for many other things:
He maintained a huge vegetable garden and many fruit trees. At the end of a day in his garden, the lucky grandchild would get wheelbarrel rides back to the garage. This was a red, wooden wheelbarrel, with metal wheels and sides that came off.
He traveled around the world, to the Holy Lands, and across America. He often explored new road construction on weekends, after the workers had gone home. His Sunday drives were ledgendary, and grandchildren sat in the back seat and played the "cow and cemetery counting" game. He knew which turns to make in the road to make sure games remained closely tied.
He brought back large rocks from his road trips and used them to design his own half acre minature golf course under the spreading miamosa trees of his side yard. Be advised to never play a man on his home course.
He had a mammoth desk and typed out his papers on an old black Underwood typewrite, often while smoking a pipe, wearing a cardigan sweater, and waiting for the mailman.
He was a Republican and belonged to Central Baptist Church of Fountain City and the Baraca Sunday School Class. He read newspapers, "Life," "Look," "National Geographic," "Reader's Digest," and "Saturday Evening Post." He watched Walter Cronkite and Jeopardy, and meals were served around the news time slots. He did not drink, but loved to laugh. He owned a fake peanut can with a fabric covered, coiled spring snake inside which was offered to the unexpecting guest.
As he wrote in his book, "The good things that have come to me far exceed the fondest dreams of my boyhood days on Indian Creek in Wayne Co., plowing old Beck (a horse) down the long corn rows and wondering what was beyond the hills that hemmed us in."
And "Having a goal in life and striving to reach it, striving to be helpful to others, is one of the greatest thing a person can have."
- compiled by Gaynelle Hobt Morton, one of his granddaughters
- revised March 2017
- revised July 2020
- revised Aug 2023
Some of his many other accomplishments were:
- studied journalism at the University of Missouri
- in 1915 he served the "Lawrence Democrat," as chief reporter, assistant editor, advertising manager, and pressman
- in 1917 he joined the "Nashville Tennessean," and became State News Editor, and established the "Agricultural and Market News."
- was a contributor to several farm publication such as "Country Gentleman," "Farm Journal," "Hoard's Dairyman," and "Southern Agriculturist."
In 1920 A.J. Sims became the first Agriculture Extension editor for the University of Tennessee. He was instrumental in building the Agricultural Information Service of the College of Agriculture Extension from scratch, and eventually became its president, 1926-27. He became a full professor. When he retired, his department was distributing a million copies of publications annually through the UT Extension Service. Newspapers were printing 250,000 column inches a year from a pet project of Sims, "The Tennessee Farm and Home News." He was at one time president of the American Agricultutral College Editors and national vice-president of the American Agricultural College Magazine Association. He was also active in the Tennessee Press Association. He was a contributing writer for "Progressive Farmer" for over 30 years.
His obituary states, "He was an agricultural editor of international renown." He completed a two year assignment, 1954-55, with the U.S. Foreign Service and Cornell University in the Philippines to set up a program there similar to the agriculture information system at UT.
After retirement, he completed a two year assignment in Iran with the U.S. Foreign Aid Service and Utah State University as agriculture information advisor for the International Cooperation Administration, assigned to the Karaj Agricultural College near the capital, Tehran.
And he had the good sense to marry my grandmother, Sammie Clark Sims, with whom he raised six children. At the time of his death he had five living children, 16 grand children and 8 great-grand children. Grandsons served as his active pallbearers
He is remembered by his grandchildren for many other things:
He maintained a huge vegetable garden and many fruit trees. At the end of a day in his garden, the lucky grandchild would get wheelbarrel rides back to the garage. This was a red, wooden wheelbarrel, with metal wheels and sides that came off.
He traveled around the world, to the Holy Lands, and across America. He often explored new road construction on weekends, after the workers had gone home. His Sunday drives were ledgendary, and grandchildren sat in the back seat and played the "cow and cemetery counting" game. He knew which turns to make in the road to make sure games remained closely tied.
He brought back large rocks from his road trips and used them to design his own half acre minature golf course under the spreading miamosa trees of his side yard. Be advised to never play a man on his home course.
He had a mammoth desk and typed out his papers on an old black Underwood typewrite, often while smoking a pipe, wearing a cardigan sweater, and waiting for the mailman.
He was a Republican and belonged to Central Baptist Church of Fountain City and the Baraca Sunday School Class. He read newspapers, "Life," "Look," "National Geographic," "Reader's Digest," and "Saturday Evening Post." He watched Walter Cronkite and Jeopardy, and meals were served around the news time slots. He did not drink, but loved to laugh. He owned a fake peanut can with a fabric covered, coiled spring snake inside which was offered to the unexpecting guest.
As he wrote in his book, "The good things that have come to me far exceed the fondest dreams of my boyhood days on Indian Creek in Wayne Co., plowing old Beck (a horse) down the long corn rows and wondering what was beyond the hills that hemmed us in."
And "Having a goal in life and striving to reach it, striving to be helpful to others, is one of the greatest thing a person can have."
- compiled by Gaynelle Hobt Morton, one of his granddaughters
- revised March 2017
- revised July 2020
- revised Aug 2023
Family Members
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