Cycling with Friends

I love to ride, and most of my riding over the past 30 years has been with my husband and some of our friends.  More recently I have been cycling with other women.

For example, on June 22 of this year I drove with three other women to Independence, OR, for the CycleOregon Joy Ride.  Women cyclists only!  Men volunteers, as well as other women who were not riding, contributed to a great experience for all.

Each of us has also done the CycleOregon week-long ride, which happens in September.  In fact, Yvonne and I met for the first time on CycleOregon 2001 - that's where we were when 911 happened.  It was an interesting week, to say the least.

Thanks to Jana, Karen, and Yvonne for making June 22 a fantastic day of cycling!

A Family Road Trip!

On Tuesday, August 5, MSH and I left Eugene heading north. Our plan was to visit quite a few family members, some of whom we had not met before.  All of these "new to us family members" are from his biological family.

After a quick stop in Portland to see daughter Emily and her family, we motored on up the Gorge to Spokane, where we had a great visit with his cousins Illa and Mary Beth, along with Illa's daughter-in-law and MB's husband.  These are cousins MSH grew up with in his adoptive family and whom we love visiting.

On Wednesday we headed to Montana to meet the "new to us" family members.  Thursday was spent with the 93-year old sister of birth mom (Marjory).  Aunt Charlotte was a fantastic host, not to mention FULL of stories about the family, her parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.  Two of her four children joined us for the day, and we felt welcomed and "at home" instantly.

On Friday morning we toured the Montana State Capitol building in Helena, followed by a visit to the cemetery where the birth father of MSH is buried.  We already had photos of the location and the military honors which took place for his funeral, but I wanted to actually stand there and see the spot where Earl was buried in 1992.

On Friday afternoon, we spent time with two of Earl's first cousins. He was an only child, but these two people remembered him and were able to tell us stories and share a few pictures.  So much fun!

On Saturday morning we returned to spend a few hours with Aunt Charlotte before heading to Hamilton area for Sunday events.  A bbq was held in the afternoon, hosted by one of the cousins and attended by 16 family members. A dozen of us met for dinner later that evening.

When a person has not met their biological parents, it is a HUGE treat to spend time with other people who knew them and can share stories and memories.  That's what this trip was all about!

Marjory's Boys, Part 2

Discovering BT and his family (Marjory's second son) in 1997 was great.  My husband (MSH) had a brother, and all was well.  But things changed in 2018, after we both took DNA tests.  First we did the 23&Me test, followed a year later by the AncestryDNA test.

Each test gives you a DNA match list - all those people who have taken a DNA test and with whom you have shared DNA.  At the top of MSH's match list was a guy who shared enough DNA that he was suggested as a "close family -1st cousin" match.

It took a few days, but finally I gathered up enough courage to email the guy (PA) thru the AncestryDNA system.  He responded very quickly and we carried on a conversation for a couple of days.  He told me that he had been born in Montana and placed with an adoptive family on the day he was born.  Before she passed, his adoptive mom (a "saint" in his words) had told him the name of his birth mother.  Turned out PA and BT and MSH are half-brothers!

We spent a week earlier this summer in Maine visiting PA and his wife and daughter.  Wonderful family, and they were fabulous hosts and tour guides.

Marjory's three boys!

Marjory's Boys - Part 1

One of my favorite genealogy projects has been in the works for 22 years.  In 1997, we learned about Marjory Anne Steele, who was born in western Montana in 1931.  She grew up as the youngest in her family, with two brothers and one sister.  After high school, she worked in clerical positions in her town, and in 1952 she became pregnant.  Since she was not married, off she went to the unwed mother’s home in Spokane (from what family members have told us, this was not her choice – her parents insisted that she was not going to raise a baby on her own).

My sweet husband (hereafter referred to as MSH) was her first son.  He was adopted as an infant and raised in Spokane, which is where we met and married. 

We were able to have the adoption records opened in 1997, which gave us Marjory's name, family information, and – “surprise” – a half-brother!  We had no DNA testing at this time, but when these two boys got together, it was apparent that they were related.  This brother (BT) was raised in Montana, but moved his family to western Oregon before we met, which has made it convenient for the guys to occasionally see each other over the years.