Oregon Family History Trip

Right now, I'm taking a family history writing class for my degree in writing. The big project at the end of this class is to produce a family history of at least 25 pages but not more than 40. The family I've decided to write about is my mother's father's family. My mother's grandmother is still alive and as sharp as ever, so I decided to visit her to help put together the family history. My parents, siblings, and Mari decided to come along too.

Most of the time I spent there was hard work. But one evening we went on a walk in the cool evening air of northeastern Oregon. A family of deer were in the neighborhood, and we had a stare contest with them. They started to back away once Mari ran towards them and threw out her arms to give the littlest one a hug.

For those of you who haven't been on a family history trip, I totally recommend it. We visited many places in northeastern Oregon where my great-great-great-grandfather was one of its earliest settlers in 1862. We went to two museums and two historical societies. A picture of my grandfather and great-grandfather's barbershop made it into one of the museums.

We also visited the area where my great-great-great-grandfather settled. This picture above is where my great-grandfather ranched in the area.

We visited two cemeteries. This cemetery was off the beaten path, but we found it, and I found the grave of my great-grandfather's first wife who died in childbirth.

We went through a LOT of old newspapers. Two of the areas we visited kept good copies of their local newspapers.
It was tedious to go through all those newpapers, but we found some gems, especially in the society pages, about my family.

I spent at least 4 hours interviewing my great-grandmother. I taped all the interviews. I am so glad that she is still around and has not suffered any memory loss or wit in her older age.

Through it all, Mari was great. Having my parents and siblings there to help was invaluable. Aunt Hilary did all the girly stuff with Mari, like hair and toenail polish.

I got some great information for my project, but what really made the trip was watching Mari play dolls with her great-great-grandmother. It was such a beautiful and tender scene to watch.

If you have grandparents or great-grandparents still around, I suggest you sit them down, turn on a tape recorder, and have them talk about their lives. It will result in a family treasure!