A granddaughter’s imagination ignited a “fairy house” passion for Pam Gillow

Pamela Downs Gillow (Pam) grew up in Newark Valley with her parents, the late James and Evelyn Downs, and her three sisters, Cindy, Lorelei and Michele. As an adult, life brought Pam and her husband, Michael Gillow, to Groton, where they raised their three daughters: Jasmine, Sheryl and Myranda. The three Gillow girls have all grown up now — two with children of their own.

Myranda’s infant daughter, Wren, is the youngest of Pam and Michael’s grandchildren.  

Jasmine’s children, Joseph and Lillian (Lily) are now 22 and 20 years old, respectively, but it was Lily, at age seven, who added a new spark to the artistic talent that Pam had developed since high school.

“My grandfather immigrated here from Italy to work for the Lehigh Valley Railroad,” Pam said. “The railroad gave him the duplex home I grew up in. He lived on one side and our family on the other. My father also worked for the railroad, and my mother was the Newark Valley postmaster for over 20 years.”

Pam graduated from Newark Valley High School in 1980 and spent her school career focusing on math and science until her senior year, which was a pivotal point in her life.

“My parents told me from day one that I would major in math and science and that I would become a nurse,” Pam explained, “but I worked so hard at it that I finished everything by 11th grade except for one English class. I took that, but all my other classes were art classes. My parents were not happy, but my passion for art was ignited.”

Pam pursued that passion and attended SUNY Oswego for two years with a double major in art and technical theater. Sadly, she ran out of money and got a job building ladders at the Chesbro Whitman Ladder Company in Newark Valley, which she described as “a really fun job.” All was not lost, however, because Michael also worked there. They had known one another in high school but began dating when they were reacquainted at work.

After five years there, Pam went to work at the CBord Group, where Michael had gone to work as a computer developer. Michael still works there today, but Pam stayed five years before she became the building coordinator for the Biotech Building at Cornell University, from which she recently retired after 26 years.

Meanwhile, Pam cultivated her passion for art by painting and creating other forms of art, which are prominent in her home. Apparently, though, all of that was not enough for granddaughter Lily.

“One day, when Lily was seven, she randomly said, `Grandma, you need a fairy door in here!’” Pam said. “Lily believed in fairies, and she was adamant! Whenever my children or grandchildren used their imaginations, I always opened that up and played with it.”

Pam went on to explain that she had no idea what a fairy door was, so she turned to Pinterest, but nothing she saw looked the way Lily had described it to her. Lily had told her it had to be made of natural things and that Pam “had the best backyard for it.”

“I went to my backyard and found a piece of pine bark and made it according to what Lily said a fairy door should look like,” Pam said. “Once I started doing it, it was so much fun, and I liked how it came out.”

Lily had also instructed Pam that fairies always leave little gifts in the fairy door, so Pam has kept that one, which hangs on the wall in her home, always filled to this day, because now she has great nieces and neighbor children who come looking for gifts.

That fairy house was only the beginning, though! Pam had an old tree stump in the back yard a bit over 2 feet tall, which Lily declared should become a fairy house.

“Lily took a Sharpie and drew what it should look like right on the stump, including doors and windows,” Pam said. “From there, I made it and added a stairway. It was really fun and made me want to make more.”

Pam’s sister, Cindy, still lived in their childhood home in Newark Valley. She looked out her window at a 12-foot-tall tree stump belonging to a neighbor on Silk Street. Cindy took a photo, sent it to Pam, and told her she should turn it into a fairy house, which Pam did, and it is still there today.

“My sisters are also my friends and have always supported and encouraged me,” Pam said. In 2018, Pam illustrated a children’s book titled “The Christmas Tree’s Soiree”, written by Susan Derych Rubin, who was a connection through Pam’s sister, Lorelei.

In 2022, three big pine trees on the Gillows’ front lawn needed to be removed, and Pam was very explicit with Eagle Tree Service about the size to leave the stumps because she already had them earmarked to become fairy houses.

“I had no plan for how I was going to make them,” Pam said, “but I just went out there with my chainsaw and started. It took me that whole summer to do all three, but I wanted them all to be different, and they are.”

Since then, no one who passes by the Gillow home at 610 Elm St. can fail to notice them — they are truly works of art!

Although Pam’s fairy houses have possibly helped to slow the traffic around the curve just before her home, she also got creative with the tree at the foot of her driveway, which is still standing, but had deteriorated greatly from the many times cars had crashed into it coming too fast around that curve.

“I tried to paint raccoons on it with reflective eyes at first,” Pam explained, “but the tree kept dying, so I attached an epoxy clay sculpture of raccoons that I made to it.”

So, if you do happen to drive by the Gillow home, beware of those raccoons and slow down — and while you’re at it, take a look at the fairy houses. There are no doors that open with gifts on those, but seeing them is a gift in itself!

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922. 

In brief:

Dog census

Article 7 of the New York State Agriculture and Markets law requires dogs older than four months to be licensed within the town in which they reside. Licensing ensures that dogs are properly vaccinated against rabies, protecting the dog as well as its owners, neighbors, emergency providers and delivery personnel.

Everyone within the town and/or village of Groton should have received a dog census form in the mail. Whether or not you own a dog, your response is required. To avoid possible fines, complete the survey and mail it back, or complete it online at townofgrotonny.org no later than Nov. 30, 2024. For questions, or to complete the census by phone, call Robin or Denise at the Groton town clerk’s office at 607-898-5035.

Free rabies clinic

There will be a free rabies clinic from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18 at the new Groton fire station, 308 Main St., for dogs, cats and ferrets, sponsored by Tompkins County Whole Health. Proof of prior vaccination is required to receive a three-year certificate. Ferrets must be vaccinated annually. Dogs must be leashed or in carriers. Cats and ferrets must be in carriers. There is no charge, but donations are gratefully accepted.

Save the tabs!

The Groton American Legion Carrington-Fuller Post 800 participates in saving the can tabs from beverage or other cans for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York. You can, too!  Bring your tabs to the Legion, and once a year they transport several hundred pounds of tabs, which are converted to a cash donation.