OR - CA 2008 / Chapter 11

Last Night in Oregon
After the celebration, many of the family members went back to Uncle Gordon and Aunt Kathy's house to relax and visit.
A good time and happy gathering for all.

Sunday morning we were all up bright and early. The plane was to depart at 10:40am and we needed to be there 2 hours early to check in.
I took some shots on the way to the airport...
...to give you a little more idea of the beauty of the area.
Next are shots from inside the Portland airport. This was the view out the windows...
...on our way to our gate for our layover flight to Fresno...

...here's a piece of the artistry on one of the walls.
Our gate was 'B', to the left in the picture below. Up the ramp to the center is a large central opening...
...not having checked out a map of the airport, I'm not sure if this is the main part, but it appears to be.

A musician, Bill Keale, was performing and selling his CDs here also. My mom and I had walked down here to see what was available to eat and so I could get some pictures. We were standing in front of the musicians table with CDs on it when his wife(?) came walking back, probably from the restroom. As soon as she came back, two children popped out from under the cloth covered table and started running around. She smiled and said they had their own little world set up under the table and then she laughed.

Next post will be our arrival in Fresno and the Mennonites Men's Chorus.

OR - CA 2008 / Chapter 10

The Celebration Continues...
First a nice shot of the happy couple. They were, of course, looking at the professional photographer and not me.
Below we have Uncle Gordon's brother and wife, the celebrated couple, Uncle Gordon's sister and husband, and my parents, Aunt Kathy's brother and wife.
Finally a nice shot of Uncle Gordon, Aunt Kathy, their 5 son's and wives. FYI, the wives are not all really short... Aunt Kathy is 6' and Uncle Gordon and the boys are all taller than she is.

The boys and their wives did a wonderful job preparing the meal for friends and family afterward.
Meats, potatoes, gravy...
...salad and beverages.
Plenty of food for everyone. A wonderful celebration for some Wonderful People! I'm so glad we were able to be there.
Happy Anniversary Aunt Kathy & Uncle Gordon!

OR - CA 2008 / Chapter 9

Finally the post about why we went to Oregon to begin with, to celebrate Aunt Kathy and Uncle Gordon's 50th Anniversary. At the church hall we were greeted with a lovely reception table where guests were invited to to sign not only the guest book but to leave a personal message in around the pictures in the gold frame.
We were entertained by a wonderful boys choir.
This choir director began the boys choir 40 years ago and several of the Fahlgren boys over the years have sung in it, one is currently a member.

The boys below played some lively Celtic music, the boy on the right is playing a Celtic drum.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment...
...especially this rendition of the "Soggy Bottom Boys".
I just wish I had either my tape recorder or my camcorder with me for this, but I didn't.
For the last few songs, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Gordon's boys joined the choir...

...and sang along with the boys.
The cakes were beautiful, the kids did a wonderful job on everything.
The cake cutting...
...and cake feeding went off without a hitch.
After everyone had cake and visited the family went to another area of the church for family pictures, I'll share these with you tomorrow.

OR - CA 2008 / Chapter 8

The Day Arrives
In case you've forgotten, the reason for our trip out west was to attend Aunt Kathy and Uncle Gordon's 50th Wedding Anniversary. On that day there were many arrivals, flowers and family. The picture below is Uncle Gordon's family when they were young...

...and his sister and brother upon his brother's arrival. Uncle Gordon with his back to the camera.Uncle Gordon's sister's sons arrive for the occasion...
...followed closely by my cousins...
...three of Uncle Wes and Aunt Ann's four girls...
...were able to make it.This is Uncle Dick's only son.
Food seems to be always abundant at all our gatherings...
...with many choices to suit the picky eater. I believe the sausage was elk.
...and we all sat down for a nice light lunch before the afternoon festivities.

OR - CA 2008 / Chapter 5

NEED A HUBCAP?
Remember the picture of my hubby, my dad and my Uncle Gordon talking outside? see HERE... Well, when I walked up to them my hubby said that there was something he wanted me to see, so I followed him. He led me to a door and slowly opened it...
I have NEVER seen so many hubcaps in all my life...
Uncle Gordon has them all sorted and stacked and, I'm sure, inventoried, ready to sell.
I found THIS listing posted October 26, 2007:

I have a large stock of nice original American car wheel covers from 1949-1978. I
have caps for Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler , Chevrolet, Imperial, Dodge, Desoto,
Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac, Rambler, AMC, Nash and
More..e-mail me for availability, price and pictures at 27buick@gmail.com ...thanks Gordon

Uncle Gordon has worked on car restoration ever since I can remember. He started his boys on restoring their own cars at a very young age, but I'll touch on this in another post.

A perfectly restored vehicle is incomplete if it's missing just one hubcap, or if they aren't perfectly matched.

OR - CA 2008 / Chapter 3

Great Grandmother's Russian Chest
This chest was brought to the United States in 1876 by Jacob and Katharine Wiebe Klassen. It contained many personal possessions of this young couple.



They had one child who was born and died in Russia before they left on June 15, 1876. Their second child was also born in Russia and landed in the U.S. with his parents on July 11, 1876. He died of measles in late 1877.

The Klassen's brought the chest with them to Kansas where they lived in Marion County for 17 years. During this time they had 10 more children (one of which died in Kansas). In 1893, they traveled by covered wagon with their 9 remaining children, taking this chest with them, to Flagler, Colorado. Due to the draught there, they took a homestead and moved to Kirk, Colorado in 1896. Here they built a 7 room adobe house, and adobe barn and a large cowshed. In the meantime they had 3 more children. In 1900 Jacob Klassen died leaving Katharine with 12 children on the homestead. This chest was one of her prized possessions.

As the family grew up and each went his or her own way, Katharine lived on the homestead with her youngest son, Henry until he married in 1927. At that time she had a new wooden structure house built and asked her daughter Helen and son-in-law Cornelius Heinrichs to come and live with her with their family. They did and so took care of her until her death in July 1941. During that time she gave the chest to Helen for caring for her.

During the 40's some time, Helen's sister Emma felt that it wasn't fair that Helen should have the chest, but Helen wasn't about to give it up. Finally, caught in the middle, Cornelius offered to "cut it in half", which they both agreed to.
He did as best he could, trying to preserve all parts of it, cut it in half lengthwise, giving each one a handle, one half had the lock and front part, and the other the inscription on the back. Using plywood he fashioned a new front for one and a new back for the other.
Each took their half with them. Finally Helen went to Oregon to live with her daughter, Katharine, and son-in-law, Gordon Fahlgren. While there, she gave Katharine her half. In the meantime, Emma gave her half to Henry's daughter Lillian back in Colorado. In August 1977, Helen died in her son Wesley and daughter-in-law, Ann Heinrichs home in Fresno, California. Emma later died in the Mennonite nursing home in Reedley, California in March 1988.
In 1985 at a family Reunion, Lillian asked Katharine if she would like to have the other half of the chest. She told her she could have it if Katharine would come to Colorado to get it.

In July 1988, Katharine and Gordon went to Topeka, Kansas for the Klassen family reunion. En route through Colorado, they stopped in Kirk and with the help of Lillian's son and daughter-in-law, found the half chest in storage in the old Kirk school house. It was loaded in their van and taken with the Fahlgrens to Kansas and on the remainder of their trip, arriving back in Oregon the last part of July. During the winter of 1988-89, the chest was rejoined and refinished by Katharine and their son Raymond. The tips of the hinges and locks had been cut off and lost when it was cut in half. Ken Fahlgren manufactured these by the pattern on the top of the chest, so as much as possible it was back to its original condition. If it could only talk, it would have many, many stories to tell. It is now in a place of honor in the home of Gordon and Katharine Fahlgren.

Written by Katharine Fahlgren
September 6, 1989

Edit 09/09/2013: Looking through "They Seek a Country" by David V. Wiebe I spot a picture of a trunk that looks very familiar. This appears to be the same trunk. At one time it had legs.