Inspiration comes from a variety of sources but the ones we remember the most are family members who endured hardship and came out stronger. My inspiration comes from my grandfather, George Reginald Nelson, who, at the retirement age of 55, left the Johnson Lumber Mill in Toledo, Oregon and built a home, two full sized […]
There was a large expanse of green, well maintained lawn, recently mowed. In the background was a building three stories high that almost covered the width of the property. It had all the architectural features of a building that was constructed in the 30’s. As it turned out it was built in 1938 as a […]
It was early Sunday morning and I was listening to the radio as I was making my breakfast. On KXL they were doing an interview of Bill Russell, selected by Portland Metro Area Realtors to be Portland’s First Citizen. The name I recognized immediately because Bill and I were in the Gresham Rotary. What I […]
Like many of us I don’t spend hours on a computer desktop or laptop. I go directly to the business at hand, researching, writing, or buying, and get off the computer. If memory serves me I was searching for an electric blanket and up pops, full screen, a Microsoft warning both visual and audio. I […]
It’s 3:45am, and I am staring at the digital clock casting a blue glow at the end of my bed. I’m feeling impressed to get up at this early morning hour but I don’t know why. You have had the same feeling and experience tells you to respond immediately. So, I got out of bed, […]
If you have lived in East County for any length of time you are familiar with the Drake’s Seven Dees nursery on 165th and Stark. That location has ceased operation and the property been vacant for some time. However, a new enterprise has pushed out of the ground with a very large building—the Boys and […]
Shipwrecked Phoenician sailors, marooned on an island, may have been the first to discover glass. They noticed that the sand around their campfire had melted and turned to shiny solid. In Egypt and Mesopotamia potters accidently witnessed glass forming while glazing their pottery. Glass blowers were often held hostage so that their craft wouldn’t be […]
It was the height of the depression in 1934 and the women from the Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church- dubbed the Sunshine Ladies- met to sew quilts and clothing for struggling families. Food for many during that time was in short supply and the ladies gathered up scarce resources to provide to those families who had […]
This past week a very close friend of 45 years passed away while I was by his side. Joe Bianco was the editor of Northwest Magazine a Sunday supplement of feature stories for The Oregonian. Joe and I have gone through a lot of troubled waters and many good times together. Like close relationships irrespective […]
Leaky windows with broken seals? A furnace that provides heat and high utility bills at the same time? Little or no insulation in the walls, ceilings and floors? Hot water heater that needs replacing? Check out the benefits that Energy Trust of Oregon provides to folks in your situation. Established by the State of Oregon […]