I would like to spend some time on my mother-in-law, because I loved her very much the beginning years of our marriage.

Her family came out from Iowa around 1900 and settled Fern Valley which is located in southern Oregon. Her grandmother raised a bunch of kids which included Archie and Charles Ferns. They raised cattle. When WW l came it was decided that Charlie should go. Only one boy from a family had to go to war and Charlie was deemed to go. So off Charles went to Russia. When he returned he refused to work the cattle ranch and went to the orchard, which were worked by whites at the time. In the summer he would tend sheep in the mountains.

Charlie married Lavonia and they had four children. One died as a young boy the other three-Howard, Mernie and Margorie grew up in a small wooden house without bathroom plumbing, close to the big farm house where Charlie grew up with brothers and sisters.

Both houses were still standing when we were newly married. The little wooden house had two rooms, the kitchen was cozy even then with running water and an old cook stove and old refridgerater.

When Marge was three her mother died and her grandmother raised her until she was about thirteen and then the story sounded like Margie spent a lot of time on her own with her brother and sister. The school house where she attended school was at the end of the pasture near both family houses on Fern Valley Road.

When I met Larry's family in 1970 they had never met anyone like me. And I had never met any people like them. I think it was mutual like.