More Memories of Oregon

I couldn't resist but to post these old pics of our life in Oregon. What a wonderful place for my kids to grow up. Time spent with their Uncle Jack and Aunt Mildred was priceless. They took them fishing and my kids had a wonderful time with them.

The first picture is of Steve & Karen. They look to be about 10 and 12 yrs. old. I believe this picture was taken from the little house boat that Mildred & Jack lived in on Sauvie's Island in the Columbia River. If I remember correctly it is approximately 6 miles across and is near or included in the city of Portland, Oregon.

The second picture is Jack & Steve on Sauvie's Island. The Columbia River and Washington State is in the background. Look at that big Chinook Salmon that Steve caught. Don't you know he was one proud kid! See the fishing pole in the upper right corner with a big bell hanging on it? The end of the pole is anchored in the sand and the bell rings when a fish takes a bite. People would be lined up and down the bank of the river with their poles in this position. Look out when someone caught a fish because the whole beach went in fast motion! Everyone would jump out of their little plastic tents and run to their poles and reel them in so their lines would not entangle with the one with the salmon on it. After this, every fisherman would gather at the bank to help with the catch. As soon as the person with the fish on his line got his salmon close to the shore, someone would net it for him, another person would hit the poor fish in the head, someone would weigh it, and then someone else would bury it in the sand! It was quite a scene INDEED!!! Sometimes, the person catching the salmon would hardly get to see it before he dug it up at the end of the day!! Of course, as you see here, Steve even got to hold his fish for a picture (it may have been at the end of the day, who knows?). He was one proud young man. I think his fish weighed 26 or 28 pounds.

The third picture is of Mildred, Steve, and Mom (Hazel). Looks like they had quite a haul! To this day both of my children love to fish, unlike their mother. I never liked to bait the hook or take the fish off. Also, I never understood how someone could sit there all day long and wait for a fish that may or may not show up! Guess I never got the hang of it. I loved walking down the beach and taking nature hikes in the woods while they were fishing. Of course, their Dad was a adamant fisherman as was Uncle Jack & Aunt Mildred, so they learned to love fishing.

Here's a map of Sauvie's Island and a link I found that tells the story of the island. It is quite a historical place: http://www.sauvieisland.org/see.html

Memories

All of us have memories of special people in our lives, and I have many wonderful memories. Looking at some pictures that my younger sister scanned and sent to me triggered many memories of the years I lived in Portland, Oregon near my sister, Mildred, and brother-in-law, Jack. Over 30 years have passed since then, but I still remember how I loved the Ocean. Mom would come visit often and stay for several months. Mama loved Oregon as well as we did. I remember her walking along the beach picking up different colored stones, especially agates. She loved finding oddly shaped driftwood. She would take her newly found treasures home and make decorative pieces out of them and give them to her family member and friends.

Mildred and Jack loved living in Oregon and spent much of their time traveling in their motor home and visiting all of the beautiful places Oregon had to offer. Jamil, their black lab, traveled right along with them. He was like their child. Jack always had a garden where he grew wonderful vegetables. Every row was perfectly lined up and the spaces in between were exact! A weed or a blade of grass never lasted long in Jack's garden. As you can see in this photo, his garden was "picture perfect".

My mother (Hazel), Mildred, and Jack are enjoying the beauties and wonders of heaven now, but I sure miss seeing them here on earth! My children and I have such wonderful memories of the five years we lived in Oregon near their Aunt Mildred & Uncle Jack. Nothing can replace the memories of the wonderful times we had when their Grandmother came to visit and all of us explored the beautiful Pacific Northwest together!

Happy Birthday, Jeff!

Happy 16th Birthday, Grandson!

Hope you've had a terrific Birthday! We love you!!

Grandma & Grandpa

An Easter Bunny Surprise!

Last week my grandkids had a surprise visitor from the Crayola Easter Bunny! It was Jacob's 6th birthday when he arrived! The kids were really surprised. Imagine a knock on Grandma's front door and you open it and there's this giant bunny!! Emily & Jacob didn't know what to think!!

Behind the bunny costume was my cousin's (Janet) husband, Gary. They came to our house for a visit and we had a great time together. Isn't Gary cute in his bunny suit!