Almost 50 Years and Counting
In August of '95 Denvy and Gail went to
Portland to visit Marc and Tina. Gail and Tina went garage saling while
Denvy and Marc went in another direction, which Tina thought was to look
at computers, but were actually looking at clarity and carets. Several
days later around Tina's birthday Marc presented an engagement ring.
On
July 26, 1996, Denvy and Gail sat proudly among friends and family, as
Darron and Becky stood and supported Marc and Tina as they entered their
married life in Rock Springs, Wyoming, Tina's home.
When Gail spotted the land in Oregon where
she and Denvy would live, she reported an idyllic setting with the exception
of an old trailer house. The plan was to build in a couple years. Because
Denvy had not found a job, they decided to start immediately, so by April
'96, a hole in the ground for the new house was dug. Parts of the hole
were very big as it was determined that the building site was on a landslide
area and a special footing was required.
Friends
from the church came and helped pour the concrete foundation. The framing
Denvy did pretty much himself. One Sunday the minister, Gerry Hill, announced
that anyone who wanted to, could come and help build that afternoon. This
was a surprise for Denvy and Gail and so they had to rush home and plan
a plan. Hours later there were people crawling all around the house nailing
down the roof.
The shingles were in process in December
when rains turned very heavy. With that weather and the steep roofs, Denvy
and Gail hired a contractor to roof the house. They were inside for the
remainder of the winter.
Denvy checked in with Chemeketa Community
College for a job teaching math and did find a couple classes to teach.
He also turned
to Western Oregon University to start taking classes for a Masters in
Education. The connection with the lumber yard through building the house,
also turned up a part-time job as a salesperson. This required that Denvy
had to shave. At least he had something to do.
Gail's one year contract with Chemeketa
to cover for someone who was on sabbatical ended and she started working
for a hospice organization. Fortunately the job at Chemeketa opened up
again in about six months and Gail was back at Chemeketa as well.