Family History

Any of you that knew my wonderful mother knew that it would be safe to call her a "genealogy buff". For as long as i remember she contacted relatives, read books, and tried to make the past come to life. As a small child I think genealogy gave my mom something to do "once the kids" were in bed on those lonely nights when my dad was overseas. Later it gave her a chance to get out of the house and go to the library and loose her mind in the rolls of microfilm.


Checking for dead relatives in Roy, Oregon Cemetary

I have always loved the stories but my interest boomed with the advent of computer genealogy programs. My mother and I spent hours entering data into our first DOS ran genealogy program. She would read the information and I would type. Sometimes we did this for 6 or 7 hours at a stretch. Me with my dill pickles and diet soda and mom with her snacks we entered over 14,000 names into the program.

Checking the paper for obits of realtives



Now that she is gone I have been given all of her notebooks, files, books, and such. A gold mine for a beginning genealogist like myself but also a mountain to climb. Over this past spring break I started entering names into an updated program. I get involved and realized that it is almost morning. (I really need to watch this on school nights)


My hope is from time to time to let you know of interesting facts that I have come across. This week's fact is:


The wife our my 7th great uncle was Sarah H Stephens. What if she is related to my brother-in-law Casey. Could it be that my sister married a decedent of our 7th great grand uncle? Sarah was born in South Carolina in 1749 and died in 1844 in Georgia. I have not traced Sarah's line so I am not sure of any other connections. Casey do you have a 7th great aunt named Sarah?

A Drive To Town

This past week was the first day of spring and the weather in Jordan Valley was wonderful. So I decided I would do one of my favorite students, Fin (this is what I call him) a favor. Last week he went on a ski trip and he left his father's coat at the ski lodge.

I had never been to Bogas Basin but I had seen the signs from the freeway so I of course did not get a map. After 90 miles of driving I came to the exit of the freeway and took it. I followed the signs through downtown Bosie. The road started to go up into the hills and there were fewer and fewer houses so I figured I was on the right track. Thank goodness the weather was good because the road was not. The road was narrow and there were hair pin turns with a speed limit of 20 mph. I passed a police car that was on the side of the road with his speed gun out the window. Who in their right mind would be speeding on this road??

After about 20 minutes I noticed there was snow on the ground so I knew I was getting close. I saw a sign that said "Rental Office, Lost and Found" I pulled into the parking lot and was lucky enough to get a space right by the door. I entered the office and did not have to wait since I was the only one in the building. I guess not many people are renting ski gear or are picking up lost items in the middle of the day on the first day of spring. The young man that helped me listened to my story and then went in the back. After about five minutes he came back and told me that he only had two coats and none of them had the name that I was looking for. I thanked him and then went back to my car

I called Fin on my cell and told him what had happened. His response was "I tried to call you today and tell you that I went skiing yesterday and I picked up my coat" "No one answered your phone so I could not tell you" My response "ok"

What else could I say. At least my drive got me out of the house and I was able to see some spring!

A Family of Strength

Thank goodness that my blog is back up on my computer and I can weigh in on life as an Ellis. Over the last week I have had the opportunity to sit back and watch the strenght of a family. As many of you know last week my older sister had a stroke. Boy was that call a surprise. At the time I was on my way to the doctor and I was excited that my wonderful neice decided to give me a call. Of course the message was not only a surprise but a "what in the world is going on"

Michelle was so strong in giving me the facts of the day. I was trying so hard not to break into tears because I did not want to rock Michelle's strength. After her explaniation of what happened I asked how she was. Michelle and I finally let go of some tears. In a moments time she was my little neice that needed a hug! I so wanted to be there to put my arms around her but all I could do was to try to give her strenght through the air waves.

She was so worried about her dad. He was a dented man. I told her that he was not ready for this adventure. No one ever is. Who could ever be ready for a major health crisis. I have known for years that Karen and Casey were in love but it was because of their actions not necessarily the words that were heard. He has always been there for Karen and the rest of their family. I know this adventure would be no different.

Over the last few days I have had daily updates from Michelle. Every day she gives me a call or sends me a message. I have also enjoyed the blow by blow events on her and Ashley's blogs. It is wonderful how technology keeps up in touch. In the daily updates the kids comments on the love that they have seen in their parents. The love that was always there but in a time of crisis they have noticed even more. It is not the hugh diamond rings but the simple back rub that is showing Karen's children that love is forever and always. Not just when it is convient but in the good and the bad, the happy and the sad.

I have been impressed to how Casey and his children have pulled together. Doing shifts in the ICU at the hospital. Being there to hold Karen's head when she needs to cough. These may sound like little things but two weeks ago they were busy in their own lives and now they have come together with one mission in mind. To be there for their mother and father. In Michelle's and Ashley's blog they have commented on how strong their mother and father are. What they have not realized yet is how storng they all have been. I am not sure how parents teach their children to be there in times of need, but Karen and Casey have done a great job.

They know the road ahead is going to be long and hard but with prayers, god's grace and determination I know the Stephens family will make it through. They are after all a family of strength. May be a strength they did not know was there but in this time of need has come to the surface. Stephens family THANK YOU for being there for my sister!

My family has been asking me to start a blog for a long time. I guess they believe my life is more exciting and they want to know what is going on in my life. Well, I am not sure I will be able to live up to their expatiations but I will give it a try.


As stated in my bio I live and teach in Jordan Valley, Oregon. Jordan Valley is located in the southeastern corner of the state and is very different from the Portland Area.








We do have some very wonderful sunrises. This was taken from my front yard.












The town sits in a valley in the Owhywe Mountains. The big mountain in the back is South Mountain. This picture is taken from Highway 95 comming into town from Boise ID. As you can see there is not much here!

This is the Catholic Church which was made from Basque Rocks. Jordan Valley is a Basque community so of course some of our building will have a Basque look. The Basque people in Jordan Valley came from the mountains of Spain. I would guess that the high dry desert was a shock to them as well.









This is the high school where I spend most of my time. My class room is on the other side of the building but like the room on this side I have huge windows that run from the ceiling to 3 feet above the floor. My room has 17 computers and I teach all kinds of business classes. This year we have about 50 students grades 7-12.
When I first came to Jordan Valley 25 years ago we had about 100 students.



I asked my students what was the best part about living in Jordan Valley. They said:

After a long pause, there were no answers.