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Holiday Edition 2002 - Volume
XXXII Number 2 E-mail Number 5, December 2002 |
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November 22,
2002 Florence writes About Newsletter From The
Heart
Dear Connie: You asked for a short story
about "From The Heart Newsletter", how it started and kept going for 28 years.
When
Louis and I retired
in 1973 and had moved to Florence, Oregon, our lives were definitely changed . .
. no jobs . . . new home and new community . . . complete new lifestyle . . .
life was exciting and very interesting . . . our children were launched on their
own lives.
I
began our retired life
by writing newsletters to our family and vowed that I would be regular keeping
in touch. I extended my mailing list to include my brothers and sisters, a
few friends and a few other relatives.
In a
few months I was
getting requests from nieces and nephews and some others that wanted me to
include them as part of my family. It was then that I considered all the
descendants of my parents Adolf and Lucy (King) Fromherz as my bosom "From The
Heart Family".
I had
called for newsletter name suggestions
from the family . . . Joe's Marie came up with this perfect title, "From The
Heart Newsletter", which I adopted enthusiastically and continued to use for 28
years. I am happy to see the new generation of writers and our new editor,
Connie Gale, continuing to use it . . .even now on the "web". (Is that what you
call it????)
Until
the family started
sending their news to me, most of the letter was personal family news . . .
about my family and what were doing as retirees. I was having a good time
telling about ourselves when someone said, "that letter sounds like Aunt
Florence's brag sheet", OUCH! I stopped and gave that a thought and made a
change in "mid-stream". From that moment on my letter would be about all
the activities, ambitions and happenings in the entire FROMHERZ clan.
I had
a wonderful response
when I asked for birthdays, wedding announcements, anniversaries, etc., etc.
I even worked on genealogy for a time and kept close track of all new arrivals,
new in-laws, deaths, etc. Thanks to everyone these letters are now our
history.
My
Love and prayers will
be with you now and forever. With God's blessings,
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Florence (Fromherz) Gross
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“Erin Kelley"
erinlkelley@hotmail.com
7/3/02
Dear friends,
It’s been awhile since I’ve written, I know. The last few weeks, and indeed
months, have been busy ones. At present, I am sitting in the apartment of a
few friends of mine in Yerevan, Armenia. I’m overhearing a phone
conversation in Armenian, a television program in Russian, and using an
American computer. It just doesn’t get more international than this!
I have been here since Saturday and will leave Friday morning, when I head
to St. Petersburg, Russia, to undertake a six-week Russian language course.
My being in Yerevan is a good introduction to what I’ll face; Armenians are
mostly bilingual – and these two, Sergey and Anoush, are tri-lingual
(thankfully!). They’re also the most generous hosts I’ve ever had. I’ve seen
more of Armenia than I thought possible, eaten the best barbecue ever, seen
the oldest buildings I’ve ever seen, visited the most diverse geographic
areas and held the most beautiful and adorable baby that’s ever been. (More
details later – when I’ve got more computer/internet access.) And yes, I’m
taking tons of pictures!
Before my arrival here in Yerevan, I spent a week in Vienna, Austria and St.
Gallen, Switzerland. In Switzerland I visited with my aunt Sharon and her
family. We took in the historic town as well as the splendid countryside.
Switzerland has got to be one of the more beautiful countries of the world!
Austria isn’t far behind. I visited with my friend Toni for a few days just
after I left Slovakia. I also got a free day in Vienna to pick up my
Armenian visa, airplane tickets and to recuperate from my killer cold.
It was a relatively easy departure from Slovakia. The stress of the weeks
before COS (close-of-service) were enough to help me literally sleep through
my last few days there. The final departure included a solitary train ride
with a bicycle and a 25-kilo suitcase – it was an adventure! While running
to switch trains, a Hungarian-Slovak who works in Vienna helped me with the
suitcase. Some kind stranger helped with the bike. The conductor waited for
me and blew the whistle as this angel of a man helped me get the bike (in a
box) on the train. Made it! But not without a pool of sweat and profuse
words of thanks to all of my assistants.
The cab driver in Vienna was Yugoslavian, so I practiced my Slovak-German
language mix and we had a good ride. I had a similar conversation in the
Moscow airport one week later. This time it was English-Slovak (a better
combination for me) and it was with another Yugoslav. The conversations have
all been good on this trip – but have left me without much time for reading
up on St. Petersburg; indeed I am taking the time to sleep in as much as
humanly possible! I’m going to close here. Please let me know if you’d
like to receive updates during the next 7 weeks – before I get back to the
good ol’ US of A. I’m looking forward to the return and to Cycle
Oregon XIII! :) Hope to see you soon!
Erin
P.S. My flights have been trouble-free and they should continue to be. :)
I’m using Aeroflot and it’s GREAT! May the friends and families of those who
died in Germany find peace and hope for their futures. P.P.S. Happy
Independence Day in the USA!


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"CharlesFromherz" <charlesf@gte.net>
7/4/02 July4th
Well, today we had our famous "home-town" 4th of July doo-dah Parade.
Marilyn decorated my bike, as you see in the photo. It had a large flag
balloon flying off the back rod, but it didn't get in the photo. Marilyn's
dolphin group marched with "beautiful body t-shirts" and did a routine with
flags - it was the hit of the parade. We have more photos
later after film is developed tomorrow and will send some photos. There
were 58 entries in the parade - lots of old cars and golf carts
decorated, several bikes and the fire department, police, and Calimesa
citizen patrol support our parade too. After the parade a BBQ lunch was
served to 300 people and a good time was enjoyed by everyone.
Charlie Fromherz
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"Erin Kelley" <erinlkelley@hotmail.com>
7/22/02
As usual, I seem to find it necessary to create an
entirely new web page. Luckily, I haven't gotten myself in too far
over my head. What you'll find
http://www.geocities.com/1+2+die+4/index.html
is a start on my "St. Petersburg" home page. I will be making frequent
additions and letting you know via email. With the help of my delightful
host brother, I plan on making this page more interesting (graphically)
throughout the course of the next month. It should be fun. :-) If
you'd prefer NOT to get these emails, just let me know! Byythe way, 38
days 'til I'm back on American soil. How strange it will be!!
e
P.S. There are links to a bunch of my pictures on these pages. Please take a
look!! :-) :-)-----
Erin Layna Kelley

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|
Snail Mail from Florence & Louis Gross |
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October 5, 2002 |
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Dear Connie:
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I have waited a long time in writing because I didn’t want to tell
you about our health problems until we knew answers to tests that we have.
It seems we have to wait a long time for some of these answers
I seem to have all my Health problems under control and have also
discovered what is probably causing my balance problem (that I have had for
many years) A head xray revealed that some time in my past I must have had a
light stroke as there is an old scar on the right side of my head.
Years ago I had to give up square dance and round dancing because of
imbalance - - - I knew it wasn’t dizziness, lightheadedness or near fainting
- - - I just feel like I’m going to keel over fully conscious. I fell
a couple of times like this! I have a wonderful walker (I call it my
Cadillac - - -I could even run a foot race with it!).
Louis was losing blood in some part of his “inerds” and “suffered”
various tests with no answer until a test this week revealed a colon tumor
that is benign. He has the option to have it removed of live with it.
Since the bleeding has stopped and he is feeling in tip-top shape he is
going to bypass surgery. Doctors will keep an “eye“ on it in the
future.
In the meantime both of us are continuing a very busy retirement.
Both of us have garden projects. He is now harvesting grapes from the
towers small vineyard and bringing them in for everyone that loves grapes.
He has a small strawberry “patch” and a few raspberry plants, turnips and
tomatoes. He belongs to a Towers Garden Club. We are fortunate
to have lots of blueberries and a number of various fruit trees that
residents are free to pick and enjoy.
Louis has just come in and announced that it is time to go down for
brunch. Yes, we don’t have to prepare our meals and also have a
housekeeper that comes in does vacuuming and dusting and takes our bed
sheets and towels to be laundered. I still crochet lap afghans for
wheelchair patients (I have given away 110 of them since I started this
project 2 years ago. Well, I better be going or I might miss my brunch
which is always GOOD!
Lovingly Yours,
Florence & Louis Gross


| From: "Connie Gale"
congale@aol.com |
It's that time of year again. . . Please send me your
news and holiday greetings for NFTH by December 1, 2002. We have
all had great things going on since the
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| Date: Fri, 08 Nov
2002 |
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Subject: NFTH Holiday Issue 2002 |
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last newsletter. Share your experiences of
vacations, Family Reunion 2002, marriages, births, etc. At Reunion
2002 Don Van Etten wanted to see a senior featured in the newsletter
with picture and biography so that we all could get to know them. How
about it Don, do you have a bio on one of our seniors to share with us
this newsletter? You can send it to me by e-mail anytime!
The web is coming along nicely at this point and we are on target to
launch the www.FromherzNewsletter.com website with this issue. It
will feature Newsletters, Photo Gallery, Favorites which includes
Florence's "Come Hell or High Water" and Jim's words of Wisdom, etc.
I will send you an E‑mail announcing the launch date. |
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You can send e‑mail
congale@aol.com or
snail mail |
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| 12925 W Greenfield Road
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| Nine Mile Falls, WA 99026 |
Thanks, Connie  |

| From:Richard or Janet
King
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kingrandj@attbi.com |
| Date: 11/8/02 8:14PM
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| Subject: FROMHERZ NEWS
LETTER From Janet |
| Dear Connie,
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This is a copy of
the request I sent to my family. How about a list of family websites on the
From...new website with a link? Also how about each News letter we feature
one of the Sr. and ask each of us to send a wonderful memory. I
suggest Uncle Charley or Aunt Josephine and Uncle Tommie For the first to be
featured. I think this is a very good idea to feature our Seniors.
We cousins could even tell fun stories about each other!!!
Love Janet
| All of
you please put new pictures of yourselves and your families in the
newsletter. Please pass this note to Dick and Sandy as I
have lost their emails. Love, Sis, Mother, &
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| Grammie
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| Richard and Janet King
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| 2713 Haworth Ave
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| Newberg Oregon
97132‑1917 |
| 503 ‑ 538 ‑ 8870 |
| Email:
kingrandj@attbi.com
|

Dear Connie, Peace be with you. My life has changed greatly. I am now the Guestmaster
and cantor. This means that I'm in charge of the retreat house and sleep
there in case someone locks themselves out of their rooms in the middle of
the night or some other emergency occurs. I usually give about
four conferences per week in the retreat house and do a little spiritual
direction. Other monks are available for spiritual direction and since
my work load has been a little too heavy, more monk will help next year.
Being Cantor really means simply being in charge of music. I'm still
the organist nearly all the time. Br. Nicholas is learning the
organ, but that takes time for some one who has no previous keyboard
experience, so he just plays Compline on alternate weeks. We are experimenting
with moving the monks to the front choir stalls and leaving the back
ones we used to use for the retreatants. Since Dom Basil resigned in May,
we are going through a transition year. Fr. Anthony is temporary
superior for one year appointed by the Abbot of Getsemane. My prostate
cancer therapy seems to have gone well. Between Cancer State Aide and
the good will of Newton General Hospital and the Doctors almost all of
the $90,000 worth of tests and therapy came gratis! Our Fruitcake
industry is beginning to take off nicely. The Bonsai is beginning to pick up
again. I hope to do a little of it in the future again and get the book
published. Our community is going through a very important time in
our history so please keep us in your special prayers. Many monks have
new jobs. The "younger" monks all have new responsibilities that
cover nearly all the major key positions in the monastery. This is quite a
challenge for most of us! So this is truly a special time of grace. Our
senior radiate deep holiness more than ever as they move into that final
stage in life. It is a great time to be alive. God bless you all. Yours in Jesus and Mary, Br. Gerard David
OCSO

PS I pray that you may have the best in this wonderful
season of grace and light. Please give my love to Jim, and
your families. Love Gerard David 

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From:
"Charles Fromherz" |
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charlesf@gte.net |
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Date:
11/20/02 11:45AM |
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Subject: Heartfelt ‑ Art from the heart Winners |
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Hi
Everybody ‑ Here's the link to see my winning Heart Quilt Wallhanging in the
Heartfelt Contest ‑ Looks like I made the cover too ‑ it's the green one on
the wall. . Click to see all the winners and mine is about midway down the
page don't know what month it will be...
Marilyn |
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From:
"Erin Kelley" erinlkelley@hotmail.com
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Date:
11/23/02 8:10AM |
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Subject:
It's been too long! |
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0800 is too early to be calling people on a
Saturday. So I'm sending out this email, instead! :) I've
been remiss in my contact with people since getting back to the States.
(On Thanksgiving, I will have been back for precisely 3 months.) In that
time, this computer has crashed numerous times. Usually when I'm online
or attempting to be. It's been good today, though, and I've been able to
post the latest update to my web page. Yes ‑ it's alive! As am I. If
you've the inclination to give me a call ‑ please do. My phone number is
503.266.5006. I'm not home too often, but often enough to get messages
and call back! Talk to you soon! Erin P.S. I hope you have
a great Thanksgiving!! :) |
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~ ‑ ~ . ~ ‑ ~Don't cry because it's over, smile because it
happened~Dr. Seuss~ ‑ ~ . ~ ‑ ~ |
Check out my website and see what I am doing these
days!
www.geocities.com/1+2+die+4
 |

It's so easy to get up to my eyeballs in matters at hand, so that's why you
don't hear from me much. This weekend is unusual for us at this stage of
life‑‑we have an empty nest for a bit (Friday night to Sunday morning). I can
imagine how life will be much calmer and easier to decide what we want to do,
when the kids leave the nest, instead of having to deal with the kids'
requests and last minute plans, etc., like we do most of the time now.
Thankfully, Paul and I still enjoy doing things as just a couple. I know
that's a strain for some marriages, when the kids leave the nest. I think
of you
and Jim there in Spokane‑‑making a new life together at the empty‑nest
stage of life. I'm sure you have your challenges, like we all do, but I'm
happy for you that you both enjoy cycling, that your life as grandparents is so
rewarding and your careers are going so well. Congrats to you.Thanks for all your work on the newsletter. I did check out the website,
but got
an error message of sorts before, but I just tried it again and got
through‑‑it's wonderful!! What a great job. I'll check it out in greater
depth later.
Yes, I'll be happy to send a note to Sharon and ask her to contact you. You are
thoughtful to suggest that. Some folks are protective of their e‑mail
addresses. I can imagine that you've gotten a taste of that with all the
communications involved with the newsletter. One can be clueless about such
considerations, otherwise. I
guess Mom told you that Dad is scheduled for surgery in December. He has a
benign tumor in his colon which requires abdominal surgery for removal.
They
expect him to be in the hospital for a week and then to recover fully and
have improved health, so we're optomistic. But at the same time, cautious,
knowing that at 89, this could be a turning point with regard to activity
and
independence. One day at a time‑‑that's how we're taking it. You know all
about that.
Well, take care, Connie. Hope this finds all well with the Gale clan.
Love,
Pat


Dear Fromherz Clan~
Greetings from the Zollner household. We are still alive and well, at home
in Eugene. Paul continues his work at U.S. Bank, and continues to
enjoy his garage band hobby. Katie got accepted into the Education
program and is in her Junior year of studies at the UofO. She works
part-time, has her own apartment and is engaged to be married this coming
summer to Jim Voss. Monica is a senior in high school this
year-- excelling in her clarinet playing and leadership abilities. She's
currently applying to colleges, hoping to go into nursing. Tecie is
a junior in high school this year--is especially active volunteering at
church. Christiana is a 6th Grader this year at our neighborhood
middle school. Violin lessons, Girl Scouts and basketball are a few of her
extracurricular activities. I (Pat) am still teaching private piano
lessons--have 13 students at the moment--as well as directing music at our
church. We continue our family music-making--weekly at church and annually
at Oktoberfests.
It was a pleasure to visit with so many of you at our reunion last summer.
Thanks to Connie for her work on this newsletter and our website. What a
generous and loving gift to us all. Please pray that all goes well for my
Dad (Louis) with his upcoming surgery (12/17/02 in Salem) to remove a
benign tumor from his colon.
Love and best wishes to you and your families~ Pat Zollner


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A very Merry Christmas
to all our family and friends. We wish everyone good Health, fun times
and a life of joy and peace for the new year.
Two years into
retirement has been a wonderful time and we have not regretted leaving our
jobs a little early. Our new home has brought us much joy and we have
made so many wonderful friends, The street is now almost filled with
houses, lawns and trees and less dust is flying.
Our travels this past
year, in our 5th wheel, have taken us mostly in the same direction, Oregon.
We visited family in January working to help move Charlie's mom to a new
assisted living residence and help brother Don sort through the house.
We returned in June for the Fromherz family reunion and then stopped in
Freedom, California on the way home for Charlie to ride with his Easy Riders
Group. We again returned to Oregon the first part of August for
Charlie's High School reunion.
In January, Charlie
visited the doctor with a coldness in his chest while riding. After a
series of test we found he had 80% and 90% blockage in the heart. In
May he underwent surgery to insert 3 stents in two of the main arteries of
his heart. A couple of weeks of recovery and, boy . . . was he out
riding again. It is amazing how much more stamina he has now!
You can't stop him!
Charlie continues with
his recumbent riding and rides around 200 miles a week and has put around
8000 miles on his bike this year. He enjoys Saturdays with his
buddies, racing all the young guys to the beach. He did Cycle Oregon
in September with brother Don and friends Larry and Lemoyne --- a great time
enjoyed by all and rode in the 108 mile Tour de Tucson race in November.
Marilyn continues with
sewing and enjoys doing her embroidery. She won a 1st prize on a doll
she created for the Sulky Challenge in June and won 2nd place on a quilted
embroidered Wall Hanging in a Heartfelt contest for Tacony Corp. The
Wall Hanging was published in a 2003 calendar for the contest and she has
felt quite honored to be included.
Charles & Marilyn


Just a quick note to let you know what's happening
here. As many of you know, my son Adam Martin is a Daddy, and I am a
Grandmother. I haven't seen much of little Adam Allen, but have seen
him enough to know that he is an absolute doll, but then that's how I'm
supposed to feel, isn't it? Adam, Bekah and little Adam just recently
moved to Neah Bay, at the uppermost part of Washington on the Puget
Sound. Adam was in the Navy, submarine division, on the Alabama. (That
was the nuclear submarine that was used in filming Crimson Tide.
That was a movie about a disaster on board a Submarine where a bunch of
navy guys got killed, needless to say, it wasn't a favorite of mine.)
Adam got out of the Navy just after Little Adam was born because he
didn't feel that being gone three months and home three months and gone
again was anyway to raise a child. He did construction work with his
Father-in-Law for about a year, then decided to check out the Coast
Guard. He got his full rank back and now only goes out on day runs. He
seems much happier having a steady income, medical, housing and food
allowances now.
Annella is home from the Air Force for a Christmas
visit. She got home yesterday, December 4th, from her base in Omaha,
Nebraska. She is no longer a Tietze, she married a young man, who is
also in the Air Force, his name is Jeremy Ortiz. Jeremy will be here on
the 17th of December to be with us for Christmas, it will be the first
time we've met him. He seems very nice over the phone. Mom and Dad
went to Kansas to visit Judy for Thanksgiving, and are one up on me, as Annella
and Jeremy went to Judy's for an early Thanksgiving dinner and met Mom
and Dad there. Annella and Jeremy are planning a marriage ceremony
sometime next year to bless their marriage in the church.
Carolyn, her son Jonathan, and Judy met Annella
and Jeremy earlier this Fall in Omaha…I guess they have one up on me
there too.
I guess that's about all the news for now…
Jane 

Connie,
Sorry we are late with newsletter input. Following are some short
comments and Holiday greetings - - Dick and Sandy Gerding
|
Holiday Greetings to All! |
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We have had a busy year with Dick
still working overseas and building our new home in Corvallis. Hopefully,
our new home will be finished by the end of January. Sandy has stayed very
busy helping manage the construction of our new home, selling our current
home, and taking care of all other matters on the home-front. Dick will
return home from his current job in Kuwait in early February. Our family
will finally be all back together again--hopefully for good.
Our oldest daughter, Missy, her husband Chris, and our
granddaughter, Maddy, are still assigned at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Shelley,
our next oldest, and her husband Eric still live and work in Boulder,
Colorado. Our son, Rick, his wife Tricia, our granddaughter, Maryn
and our grandson, Austin live and work near us in Philomath, Oregon.
Happy Holidays to all and may God bless all of you.
Dick and Sandy Gerding


|
Mom,
Below is the part of the Lyman Christmas Letter that Dad wanted to send to
Connie. I don't have her e-Mail address anymore. Would you mind passing it
on? Feel free to change it up a bit (if you want).
Thanks, Felice
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|
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Happy Holidays Everyone!
I hope this letter finds you all in good health and great spirits. All of us
are getting along quite well. We grandkids aren't really "kids" anymore.
. .and
while I never really appreciated being compared to a goat, I sometimes miss
it. We are all still discovering the amazing things life has to offer us,
only now it is in High School and College. (Not quite to the stage of
marriage or great-grandchildren.)
The Fromherz's- Liz and Buz- continue to run their business in West Linn,
Oregon. I have been working on business of my own in art and music
promotions. For those of you who heard of my nasty illness - well, it is
completely under control. (yea!) Betsy is working hard to carve a niche
for her paintings and artwork. Adelia Renee has stepped into the family
tradition of pipefitting, and has become quite an asset to Buz Mechanical.
Karen is officially a teenager, and is currently focusing all her
adoration on Anakin Skywalker of Star Wars fame.
Anyway, our family wish all of you a new year filled with health, love,
safety, and most of all wonderful memories to share during the next holiday
season.
Merry Christmas from the Heart,
Felice Noel Fromherz Christmas 2002 (Jim Sr. + Mary Fromherz = Dennis "Buz" + Liz Fromherz = Felice)


You are very welcome!!!
Thanks for the invite.
If you guys will be in town for the holidays, come on out to my birthday
party. Friday, December 13th at the bridgeport brew pub. I would love to see
you guys again. (You can find directions at
www.attheverge.com.)
Love,
Felice

(Jim Sr. + Mary Fromherz = Dennis "Buz" + Liz Fromherz = Felice)

Not much to add here just working away on the
genealogy of the FROMMHERZ surname and learning quite a bit about Annie
Mariah Allen King and her Bangs family line.
Come visit my web site
www.McKenzieValleyMarket.com
please write and tell me what you think of it.
I am the List Administrator for:
FROMMHERZ-L@ROOTSWEB.COM
The surnames connected to my paternal and maternal grandfathers are:
Lounsbury; Penoyer; Guion; Lauber; Bachle; Baier; Schlageter; Gerspach; Matt
and
KINGE-SALEM-MA-L@ROOTSWEB.COM
The surnames connected to my paternal and maternal grandmothers are: Busse;
Pribbernow; Allen; Bangs; Howe; Norton; Haskins or Hoskins; Caswell; Cole;
Windthrope; Mitchell; Cooke; Birdsall; Goldthwaite; Scudder; Browne; Tuthill;
Swayze; Dibble--
Daniel David Lewis Frommherz (Art's Dan)


| Connie, |
|
Thanks. Yes, I have looked at the web site. Good work.
Thanks for all you are doing. Everything looks great!
Dick
 |

Roy
still plays golf every chance he gets. He has been traveling lots, but has
been close to home the past month. He travels to Washington DC toward the
end of this coming February (he's gone there for 12, or so, years, now, to
"lobby" for his agenda...eradicating noxious
weeds, and using "bio-control" (bugs that eat the hearts out of the weeds)
to control weeds, too), and, I may be able to join him THIS year (2003)!!!
He's always gone with a group of people from Wyoming, and, I'd just join
them, all. My mother's only living sibling, my Aunt Marty, lives with her
nephew, and my cousin, Dan Bendele, who has a growing family, about 26 miles
West of Richmond, Virginia, which isn't too far from DC...maybe we'll get
the chance to connect.
Roy and I have been doing back stretching and strengthening exercises, which
have really toned us up. I've been walking, fast, on our treadmill,
watching, either, TV, or, a video, for an hour a day lately...I've, also,
been lifting a 5lb. weight, to strengthen my arms and upper body. All this
exercise, plus, showering, etc. can take up a good part of my typical
day!!! I still manage to shop, do laundry, dishes, cook, and, occasionally,
clean the house, plus any errands that need done. Roy rewired our garage,
so, now, it is safe (it didn't have heavy enough wire for the electrical
load, before he fixed it...), since he wants to get another garage door
opener working, so he can put his truck inside this Winter (he bought a
Ford 150, 4X4, 1984 pickup, and a topper, so he could have a truck and haul
around anything that he wants...you know how guys are about trucks?!!!).
We see Marge and Ryan, as often as they can visit. They, both, are
studying, and working full time. Marge will get her Master's degree in Weed
Science this Spring, and Ryan is studying and working to get his license as
an architectural engineer. They are taking care of our 20 year old Siamese
cat, King Tut (he's, actually, Marge's), and they have another cat, named
"Gizmo", who is a cute ball of fur, and runs circles around old King Tut.
They have a new house, built on a small lot, in
Laramie, Wyoming, and, they love it!!!
Better go, now...Love, to all, from Roy and Rita, out here, in Wyoming!!! 
From:michael.e.holt@att.net Sent:Tuesday, December
10, 2002 7:18 AM
Subject:Awesome (Click on Awesome
to go to Chris Holt's page)
Hi Connie, I just got done
looking at the web sight again. I check it out every couple of days. I am
enjoying watching the changes. The letter that Uncle Jim wrote about Adolf was
great I really enjoyed reading about the life they lived back then.
I thought I would update
you on what is going on here. Chris is doing wonderful and getting
back into sports. He has been able to practice with his team for a couple of
weeks. Still has the Hickman (port in his chest) he will be getting that out on
the 18th of December. When he was first admitted to the hospital on June 9th we
did not think at the time that it would only be 6 months. The Doctors told
us that is was because of Brian's "Kick Butt Cells" we have been so blessed that
they have come so far in cancer research. One of the new meds. that he was on
that basically saved his life. (The Philadelphia Syndrome
would have made it impossible for him to have the bone marrow transplant) Gleevac that
was discovered at OHSU and has only been available for 5 years was what put
his Leukemia into remission. We have been so blessed
with family, friends and pray that is has made this journey easier for us.
Mike and I have signed up for any study that will help other families and I am
mentoring a family from Idaho that has a 2 year old. Mike's family has helped
in so many ways and my family especially Judy and Marty and her family. My
Mom and Dad, Jane, Carrie, Russ, Ernie, Art, Len, Lou have all been great.
Brian continues to be
doing great in school. We are very proud of him. He is also playing on the
tournament basketball team for Keizer. It is so fun to watch them play. He has a
tournament in Sisters this weekend that has been a lot of fun in the past.
Travis is going to
preschool and is constantly coming up with new ways to make us laugh. His favorite
word currently is Option. When I tell him to do something he says that is
not on option mom. I think I might have used that word to many times.
Mike is working for
Portland Community College as a financial aid tech II, but has applied for an
advisors position in the same office. He has had a second interview and is waiting
to hear if he gets it or not. He takes the boys to most of there basketball
practices and stays to help out. I am keeping busy with all the Doctors
appts. Tutoring etc... It is very weird to not be working. I have always
worked since as long as I can remember. I am looking forward to when Chris is
well enough for me to go back to work. If this letter is to
long feel free to edit it. Take care and keep up the good work. Love Mary,
Mike, Chris, Brian and Travis Holt


| From: Greg
Silbernagel |
|
gsilbernagel@yahoo.com |
| Sent: Monday, December
09, 2002 12:13 AM |
| Subject: Re: NFTH needs your news!
|
|
 |
Hello Family, Hope
all is well this holiday season. Things my way have been great and wish you
all the same. College was a big step for me this year, that I took with my
shoulders squared and my head high. Taking basic courses at the moment at
Linn Benton, unsure of the future and what will be coming. Thinking of
vetinary or business major at the moment, cause I want to do something to
stay on the farm but don't want to farm. My luck in hunting season has come to an end. This was the first year in 3
years I have had a tag I didn't fill, the elusive elk eluded me this year,
but it wasn't from a lack of trying and I had a lot of enjoyment as always,
an experience of a lifetime I may never forget was when I had a 5-6 point
bull at 15 yards that I bugled in during archery season and over shot by
about 3 feet because I thought it was 40. fun stuff, fun stuff. Have a Great
holiday everybody and I
promise to make it to a family dinner some month. Greg Silbernagel


|
What a great accomplishment!!!!!! We are so thankful that you are
taking over for Aunt Florence. You are doing an exceptional
job!!!!!!! As for a list of our family names, birthday's, etc. I
will send you anattachment with all of the information. (There
have been several changes since the last list) I hope this helps.
I would also like to add, that the last cousin dinner was fabulous!
Dennis and I really had a great time. It was so nice to see
everyone and be able to have enough time to really get a good visit with
everyone there. Aunt Florence being there was an extra wonderful
experience. Can't wait for the next one! Thanks again, for
all of your time with The Fromherz Newsletter!
| Love, |
Dennis and Kathy
|
|
 |

|
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|
F rom:
Judy Fromherz JFROMHERZ@kc.rr.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2002 9:55
PM
Subject: Newsletter from Mom & Dad
Connie and Family, I know it has been forever! I have been
going to school all day and 2 nights per week since the beginning of August!
It is a challenging school and the night classes are towards my Masters
degree in Telecommunications Management. If all goes well, I will
graduate from both in June. Most of my evenings are spent hitting the
books!
Twitch is doing well for her age. She is blind now, but just as loving
as ever. I am not sure what I will do if I get stationed in
Hawaii next. There is a 6 month quarantine which will be hard for both
of us! Please wish us luck. On top of that, if I do get Hawaii;
I will be stationed on Oahu and will have a room available for guests.
Please let me know in advance when you are coming so I can book your
reservation.
Mom & Dad flew out last night after spending 10 awesome days with me.
I was ill for a couple of days and having mom around for some TLC was very
nice! We had a number of wonderful visits with the Bauder family
(our Kansas Cousins). They are very nice and it is an honor to be
stationed here and have the opportunity to get to know them. Mom, Dad,
and I drove to Lincoln, NE to spend T-day with Carrie and family.
We spent one day at the Omaha Zoo and saw a biographical documentary on
“Lewis & Clark”. It was a very good show! The Omaha Zoo is a
wonderful place and really works hard to house the animals in “natural”
environments. The Lied Jungle is completely open with birds able to
fly around, otters playing, waterfalls, and trees hanging across the
walk-ways. They even have a rope bridge that the “kids” can cross and
get splashed by another waterfall. The aquarium is also very cool with
a tank that you can walk-through and look up at shark swimming above
you….kind of creepy, but cool too! We also walked through the
Desert Dome and the Cat Complex. There is a lot of indoor exhibits since the
weather was really cold and the wind chill added to that. Mom & Dad’s
visit was way too short and I really miss them.
Well, I should go and do some homework. Love to all and hope you all
have a very Merry Christmas! P.s. I am attaching Mom
& Dad’s newsy letter. Since they were visiting, I took the opportunity
to type mom’s letter so we could email it to you. Mom wants me
to add my name to it since I typed it and a lot of the news involves me (I
was there too) but this is Mom & Dad’s news so I decided to add my own note
separately.


|
|
| Holiday Greetings
from Art & Winnie |
|
|
Hello to all!
Merry Christmas and hope you have a wonderful year to come! Our year
has been full of happenings! Thank God for his blessings and getting
us through the challenging times….Thank God also for giving us the good
times in between!
|
 |
|
Art received his High school diploma from Lebanon High School through
the Veterans’ administration. As many may know he (and many others) left to
fight in WWII before they received their graduation certificates.
Chris (Mary & Mike Holt) was diagnosed with Leukemia in June and has
spent many weeks in Doernbecker Children’s Hospital in Portland. Mary (mom)
stayed by his side the whole time! Thanks to the Holt family for the many
hours they spent helping! As many may know, Chris received Stem Cells’ from
his brother, Brian, and is well on his way to a full recovery. Blessings on
the entire family for their prayers, blessings, and thoughtfulness
throughout this ordeal.
The ladder that I have been climbing (in the garage) for the past 20
years broke, which caused me to fall and break my leg this past June
(ouch)! I was very lucky, it could have been a lot worse!
The Family Reunion 2002 was a huge success! Aunt Alice was even able
to join us for awhile at the picnic, which was wonderful! It was a
beautiful weekend! Included was the golf tournament and bowling. Art
golfed and bowled, but Winnie was only able to watch since she was still
wearing a ski boot (cast). Hope next year is even better – God willing
(and the creeks don’t rise). The final Reunion weekend event was the
“Seniors’ Birthday/Anniversary Dinner” at the Buzz Saw Restaurant in
Albany. We welcomed Sue (Al & Margaret’s), Judy (Art & Winnie’s), and Don &
Tam Van Etten. The entire evening was very nice!
In July, Judy made the move to Fort Leavenworth, KS to attend the
Command and General Staff Officers Course (CGSOC) for a year. She will move
again in July and it may be to Hawaii for 3 years! She is taking
reservations now for those that want to come and visit. Also in July,
Art & Teri renewed their wedding vows and had their marriage blessed in the
Catholic Church. This was a very special event and a wonderful ceremony
that was attended by bunches of friends and family from around the world.
They had houseguests from Virginia, California, and North Carolina. The
reception following the ceremony was at their home in Aumsville with lots of
food, a wedding cake, games, karaoke, and lots of fun! Father Brady from
Shaw attended for awhile and blessed their home and the meal! Russ and
family have had a number of challenges this year. Please keep them in your
prayers! On a great note, Kevin was awarded his Eagle Scout this past
February and will be graduating in June.
Carrie and
family moved from Salina, Kansas to Lincoln, Nebraska. Their new
address is 1129 Aberdeen, Lincoln, NE 68512. Jonathan is doing
gymnastics with the University of Nebraska team and improving every day!
He has a meet in February and Judy hopes that she can attend.
Joelle (Marty’s youngest) attended Space Camp this year after winning a
National Essay Contest through IGA food stores. Marty and Family also
spent a few weeks in Alaska over the summer as part of their Volcanic
Education for Science Teachers (VEST) group. This group has met in Hawaii,
Bend, and Washington in previous years. This next year, they are headed to
Italy as Jaima’s choir group will be singing in various cathedrals under the
same conductor that led them in England a couple of years ago. Jen is a
graduating senior this year.
Ryan (Art’s oldest) left for Marine Boot camp in November; he had planned to
go in January, but the recruiter called to see if he could go early. Please
keep him in your prayers; he will do an outstanding job….his dad is a
retired Marine.
Our berries became ripe almost all at once. Thanks to some dear friends
from Stayton, they got picked every other day. They kept some for
themselves, but insisted on leaving the bulk of them with us. If you don’t
know, we have Raspberries (2 kinds), Boysenberries, Logan Berries, Marion
Berries, Blue Berries, Black caps, Nectar Berries, Cascades, and
Strawberries. Our strawberries didn’t turn out so well since I wasn’t able
to get out there and weed like I am used to (broken leg) so the pickers
couldn’t see the berries through the weeds (forest through the trees).
As many know, we make it a point to attend the monthly family dinner at the
“Old Country Buffet” on Lancaster (near Center) every 3rd
Wednesday at 6 pm. We average 20 every month and sometimes more…..put this
on your calendar and join us….All are Welcome! By
mid-growing season (berries), I advanced to a cane and was able to supervise
and eventually pick the berries myself. Our friends wouldn’t let me pick
when they were there so I was only able to watch and chat!
We have met Jim and Mary at the Hubbard Inn for steak dinners a few times.
It is a special place for us to meet. On one occasion, Shirley & Bob and
Art & Terri joined us for dinner. Jim & Mary’s sidekick and very good
friend of all of us (Lyle) always joins us too!
When the weather cooled off, Art replaced the screens on the sun porch with
the winter windows (plastic covered) so that Winnie’s plants could have a
home for the winter. Len built the sunroom and it is great! Winnie doesn’t
have to haul the plants upstairs and we use it all the time during the
summer. We play cards, read, eat dinner, and chat with friends and family
that happen to drop in.
Our Walnut crop failed this year with almost no yield, but the filberts are
great! We have cracked and sorted all of them (only keep the good ones).
Winnie bags them up in 1 pound sacks and sells them. We can hardly keep up
on the demand!
We had dinner at the “Wooden Nickel” in Sublimity with our dear friends
(Jerry & Helen Falk) and then played games at their house just before
leaving for Kansas.
Our trip to Kansas was fine. We had a special dinner at Judy’s (she cooks!)
on Saturday. Carrie, Jonathan, Nellie (Jane’s) and husband, Jeremy, were
also able to join us from Nebraska. Nellie and Jeremy are both stationed at
Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha. We had not seen Carrie or Jonathan for 4
years and got to meet Jeremy for the first time (he is a very nice young
man)! On Sunday, we had brunch with Art’s Cousins’ at their home. We were
able to meet Joe & Leslie Bauder, Sister Marianna Bauder, Tom & Tammy Bauder,
Ellen & Keith Hustings. All are the children and family of Elmer & Gertrude
Bauder (you can find them on page 46 of the family book that Aunt Florence
wrote). Father Eric Albertson who is an Army chaplain and a classmate of
Judy’s was also able to join us after saying Mass at the Immaculate
Conception Church in Leavenworth. We met the Bauders’ again for dinner at a
local restaurant and will go to see the Christmas lights with them in Kansas
City on Sunday after returning from Lincoln Nebraska where we will spend
Thanksgiving with Carrie, Dennis, and Jonathan. We finished out the week
in Leavenworth, Kansas and got to see Joe & Leslie Bauder again for a trip
to Kansas City, MO to see the Christmas lights. What a very nice evening
and the culmination of a wonderful visit! We are even considering
returning in June for Judy’s graduation from Military school (CGSOC). She
will also be receiving her Masters degree in Telecommunications Management
from Webster’s University.
All in all it
has been a great year with lots of blessings, challenges, and fun times.
Blessings on all of you! Love
Art & Winnie


|
|
Merry Christmas!
Joe & Marge Fromherz & family
December 8, 2002
The Holy
Season approaches again, and we think of friends , relations, neighbors, old
and new, and fellow travelers on this troublesome planet.
We have had a terrible fire
season in this western area and now we read of Australia’s forest fires. It
is summer down under, and nephew Paul and Cheryl Bendele, with their seven
are down there as missionaries.
Barbara and Steve
Guarracino have a new granddaughter for us, Gina Rose, and Sylvia and Andy
Sharp have a new grandson for us. And, of course, the respective
grand-in-laws.
Our youngest, Matthew,
married Karen Cheek on June 8th at St Joseph’s in Salem.
Matt has a forestry job at Ellensburg, WA, and they are buying a home there.
John was shook up a few
weeks ago, when he stopped his pick-up upside down next to the freeway not
far from Centralia, WA. He took a couple of days off, but is back at
his job with Intel in Hillsboro and looking for another pickup.
Paul sings at the Latin
Mass on the first Sunday of the month at St Joseph’s 7:00 AM mass, and is
still has his job at Smucker’s in Woodburn.
Out the window I see a
squirrel energetically gathering the last nuts hanging on our walnut tree.
Among her other activities,
Marie volunteers at Mt Angel Abbey a couple of days a week, and at the
Benedictine Nursing Home.
Rose and Kevin Lucas and 3
boys have left the city of Portland and now live down the road in Stevenson,
WA with room for livestock.
Louis, Tricia and their
four have moved from the Spokane area to Veneta, OR, west of Eugene.
Louis has a job delivering supplies to farm folk all over the valley.
Brother Jim and Mary
usually meet John and I at the Woodburn Auction on Tuesdays.
Frank received a special
commendation, being named first among all diocesan directors of the Campaign
For Human Development in the U.S. With wife Bridget and sons Chris and
Nick he celebrated Thanksgiving with us.
Allen is still building.
Robin is teaching. Amy has her job at the nursing home in Dallas. And
AJ and Becky are roaming Europe studying international relations and music,
respectively.
We miss brother Charles,
but see Alice, who loves company, at an assisted living place on Sunnyside
Ave. So. in Salem.
Merry Christmas!
Love You! Joe & Marge Fromherz & family
And Happy New Year too!
|

|
From: "Kathy Cappetta" k.cappetta@verizon.net
Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2002 11:40 AM
Subject: Re: NFTH needs your news! -----
Newsletter note ----- |
|
Hi Connie,
Today is Saturday 12/14.
I was so sick last month, Connie, I didn't even fire up the computer!
If it's not too late, I can give you a quick blurb that you can throw in.
Sorry I'm late! |
 |
Dear Family,
I have joined a very elite group of our family members. I joined this
happy, determined, and especially strong-willed club last Tuesday, November
12th when I was told I have breast cancer. There is not one ounce of
poor-me in my blood! I am determined to beat this, and God willing, I will.
So now I am resigned to the fact that I face three months of chemotherapy,
then have surgery, then three more months of chemotherapy, then radiation,
and if all goes well after 9-months, I'm home free! They are giving me
aggressive treatment because of my age, I'm 43.
I am getting treatment. Last month was a bit rough, so this 2nd round they
upped my any nausea drugs and lowered the chemo. In November, I lost 15
pounds and gained 6 back so they HAD to re-evaluate the dose on the chemo.
The first round in Nov. was on the high end of the spectrum to see how much
my body could handle ... not good. My hair is all but gone, I ordered a wig
that will be here today. Now I am only suffering hair loss and fatigue, but
I can handle that!
Now we're going out shopping. Love ya, Kathy Cappetta
(Charley's
Charlie's Kathy)

From: Richard & Janet King
kingrandj@attbi.com
Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 9:51 PM
Subject: NEWS LETTER JANET KING |
|
 |
Mary Babic is expecting in July 2003. Richard's
brother Jimmy King passed away this last Monday during the night.
We will be in Baker City for the funeral Monday and Tuesday. I am being
layed off my job at Merix after 23 years of service, Dec 20th, 2002.
So I will be amongst the at home crowd, at least for a while!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR
Richard and Janet King
2713 Haworth Ave
Newberg, Oregon 97132-1917
503 - 538 - 8870
 |

| Phone Call From Florence &
Louie |
|
| December 18, 2002
|
|
Louis had surgery
for removal of a benign tumor yesterday. He wasn't doing so well
that first evening. Florence shares her relief when she returned
to visit him on the 18th and he was up and walking around. Should
be fit as a fiddle in no time!
Florence & Louis want to take this
time to share with everyone a Holy and Peace filled Holiday Season.
She will write more later. God Bless you everyone . . . and Merry
Christmas!
Love to all of
you, Florence & Louis
 |

|
Christmas card and note from |
 |
|
Alice Fromherz |
|
c/o Don Fromherz |
|
621 Lamplighter Circle SE |
|
Salem, OR 97302 |
|
December 16, 2002
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
JOHN 3-16 GOOD Tidings to you as we rejoice in the birth of
our Savior. |
|
 Hi, How are you? I'm getting along
fine. With Don's help I am writing you a note. I wish you were
here. What will you be doing for Christmas? Will you be with
family? I'm doing fine here at Woodland Residential Inn. The
food is good and I'm good at Bingo. Everyone is getting in the
Christmas Spirit. We had a nice holiday buffet Thursday. A High
School Choir sang. Don, Barb, and I had a great dinner and the
decorations were pretty.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Alice Fromherz
PS Would love to hear from you.
|
|
Dear Aunt Alice,
Thank you so much for your lovely card and Holiday
Greeting. We are celebrating our Christmas over two weeks. We
plan to be up in the area for our Jim Fromherz Holiday celebration on our
34th Wedding Anniversary December 28, 2002. It is very special being
Grandparents. Our Grandaughters will be three in February and two in
January. Mac will be a year old on New Year's Day! How fun!
We are loving every minute of being Granny & Gramps! We love you too!
Peace, Jim & Connie


|

|
Wayne & Denise Fromherz
Dear Family & Friends, 2001 brought us a new member in our family - Lucas Myron arrived
10/10/01, 5:35 p.m. 8lbs. 3oz. He was in the womb crossways so I
had my 1st c-section that went very smoothly. Our young Father Pat
from St. Vincent's came to the house for prayer group with our big
family & Sister Joyce. Lucas is another good baby, great sleeper
from the start. He had 5 short nursemaids so he's king here, ha,
ha! Started walking before his 1st birthday & has 8 teeth now.
He is our caboose. Dr. says no more since my uterus is stretched out from
carrying extra fluid with all of my pregnancies. I could hemorrhage on
a next pregnancy & I told her I'm going to enjoy the 6 I have. So she
retired me. I'm still waiting for my steak and lobster retirement
dinner, ha, ha, !!!!!!!!! Had a lot of family & good friends from
school helping us to last month before Lucas was due. I was on bum
patrol so they fixed meals, did laundry, cleaning & Picked up the kids.
The kids enjoyed the different cooks from St. Vincent's school. "What
are we having tonight?" was their line everyday.
Wayne is on winter hours at A & R Spada farms, 7 a.m.
to 4 p.m. & Saturdays off. He enjoys his lawn tractor. He & Liz
were picking up all the neighbors' leaves in the neighborhood with the
trailer that hooks on the back.
Thanksgiving was at our home this year. Karen is
doing Christmas Day.
Dana is 12 and is in the 7th grade. She loves
shopping & the safe kind too, Window-shopping. Her favorite store is
the Dollar Tree. She had a great report card from Blanchet 2-A's,
3-B's & 2-C's. English and Religion are the subjects she is trying to
improve on. Her inspiration to improve the C's to B's is a shopping
trip to the mall.
Liz is 10 and in the 4th grade. She is still our
joker on the family & the athletic one. She's small & mighty!
This will probably be her last year of speech since she has just a few
sounds left to learn. She loves soccer, basketball & just playing
outdoors. Math is her favorite. She's another Dollar Tree
shopping fan.
Mary Jo is 9 and in the 3rd grade. She's been
anxious to get a puppy. Mom's not into the idea yet, ha, ha!
Maybe next year when Lucas would understand more about not torturing the
poor little dog! Mary Jo likes to cook & write. She's been
enjoying visiting with the staff after school. So her shyness is gone.
Stephen is 7 and in the 2nd grade. He's a true
boy at home. Loves to play cars & trucks, bounces from room to room
with his nice loud voices, ha, ha! At school he is quiet in the large
groups but will read & talk in small reading groups. Someday he will
talk for his teachers & other days not a word. So he's been going once
a week to Jack the counselor from school. Selective Mutism-usually
separated from 1 or both parents. (3 weeks when we had William in 1997).
1 parent unusually shy as a child (Bingo that was me). It's an anxiety
disorder that takes 6 months to 2 years to treat. He's had 4 visits &
still no talking to Jack. The just play in hopes he'll slip & say
something. Plus he feels more comfortable each meeting. He asks
me if I talk do I still get to play at Jacks? ha, ha! Yes, he
goes if he talks & if he doesn't talk. Jack came up with some
cards for yes, no & bathroom since Sephen won't even say those. That
way he just holds them up. Those are just temporarily being used.
Stephen's been pulling out his teeth so he will be singing the 'All I want
for Christmas is my 2 front teeth' song.
Then we have Gabriel who is a funny talker. He
comes up with good ones. He loves eggs for breakfast & his hot oatmeal
with brown sugar and cinnamon. He's anxious for school, loves books &
his Clifford show. He's a sneaky one too. Played with Silly
Putty, then stick it on his head & cut his hair off in two spots!.
Looked like a bald eagle so we just buzzed the whole head of hair.
Went to St. Vincent auction in March & bought the Brooks & Dunn VIP tickets
(4), Dana & Liz went with us to the concert. Snacks & pop and a
private balcony seating arrangement. A bathroom with a TV and another
room had a fridge with a table & chairs. July we went to the free
Countryfest concert. Kenny Rogers, Cyndi Thompson, Emerson Drive, Mark
Wilts & Sawyer Brown. Takes us a while to get our tickets since they
give out by 2's at different businesses. You really have to jump & get
them before they run out in 20 or 30 minutes.
Went
Camping to Ocean City, Washington this summer. Found close to 100
perfect sand dollars on the beach. Did some sand castle building and
some shopping so everyone had fun.
Put up bunk beds in
September. The girls have a double/twin and the boys have a twin/twin
and a trundle fits underneath.. We're ready when Lucas is ready for
his big bed in the future. So now they have lots of room to play.
In June we celebrated our 14th Wedding anniversary. Time goes by
fast when you're having fun! Canned 78 quarts of tomatoes this year.
Also made jam & zuchinni bread. Still have applesauce from last year
so I just made fresh applesauce with my apples. They ate it up in 2 or
3 days. Lots of pears & Zuchinni relish & pineapple left too.
Been enjoying letters from our friend Pearl who moved to St. Helens a couple
of years ago. Only 1 lawn mowing job I do & just emergency childcare
of school days off.
Wayne will be working at the wine &
food festival in February. He also likes to work at the breakfasts &
dinners at St. Vincent's. He is an usher at St. Vincent's every other
month or so. December 1st we are looking forward to the parish open house.
They built a new parish center so they'll have a chicken dinner party there.
Have a great Healthy New Year! Love Ya, Denise, Wayne, Dana,
Elizabeth, Mary Jo, Stephen, Gabriel, Lucas (Jim's
Wayne & Family)
 |

|

You are Invited to the Jim & Mary Fromherz Holiday Party! Hosted by
Wayne & Denise Fromherz
When:
December 28, 2002 at 5:30 pm
Where:
K of C Hall
725
Shipping Street NE
Salem,
Oregon 97303
Bring
Potluck dish or dessert
(closed
bar (no alcohol on the premises)
RSVP:
503-362-3751
 |

|
Christmas 2002
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy Holidays! We hope this letter finds you
in good health and good spirits. We have had a busy year this year
so instead of a card, we thought we would try to update you as to what
we're up to!
Sean is busy with work and music. He is still working at Best
Buy-trying to survive the holiday rush! He is managing the cell
phone department and doing quite well. His department recently
received recognition for being in the top 100 stores in the company.
It keeps him out of trouble and has gotten us a nice home theater
system! When he isn't working, he is busy playing in a band.
The name of the band is 10 Minutes Down. They have been voted the
best vocal band in Spokane for the last two years. During the last
year, they have been all over the western side of the state. This
last summer included a tour through Washington, Oregon, California,
Nevada, and finished in Idaho when they opened for the Cherry Poppin'
Daddies. Recently, they have been playing shows in Seattle and
Spokane.
I am busy with work and school. I am in my
third year at Eastern Washington University. I am running a
preschool, which is part of the special education program there.
It is extremely rewarding and has allowed me to discover what I want to
do with the rest of my life. Working at the university has allowed
me the opportunity to pursue a master's decree in special education.
It is an extremely difficult program, which I am glad to say I finished
this last summer. My exciting news for the year is that my
graduate research paper is going to be published this summer. It
was a huge undertaking and I am relieved to be done! Sean thinks I
am crazy as I am back in school again this year, this time taking
classes in Early Childhood Education. I am hoping to take this
summer off to relax!
In May we moved again!
We sat down to tally up how many places we have lived in since we've
been married, as were amazed when we found out this is our 5th place.
Now this may or may not seem like a lot to you, but you must also
realize that we have only been married for 4 1/2 years! The house
we are currently in is great. It is in the middle of town so it is
close to just about everything. There were a lot of boxes that we
left packed for the last couple of moves and we recently unpacked some
of them. It is amazing what you forget you have when it's been
packed away for a while! For now, we are still deciding where life
will take us-both with our jobs and with the band, so we are holding off
on buying a house. We don't currently have an e-mail address, as
we are waiting for AT&T Broadband to install in our neighborhood.
So for now, it is the telephone and snail mail that keeps us in touch
with everyone.
Our new address:
Sean & Michelle McKenzie
524 East Empire Avenue
Spokane, WA 99207
We wish you a safe and happy
holiday season! Michelle & Sean
(Jim's Tom's Michelle) 
|
|
| Date:1/9/2003 6:19:56 PM Pacific Standard Time
From:
Subj: Cycle Oregon 15
Join us this year.
Don, Larry, LaMoyne, Ken Gerding, & my self

Charlie Fromherz (Charley's Charlie)
http://www.easyracers.com
Calimesa, CA
Gold Rush w/sock, BikeE E2
cell 909-731-8912
1998 - 2002
7-12-95
Check out Cycle Oregon @
http://www.cycleoregon.com/ |

 
Recollections of Cycle Oregon 15
29 Dec 2002 |
| The plan: Four mature kids drive several days to start a
challenging and spectacular 7 day, 500 mile bike ride in rural Oregon with
2000 other cyclists. Cycle Oregon (CO) is widely considered to be the
premier 1 week bicycle tour in the US – maybe the world. This year’s route
for 2000 CO cyclists was from “Snake to Shore” – the Snake River at Nyssa on
the Idaho border to Florence on the Pacific Coast. This year it took us 3
days to get there and 2 ½ days to get back home. Of course we have been
planning for this week all year and had a significant amount of gear just
for this venture. Charlie Fromherz and his brother, Don, have been doing
this ride for several years and I was able to go last year. This year we
recruited LaMoyne Armstrong, our So Cal riding buddy, to join us. Our bikes
are all alike - 4 Easy Racer Gold Rush Replicas w fairings and red body
socks. We used two way, family radios to keep in contact and Charlie and
LaMoyne also had their GPS receivers programmed with the route. You might
want to skip over the non-cycling days and start reading at Day 1, when we
really did ride bicycles.
Thursday Sept 5: Day –2
When Charlie arrived at my house to load his bike and
gear at 4:30, I had already put my bike on the carrier and had my gear in
the van. All the while I was thinking “What did I forget?” I had already
checked my disorganized lists several times since getting up at 3:30.
We got to Lamoyne’s at 5:20 and loaded his bike and
gear. By this time the large space behind my van’s second seat was
essentially full. We stopped every hour or so to change drivers. Charlie’s
GPS listed all the rest areas along the interstate so planning for stops was
easy.
Seeing rice fields near Sacramento was new and
interesting for me. As we got near Mt Shasta the forest took on a new look
that reminded me of the Oregon views we saw last year.
All of us were so excited we had little sleep at home,
so we napped some when we weren’t driving. We stopped near Medford, OR at a
Motel 6 for the evening. Lamoyne volunteered to sleep on the floor since
this Motel 6 didn’t have any rollaway beds. Charlie got out his air
mattress and battery powered pump so LaMoyne could experience real camper’s
luxury – clearly a sales ploy.
Day -1:
Friday morning we were still excited and we all woke at
4 AM and hit the interstate again to drive the last 250 miles to Salem. We
got to Salem about 10 AM where Charlie’s brother, Don, was packing and
preparing his gear. We did what all good cyclists do – went to lunch and
shopping for equipment - including a helmet upgrade, pedals and an air
mattress for LaMoyne. We then packed all 4 bikes on the neat bike rack on
Don’s Excursion.
Don and Barbara had invited us to stay at their house
for the night and again on the night after we finished the tour at Florence.
In addition they would take us to Nyssa and pick us up at Florence, saving
us a major transportation hassle. As we put the bikes on Don’s bike rack
and our gear bags inside, it became plain that Don’s large SUV was just
barely large enough to take us and our gear to Nyssa. Even with our 4 bikes
hanging on the rear rack, the entire space behind the rear seat was packed
solid and half of the third seat space was needed to hold all our gear. We
still had some space to spare – we didn’t have anything tied on the top.
When Barbara arrived we agreed to depart about 5 AM
then left to have a nice dinner at a nearby Olive Garden. .
Saturday September 7: Day 0
Driving from Salem to Nyssa, 0 bike miles
We were up at 4 again and I came downstairs to find Don
packing lunch sandwiches - to avoid a long stop enroute to Nyssa. We were on
the road before 5 AM had agreed to have breakfast after driving some miles
to get ahead of the several bus loads of cyclists from the Portland area.
LaMoyne had told me I would enjoy seeing the Columbia
Gorge – and he was right. It is impressively beautiful. At a mid-morning
rest area stop we saw several of the 6 CO (Cycle Oregon) busses. LaMoyne
overheard that they were going to stop for lunch in about an hour so we
decided we would eat underway - without even stopping at a roadside picnic
area.
Near Hood River Don and Charlie pointed out parts of
the route they had taken on CO a few years ago when the tour finished there.
In eastern Oregon Interstate 84 turned south and
actually took us into Idaho before we turned on US 95 to drive to Nyssa. We
got to Nyssa just a short time ahead of the busses. So we quickly unloaded,
found a camp site and registered. Finding a good camp site and signing in
were easier before the 6 bus-loads of cyclists arrived from western Oregon.
I couldn’t find the bolts to attach the seat to my bike
and was planning to make a hasty trip into town to get some, a few blocks
walk. But Charlie saved the day again – he had some spare bolts in his
pack. I never did find my small plastic bag with those bolts.
Registration was very efficient due to the typical CO
organization. Prepared sign in packages were alphabetized at about a dozen
tables staffed by volunteers, allowing 2000 cyclists to quickly register
with little waiting.
Its very clear that the Cycle Oregon organization is
motivated and experienced. They start planning at the end of each year’s
tour for the next year. About 1000 volunteers are recruited and trained at
the 7 towns that each host a night’s stay. The proceeds from the tour
support community development projects and cycling causes in Oregon. On the
tour route there are frequent signs “2000 cyclists on this Road” and every
corner is marked with distinctively colored signs. There are 5 or 6 shower
trucks, nearly 3 dozen “blue rooms”, 6 or more water trailers, the stage and
the dining equipment. The food, both the meals at camp, and snacks at the 5
rest stops, is very good. The Oregon State Police provides 4 motorcycle
officers to travel with the tour, and there are 6 support vans each with a
driver and ham radio operator. Any rider on the road just holds their thumb
down to be helped or picked up by a van or staff car. In addition the Bike
Gallery, a Portland bike shop, has bike mechanics at each rest stop and at
camp. They adjust and repair tour bikes as needed with no labor charge.
Many of these volunteers schedule to serve on CO teams year after year. The
enthusiasm and friendliness is contagious.
We especially appreciated the coffee service that opens
before 5:30 each morning. Despite the official 6 AM breakfast start, there
is an early breakfast line - at 5:30 most of the time.
We camped on a nice grassy lawn of the Nyssa HS and had
dinner at the CO line. After dinner we walked around camp, noting that the
number of recumbents seemed to be significantly greater than last year. Then
we went to the rodeo grounds across the street where there was a stage set
up. Jonathon Nicholas, the leader and original organizer of CO, told the
story of the earliest CO tours. The first in 1988 had 860 cyclists when the
organizers had thought that a few hundred would be a great success. The
second year found over 1400 ready to ride, so then the organizers decided
that 2000 would be the limit for manageability. In most recent years the
ride has been full within a few weeks of the opening of enrollment.
Day 1: Sunday, September 8,
Nyssa to Ironside, 72 miles
LaMoyne woke me up just after 4, as he did almost every
morning on the tour. We took our tents down, packed our bags and were
waiting for breakfast at 5:30. At 6:20 we were riding. This was to be
typical of the entire week for our group. First the route took us through
town to a stop on the Snake River, where we might ceremoniously dip our
wheels near the Old Oregon Trial crossing. The volunteer townspeople
suggested that we might not want to do the actual dipping since the water
was polluted. So we signed a large card thanking the town of Nyssa for their
hospitality and rode out into a wandering route through typical western
farmland for about 15 miles before turning onto US 26 that would be our
route for the rest of the day. We rode over Keeney Pass, a fairly easy 800
ft climb from Nyssa, and had lunch at Willow Creek School at 32 miles from
Nyssa a little after 9:30. This was the route of the Old Oregon trial where
nearly 400,000 people came west via wagon trains in the late 1800’s.
After lunch we gradually - at first - climbed over
Brogan’s summit. The last 8 miles to the top of Brogan’s had a significant
(maybe 6%) slope - a portent of days to come. The afternoon was pretty warm
with temperatures in the mid 80’s.
Only 6 cattle guards today. Each cattle guard had a
carpet taped over the right side to pad the impact on our bike tires. I
don’t recall seeing any “paint only” cattle guards. Maybe Oregon cattle
ignore the painted stripes that are used in other states.
We got to Ironside just after 3, ahead of most of the
crowd. The camp was a stubble field on a working ranch owned by the Oakes
family. This was quite a contrast to the nice grassy lawn at Nyssa. To make
it even more interesting we had to ride 1.5 mi on a graveled farm road to
get to it. At least there were no ants in our area.
After setting our tents we walked around and saw Wo,
Laurie Smith, the leader of the Easy Racer Recumbent Club. She was her
usual chipper self with hugs for all. She reminded us that there would be a
group photo of the ERRC riders at Sisters on Wednesday night.
We went to the announcements portion of the evening
entertainment but didn’t stay for the show, because we knew that tomorrow
would be a challenging ride with over 6000 ft of climbing.
--------------
Day 2: Monday Sept 9 -
Ironside to John Day, 75 miles
Since the elevation at Ironside was 3700 feet, the
morning air was close to freezing. It was actually a few degrees warmer
when we were first packing, but the predawn cooling breeze as we waited for
breakfast at 5:30 made us glad we had warm jackets – and coffee. I was glad
I had put on my gloves for the initial 2 or 3 hours of riding.
In riding the gravel road back to the highway LaMoyne
came on the radio with the news that his GPS receiver had vibrated off so he
was turning back to pick it up. I waited at the highway entrance until he
got close . After a few miles of high desert country we started a series of
climbs. We were soon in the forest and climbing. At about 17 miles we
turned off the highway onto a forest service road, where the climb became
uniformly steep - probably 6% or so.
While climbing this grade I was about 2 miles from the
top when I decided to pull to the side to catch my breath. There was no
shoulder so I got as near the edge of the pavement as I could. It turns out
someone else needed a rest too. I was checking my mirror to catch sight of
LaMoyne coming behind when I saw a bright yellow jacket slowly coming
closer - and closer - and closer. I called out, but not in time - the lady
in the yellow jacket had her head down and was so intent on her pedaling
that she ran right into me at about 2 mph. We laughed and exchanged
pleasantries while she caught her breath too. The first major summit was at
19.4 miles at an altitude of 6000 ft. a net gain of 2300 ft. from camp. The
down hill run had a lot of slow curves so we could only get up to 20 or 25
mph. But we really enjoyed coasting past the upright bikes - especially if
they were pedaling.
The next climb started at about 26 miles and 4700 feet.
At about mile 30 Charlie and Don were ahead of us and
I was riding a half mile ahead of LaMoyne when he came on the radio and said
“I just had a blowout, but I’m OK and need to stop to fix the tire.” The
lesson in this story is don’t buy Specialized Armidillo tires. We have had
2 bad experiences with these. Fortunately both blowouts occurred AFTER high
speed downhills. Apparently the wire bead on these tires fails, allowing
the tire to blow off the rim. Both LaMoyne and Charlie carried folding
tires, which use Kevlar instead of wire for their beads. This would be our
first experience mounting these. The folding tire looked pretty strange and
hardly had any shape but as LaMoyne put the tube in it and started putting
air in, it fit fine and became a “normal” tire.
The lunch stop at mile 38 was at Unity School which has
a total of 34 students. At the lunch stop LaMoyne had his rear brakes and
wheel adjusted by the mechanic at the tour provided repair station. The
blowout had caused some rim damage, but the wheel was useable.
This was our toughest day.
After going over a summit at about mile 44 we had a
fast down hill run with no slow speed corners, then a picturesque slight
downhill through Logans Valley into Prairie City and John Day. This is the
same valley we rode up from Prairie City last year. The total downhill run
to John Day was over 30 miles so we were passing a lot of people on upright
bikes.
At the last rest stop before Prairie City, Charlie gave
me the rope to use in marking our camp site and said “You should be the
first of our group to get to camp - Go for It”.
I got a little carried away with passing people in pace
lines and several tandems. I was so excited I ignored my sore muscle that
had been irritating me since the morning climb. In riding through Prairie
City I missing a marked turn that would have taken me through the town’s
Main Street and past a rest stop. But from last year’s stay, I knew I could
continue past the downtown area and pick up Highway 26 on the west side.
Between Prairie City and John Day I could just stay with a fast group of 4
riders who were using a tight pace line. I would pass them on a downhill
area then they passed me on the slight climbs. Finally they dropped me on a
slightly steeper upgrade and my legs both reminded me of some sore muscles.
I now feel that the primary cause of the sore muscles was my lack of
spinning, ie, staying in a lower gear and not pushing hard. I’ve since noted
that if I never allow my cadence to drop below 85 I don’t get sore muscles.
By the time I got to the John Day camp area it was past
4:30, but the camp was on very nice grass at the fair grounds. The most
desirable places were taken, so I choose a small, odd shaped area next to
the back access lane. I knew it would be small but we did get everything in
with tight spacing. We sent up our tents in a hurry, took showers & ate
about 5:30 – late for our group. Don had been trying to adjust his front
derailer several times during the day so he took his bike to the Bike
Gallery area where their expert mechanic quickly rebuilt it – pressing in
new bushings so it was as tight as new.
At dusk we saw several deer coming down to the edge of
the campground about 100 yards from our tents. Several campers walked closer
to take pictures but the deer never ran they just sauntered away.
-------------
Day 3: Tues – John Day to
Mitchell, 78 miles
Lamoyne woke me at 4. I found the others already taking
their tents down – meaning they had already packed most of their gear so I
quickly tried to jam all my gear in the large bag. With some adjusting and
pressing I finally got the zippers closed.
The morning route followed the John Day river, taking
us down past the John Day fossil beds and a stunning lunch stop at Sheep
Rock National Monument at 50 mi at 9:30. I noted that we did have several
small climbs that didn’t show on the route profile.
At lunch, just off US 26 on OR 19 we discussed whether
to take the option route, which would have a total of 110 miles instead of
78 for the main route. I argued that the option ride had a lot of climbing
starting at mile 85 and the route plot showed the climb slope for the main
route would be modest. So we took the main route and found that the route
plot wasn’t accurate – the main route had a lot of climbing at 6+ % grades
with several level areas and a couple of short downhills. So the 2000 ft
net climb over the remaining 30 miles was significantly slower than we
thought.
Charlie and Don rode a mile or so ahead of us most of
that afternoon. Both Lamoyne and I had some sore muscles after the big ride
of Day 2 – and we were glad we were taking ibuprofen.
As we approached Mitchell the route signs had us turn
off the highway to go through downtown Mitchell, which consisted of 2 or 3
stores and, maybe, 15 houses. The Mitchell campsite was about a mile out of
town on a recently plowed stubble field.. The tent city was down in a
depression below the services area. So we got to enjoy walking up a 60 foot
hill for showers and for meals. We carefully planned each trip to the
service area to avoid any extra climbs up that hill with our sore leg
muscles.
We heard later that those who chose the option route
really had a tough ride. The temperatures at the lower elevations were over
100 degrees. Then they had to start a serious series of climbs at 85 miles.
They climbed over 4000 ft on the option portion alone.
_________________
Day 4 Wed - Mitchell to
Sisters, 93 miles
This morning I was awake when LaMoyne came to shake my
shoulder. When we got to the dining area a little before 5:30 we saw that
coffee was available but the local volunteer serving crew was late arriving,
and we didn’t get our breakfast until almost 6.
We started the day with another climb - 2000 ft over 12
mi to the top of Ochoco Pass. I even remembered to pause for a picture after
a climb like that. This short distance took us just over 3 hours. I did
better on this climb at keeping in low gears and spinning. It helps me to
have slightly sore muscles as a reminder of proper technique.
Charlie and Don were quite a bit ahead by the time we
got to the top and they stayed ahead on the great downhill into Prineville
and lunch. They were just leaving Prineville as we pulled in. This was the
prettiest lunch site we had seen yet – a picturesque city park with
beautiful lawns and lots of big shade trees. But we still had 48 mi to go so
thoughts of an after lunch nap were put aside.
After lunch we rode back into the forest on the O’Neil
Highway – a pretty, open forest scene that seemed to be from some book I
read a long time ago.
Charlie & Don pushed ahead to get good site at Sisters
– a good idea because we would be spending 2 nights there. LaMoyne and I
took the short excursion off US 26 to enjoy the scenic rest stop at Smith
Rock State Park and watermelon and cookies that tasted wonderful.
The last water stop this afternoon was a wide spot on
the highway. We were surprised that there were no blue rooms, and several
other people were looking for them too. Shortly a service truck came slowly
towing several blue rooms on a trailer. There was no obvious place to park,
since the cyclists were blocking the parking area. We all had a laugh at a
lady cyclist running behind the trailer, reaching up with knocking motions
and calling “Stop, Stop!” He did stop a short way down the road and the
riders quickly formed waiting lines.
As we came into Sisters we experienced the “joy” of
riding on a rumble strip for a couple of miles. Since traffic wasn’t heavy
I rode on the car lane when there were no cars. We got to the camp area at
Sisters at almost 5, Charlie was on the radio to tell us how to find the
camp area, but he didn’t tell us about the welcome we would receive. At the
camp entrance there were several people handing out Sisters century medals -
and a big “Welcome to Sisters” hug and kiss from a local girl. Charlie and
Don had staked out a nice roomy space on a baseball field.
Wo and the ERRC group got in so late that there no
pictures that evening. We noticed that Sisters was significantly warmer than
it had been the previous evenings and mornings.
______________
Day 5 Thursday September 13,
50 miles
This was a rest day for cyclists who needed it. We took
a nice little ride out to Wizard falls - a beautiful park and fish hatchery.
Don took some pictures of us on the forest road out.
At lunch at the Wizard Falls hatchery I noted a bump on
my rear tire and bought a new rear tire. The Bike Gallery mechanic (actually
the owner, Jay) checked my wheel and said “You have a lot of cracks in the
rims at several spokes, but we can find you a wheel.” He took a “loaner”
wheel from a bike on top of the service car and we agreed to meet in town
that evening. It turned out I rode on that loaned wheel the next 2 ½ days.
On the way back we turned off the route to see the head
waters of the Metolius River. This is a large spring where a lot of water
just comes out of the ground from the hillside at the head of another
beautiful Oregon valley.
Lamoyne and I cut the route back to camp so I could go
into town to check for wheels at the bike shop. They had no suitable wheel
for my bike either, so I consulted again with the staff at the Bike Gallery
service area. Jay was announcing the bicycle rodeo.
The bike rodeo is a tradition at CO. The Bike Gallery
mechanics who have been supporting the tour all week have skill contests
that are amazing. Of course these events take place at slow speeds on a
grassy lawn. There were several young women among these mechanics. Nearly
all of the competitors used MTB’s with clip-in pedals, but one uses his road
bike - clipped in , of course.
The Take Down is an event where the mechanics pick up
inner tubes from the ground and lasso each other. The winner is the last one
to remain on their bike without touching the ground. Then there was a
similar event where all riders have their hands and feet tied to the bike.
I’m still amazed at their skills. Riders could stop, back up and “hop” their
bikes to turn around while stopped. This year we saw a new event – jousting.
The “knights” stood on the rack of an MTB, behind the riders and the bikes
would charge at 5 mph or so. Their spears were large 2 inch PVC pipe with 2
water bottles taped on to cushion the ends. Many times both contestants were
knocked down.
After the rodeo and before the evening announcements we
finally got together for the ERRC (Easy Racer Recumbent Club) group pictures
and discussions of Easy Racer bikes and equipment choices. We walked to our
campsite to show them several of the unique equipment items the Fromherz
brothers use – window in the body sock, simple light-weight mast, 20 tooth
chain wheels, GPS Instruments, radios, etc. Wo asked for a list so she
could include it in an article for the ERRC magazine.
_____________
Day 6: Sisters to Coburg,
September 13, 99 miles
To me this was the best riding day of this year’s tour.
We were rested from the easy ride of the previous day and the morning 14
mile, 2000 ft. climb up McKenzie Pass was spectacular. I know people who
drive to Oregon just to see McKenzie Pass - and its even more wonderful
from a bike.
The top of the pass is a large spectacular lava flow.
The Lava Beds Observatory is a unique, viewing hut built from the lava
rock. We stopped briefly for a snack and visit to the Blue Room then we
started on the long down hill - most of 83 miles to Coburg. The first 8
miles was open and not really steep, but then the road dropped 3000 ft in
the next 10 or 11 miles. There were places where we coasted over well 40
mph, passing many people – even strong tandem teams, but there were also
several 25 mph corners. Near the bottom of this steep area I noticed the
river. Then we turned onto Highway 126 and rode down the main McKenzie River
Valley. These classic, beautiful Oregon river valleys were the centerpiece
of our last 2 days of riding. About 10 miles east of Eugene we turned off
Highway 126 onto Camp Creek Road, wandering through the ranch and farm land
toward our evening camp at Coburg.
At Coburg the CO camp was in a field about 1/2 mile
from the town park where the meal service and stage were located. When
LaMoyne and I arrived, Charlie and Don had our camp staked out and were
again telling us on the radio how to find them. After setting camp and
showering we waited a little for the shuttle bus, but then gave up and
walked to town for dinner.
__________
Day 7: Coburg to Florence,
September 14, 85 miles
We rode our bikes into town in the dark (There were
street lights.) for our usual early breakfast and left the Coburg at first
light. As we rode south toward Eugene on the Willamette River we missed a
turn and rode about a mile before we detected the error and turned back.
None of about 6 or 8 in early our group saw the turn sign. We still suspect
that it had been removed, but the sign was there at the proper corner when
we returned. We rode through several residential areas skirting Eugene and
around an airport, the Mahlon Sweet Field. Then we turned onto Oregon 36
which took us through more scenic ranch country and some small climbs (after
the previous days) then a 12 mile hill over “Low Pass” which had us back in
low gear and less than 5 mph for a few miles. I found later that there is a
“High Pass” further north. After an 8 mile section with slight ups and
downs we got to the lunch area at a Scout camp. After checking the rough
graveled access road we decided to park our bikes and walk almost ½ mile to
the lunch area rather than riding in and back.
On returning to the highway we enjoyed another fairly
fast down hill for a few miles then a scenic, mostly downhill ride along the
Suislaw River on Highway 126 into Florence. There was a slight headwind but
it didn’t slow us much because of our fairings and body socks. As we came
to the obvious signs of civilization on the outskirts of Florence I had
mixed emotions. It was satisfying to be completing a fantastic, week-long
ride, despite the challenges and the broken wheel. (A small inconvenience
thanks to Jay of Bike Gallery.) On the other hand I was sorry that the
riding portion of our great adventure was over.
In Florence I had a moment of confusion when we rode
past the baggage vans and our bags but LaMoyne and I decided to continue to
the formal end where we got a nice medal and another Tshirt with the
familiar sign “2000 Cyclists on the Road”. Charlie and Don pointed out
where our bags were and we took showers. Then we contacted Barbara on the
radio and agreed on a meeting place, I took the loaned rear wheel from my
bike and walked to the Bike Gallery area, where a lot of people were busy
packing bikes to be shipped home. I found that Jay was still out on the
route, and no-one was able to locate my rear wheel. Rather than wait for
his return I decided that I would call later to have him mail my hub for use
in another wheel.
We rode back to Salem in Don and Barbara’s Excursion.
Again because of Don and Charlie’s judicious packing we didn’t have to tie
anything on the top. We drove east on OR 126, the same route that we had
ridden and saw quite a few late finishing CO bicycles. As we passed the last
CO rest stop after 5 o’clock – an hour after the official route closing time
- we saw Wo’s distinctive body sock and several other Easy Racer recumbents
loading their group SAG van. When we got to Don and Barbara’s we quickly
moved our 3 bikes and our gear to my Aerostar for the trip home. We all had
no trouble going to sleep despite the excitement and memories of the past
week.
______________
September 15 and 16 – Driving
home
|
Day |
Miles |
Elev Gain
- ft |
K calories |
|
 |
|
1 |
72 |
3600 |
6000 |
|
2 |
75 |
6200 |
7000 |
|
3 |
78 |
4800 |
6000 |
|
4 |
93 |
4800 |
6000 |
|
5 |
50 |
1400 |
3500 |
|
6 |
99 |
5600 |
6500 |
|
7 |
85 |
2000 |
4500 |
|
Totals |
552 |
28,400 |
39,500 |
The next morning we left Salem before 5 after a hasty
“Thank You and Good By” to Don,. We again took turns driving, using
Charlie’s GPS to choose rest stops. We talked mostly about the week’s
adventure and what a great experience this had been and started planning our
equipment improvements for next year. We stayed at a Motel 6 near Los Banos
and continued driving the next morning, Monday, to get home in the early
afternoon.
The entire 12 days was a really enjoyable experience
for me. Even the multi-day driving with such good company was fun. But the
ultimate adventure is to experience the fantastic Cycle Oregon ride with the
beautiful scenery, over 2000 pleasant co- riders and support people, and of
course, our own chosen small group, riding as a unit and really enjoying
each other’s company. This year we even had NO RAIN!!
The numbers can’t begin to tell the story of the
beauty, the elation in riding with 2000 friendly cyclists and ready support
teams, the satisfaction of enjoying each day’s ride with close friends at
the pace we choose. Come to think of it these words don’t quite do justice
to the subject either!!
LFS
Dec 29 2002


Subj: Oregon
Date: 1/10/2003 3:15:36 PM
Pacific Standard Time
From:
Will head to Oregon March 4-5.
Attending a Wedding in Eugene, March 8th, for Marilyn's cousins' daughter.
After that, visit to Salem - have a couple of weeks to go where ever.
Bike ride: Name the time & place up to 100 miles. 
Charlie Fromherz
Calimesa, CA
cell 909-731-8912
7-12-95

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|
 Belated Holiday Greetings from
The Abbas Family
It's truly amazing how time flies. Here we are again at the start of
another new year. The busy holidays are here and gone again. It's been
two years since we've gotten out a holiday letter, so we figured we were
due. We were only home for 15 days in December, so that is why it is
late. Better late than never!
Things are going GREAT in our neck of the woods. We started out 2002
with a BAN& - Mac Toner was born on January 1. He has brought so much
joy to our lives. It's plain and simple: he is amazing. Every little 'first"
is a major breakthrough. We are blessed. Mac is a wonderful baby.
He's full of smiles, giggles and bursting with energy. He just got his
first haircut and had his first birthday. He's crawling everywhere and
chasing us throughout the house. He is standing unassisted, but hasn't
gotten brave enough to start walking. We figure we only have a little
while and our little man will be upright and running! He's a BIG BOY.
Tall and skinny. Already over 30 inches and approaching 25 pounds. He
oves his BIG DOGS. He is always crawling
over, onto and laying on one or the other while trying to figure out
those neat long whiskers that tickle him before that wet
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slobbery tongue kisses
his entire face in one swoop. He loves
to PULL him-self up to stand with the aid of their
hair on their chest.
Ginger and Teton love him lots and are very patient and wonderful with
him. Ginger thinks she's his mom and is always hovering over and
babysitting for us.
Teton reminisces about the days when his
naps were uninterrupted, but just lays there and takes Mac's curious
pokes, prods and pulls. We have so many stories to show and tell about
our Mac Toner - but this paper doesn't have enough white space to share
them all. (We already expanded the margins to the limits.)
We'll just say he's had a terrific first year!
Our children of the
four-legged-variety (our BIG DOG5 and Mules) are good. We had our share
of ups and downs with Ginger this year. She tore her ACL in her
knee in March and required surgery. It's been a long recovery and we are
glad she's here and feeling better. Ginger is 6 years and about 145
pounds. Teton is 5 1/2 and needs to go on Slimfast as he tips the scales
at 190 pounds. Teton passed all of his tests and is doing Pet Therapy at
the hospital with Joe. They go to work together about once a month and
stroll the halls, visit patients and pose for pictures. He even has his
own hospital It) badge. Ginger stays home with Mac and Mom and guards
the house. Casper and Eivira, our mules, keep us busy too. They will be
two this spring and we are ready for them to STOP growing. Both are
pretty tall. We are busy putting crossbucks on them and leading them so
they get the feel for things before going into the woods with us this
Fall. We hope that someday they will help Joe and his friend Mark pack
their monster Bull Elk out of the wilderness.
Joe is still the
director of the Imaging Department at the hospital in The Dalles. He
really enjoys his work. He's been there f or almost 10 years now. Time
flies! Didi is back to work part-time (not quite three days a week). She
divides her time between doing Ultrasound for two clinics in town and
Mammograms at the hospital, but her full time job is being a Mom. It's
the best job in the world!
Mac attends the on-site daycare at the hospital
while Mom and bad work. We are still in Wasco and LOVING it! There's
always something to do and keep us busy -- you know in our spare time!
We love being out in the country and CAN'T WAIT for Mac to start
exploring things. Both of our families come to visit often and are doing
well. We really couldn't ask for much more!
We hope this finds you and
yours happy and healthy. We love hearing from you. And
our offer still stands, if you're ever going through, Please stop by!
We'd love to have you. You are always WELCOME!
Have a Great 2003!
Your Friends, Joe, Didi & Mac
(Jim's Connie's Dianne)

 
Holiday Greetings
from Jim & Mary
Fromherz
December 2002
Friends are God's Blessing
Oh my! Here it is December 2002! I can remember when I was a
Youngin' I would hear my Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, also Mom &
Dad say: "Where did all this time go?" Well now, I'm saying the same thing. "Where
Did This Year Go?" It's been a busy one and a good one.
January 1, 2002 our 9th Great Grandchild was born a healthy baby boy
. . . Mac Taner Abbas to Di & Joe Abbas. Isn't that a great way to
start the New Year?
Jim's
health has had the usual ups and downs. The cancer will flare
up and require treatments and then he's OK for awhile again.
He did become a diabetic about 6 months ago. He's just
completed his diabetic classes and has been doing well at checking
his blood levels twice a day and learning what will elevate his
blood sugar. It makes my cooking easier as we both are
diabetics.
Our grandaughter, (Sue's youngest daughter Juliann, husband Gabe and
2 year old daughter Allissa have moved into St. Paul. It's
great to see them more often. Allissa calls Jim, Papa Nana,
because he is usually drying sliced bananas and usually gives her
some.
In April we added a new member to our household. A black
cocker spaniel. He has been wanting another cocker since
Chelsea died. Her name is Pebbles. Jim takes her
everywhere he can. She's Jim's Buddy.
Jim's Ship Reunion was in Idaho this year. We visited Aunt
Louise while we were there. Aunt Louise had fallen before we
came to see her. She had broken her arm & wrist and did some
damage to her hand. Her twin sister Lenore was there helping
her. I had heard she had a twin but had not the opportunity to
meet her. They are 84 years "Young" and they make velvet hearts and
send them to different hospitals to be given to children &
terminally ill people. Isn't that great? I think so.
We also were able to visit with Jim's cousin Inez. She
attended the banquet with us. It was so much fun.
We still have the
once a month dinner get together in Salem (3rd Wednesday of the
month) Saves us a lot of long distance call fees.
Tonight is that night. Jim & I really look forward to that and
try always to make it.
Well, as you can see my hand is giving "OUT". Darn it!
So, I'll have to say "Good Bye" for now. May God Bless you
always and have a Joyous Christmas and may it bring you the gifts of
Joy, Peace and Love this whole year of 2003. Love & Prayers,
Jim & Mary


ARTISTS OF THE HEART   These heartfelt women
are in the business of opening hearts. Twin sisters, Lenore Clem and
Louise King have sewn over 40,000 small cloth Feelie-Hearts
since 1991. These hearts have been distributed to anyone who
needs a little reminder of love. For example, the hearts are
distributed to children at the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital
in Tacoma where they become something soft and comforting to
hold onto for these youngsters as they heal. These days, Lenore
and Louise get quite a few requests for hearts from everyone
from nurses to flood victims. Lenore and Louise happily send
them boxfuls of cloth hearts, made from, fabric donated or
scavenged at flea markets and garage sales. These women are a
shining example of the power of elders to contribute to making
the world a better place. They are also a testament to the power
of how a simple act of generosity can change lives. For example,
one nurse passed hearts onto "...three new breast cancer
patients, and she writes, "their little hearts brought tears to
their eyes. What a wonderful world it would be if everyone had a
Feelie-Heart in their pocket to remind them that they are in
someone's heart." For more information, please email
georgiafi@centurytel.net.


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 Volunteer
Profiles
by Sue
Peterson |
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Lenore Clem was born August 4 in Crawsfordville, Oregon,
where she lived for 30 years.
In 1959 Lenore, her
husband Clark, and their son and daughter moved to Coos
Bay, where Lenore worked as a refinisher for IO years in
a myrtlewood company. When Lenore's husband retired in
198 1, they moved to Michigan to live near their
daughter, Georgia Moore. When Georgia and her family
then moved to Fox Island in 1981, Lenore and Clark
followed.
After
Lenore's husband died in 1997, she continued living with
her daughter, who is her best friend. Lenore has
no trouble filling her life with many activities. "I
could use more hours:' she said.
Lenore is one of two. Two sisters, that is. Twin sister
Louise King, lives in Fruitland, ID. The sisters, who
are booth 84 now, visit each other often and talk
frequently by phone. When Lenore started sewing hearts
for BRIDGES: A Center for Grieving Children, she
recruited her sister to sew hearts as a volunteer from a
distance. They carefully track hours and number of
hearts they sew, and at any given time, they can deliver
these remarkable statistics. Lenore has kept a daily
diary, "forever."
Lenore
and Louise expanded their volunteer work to include
hospice,
which
often distributes their hearts to families dealing with
terminal illness. Lenore's daughter works for Hospice of
Tacoma and encouraged her Mom to make hearts for hospice
as well. "A friend inspired me to volunteer by making,
pajamas for children and adults. The next thing I
knew, I was making hearts." she said. "I didn't realize
I could make such a difference by sharing my talents
with others."
As
Lenore reflects on her life, the most significant thing
to her is her marriage of 56 years and her family.
Camping was the favorite family activity. One time she
forgot the tent poles and the family slept sitting up
under the tent. (as "human" tent poles!)
I
have learned not to take things for granted, and that
pleasure can be obtained from giving."
"What you don't know about me," she continues "is that I
visit garage sales year-round collecting children's toys
for Christmas and supply teddy bears for the State
Patrol." Georgia adds that her Mom loves finding bargain
fabrics for hearts. "Mom won't let me pay
full price for any fabric."
Her other interests are reading, gardening, quilting,
and sewing with the famed "Stitch and Bitch" group on
Fox Island. She also is an avid fan of the Seattle
Mariners.
From Idaho we hear from Lenore's twin sister, Louise
King. She tells us there were 10 brothers and sisters in
the family. After marriage, Louise and her husband moved
to Idaho in 1950. They owned and managed farms, and
owned a fertilizer business. They've been known to do
everything from work the fields, drive potato trucks and
sort apples. Louise was widowed in 1999 when her husband
died with Alzheimer's
When asked who her mentor is, Louise names her
sister-in-law. "She's always calm, gracious, and polite
to everyone " And of course, Louise also was influenced
by Lenore to begin sewing hospice hearts. There is a
rumor these two do lots of talking while
they sew hearts.
"Life has taught me to be patient," reflects
Louise, who was the primary caregiver for her husband.
Louise says the most significant thing to happen in her
lifetime is her family of two children, five
grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. She and
Lenore live farthest apart of anyone in the family, as
everyone else lives in Oregon.
A
final secret Louise shared is that in addition to her
twin sister, the family includes a younger set of twin
sisters.
We
are grateful that at age 84, Lenore and Louise are part
of our circle of volunteers. It certainly feels like a
double blessing.
 
Fromherz named CCHD director of the year
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Catholic bishops' domestic
antiPoverty office is giving an award to Frank Fromherz, director of the
Office of Justice and Peace for the Archdiocese of Portland.
F'romherz's service for the archdiocese includes
directing local efforts for the bishops' Catholic Campaign for Human
Development. The campaign, funded by a collection at Masses the weekend
before Thanksgiving, funds grassroots projects that seek to stop poverty.
The award names Fromherz the campaign's diocesan
director of the year. The award will be conferred on Feb. 7, during a
meeting of the, campaign's local directors.Archbishop John Vlazny
nominated Fromherz
Frank
Fromherz
for the honor.
Fromherz has promoted the campaign vigorously,
sponsoring regular gatherings of project leaders by way of establishing
an Oregon Catholic Social justice network.
"This award is a recognition for your dedication to
justice and for your strong support . . . of the Catholic Campaign for
Human Development," says a letter from Father Robert Vitillo, national
executive director of the campaign.
Fromherz says the campaign could not succeed without hard work by a
volunteer campaign committee, archdiocesan staff, and many "grassroots"
local backers, including donating parishoners.
~Catholic Sentinel~ November 2002 Portland, Oregon 
 Christmas
2002
Dear family and friends,
Warmest greetings this holy season!
There have been a few
changes with us this past year. Marylen has retume work. She works
weekends on an Alzheirner's unit of a nursing home. Irene, 12, old,
5'3 1/2 " tall has started junior high at
Trinity School, run by the People of Pra She is enjoying it, and has
both new and old friends there. She is a hard working we are very
proud of her. Teddy is now 10 years old, 5'4 1/2
" tall. We decided to home school Teddy this fall, so that we
could educate him at his pace. That too is going well. We are having
some educational and neurological testing done so that we can
realistically plan his education according to his abilities.
We had another family
member for about six months, a young Rotweiller dog named Ellie. We
loved her dearly. She was sweet, beautiful strong and a challenge
(escaping several times by breaking the Tie-out). In the spring she
was hit by a car and seriously injured. We had her put to sleep. She
died with love and devotion on her face. Danny and Irene took a few
trips this past year. In January they went to Washington D.C. for
the Right to Life march
and were blessed by our
many friends there. At Easter time they went to Anaheim, where Danny
attended a conference for his work. Irene stayed with Uncle Steve
and Aunt Haydee; Aunt Haydee even took Irene to Disneyland. Aunt
Loretta and Aunt Sharon drove south for a brief visit. Then, Danny and Irene
flew to Phoenix where they visited Uncle Tony and his family, Aunt
Sue and her family. Then they traveled north to see Meteor Crater
and the Grand Canyon. Marylen and Teddy stayed behind to try to keep
up with school. In October Danny and Irene also went together to the
Chicago Art Institute to look at the American and Impressionist
paintings.
In the summer our family
went to southern Indiana and visited some caves. We took a boat ride
on an underground waterway. Marylen and the children did make it to
Yak@ Washington to visit Marylen's family. Her parents are doing
well. Her mother is on oxygen. Her father has health problems too
but he still does all kinds of chores including mowing the lawn!
Marylen's two brothers and her sister live in Yakima. It is a
blessing to see the entire family. Marylen and the children were
able to attend the Stupfel family reunion, near Mt. Hood in Oregon.
In addition to seeing many relatives, Teddy's godparents, the
Devlarnicks met them at the picnic. Marylen and children love this
time with family and also in the beautiful Northwest.


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Jaima (1 4), Jennifer (1 6), Joelle (1 1)
Denali National Park, Alaska July
2002
We
had a wonderful time in Alaska. Managed 7346 miles and drove the
entire Alaskan Highway. Managed to do some Halibut Fishing too,
discovered not all Halibuts in Alaska are big. Saw lots of wildlife
in Denali, but otherwise lots of open space. Kenai Fjords are
beautiful and well worth a cruise.
The girls have kept us busy
with their activities. Jennie with her Cross Country running and
skiing, her youth group activities, preparing for college next year,
and leadership roles at Summit High School keeps her hopping. She
was selected to visit New York last spring with 5 other youths to
put together a documentary for their pers " Never Forget'. She was
recently honored as athlete of the week for Central Oregon. Jaima
played VB and is now into BB. She too keeps busy with outside
activities especially Youth Choir. They will be visiting Italy next
summer with plans to sing in the Vatican. Joelle watches how busy
her sisters are and likes her spare time, although she tends to stay
busy too. She too is in Youth Choir, debut. They had their first
concert last week-end. She ran cross country for Cascade Middle
School last fall. Her team took 1st in districts. She won a national
essay contest last spring and attended space camp this past August
in Huntsville Alabama. Her group was featured on the Nick Cannon
Show. We hope they have reruns, since it didn't run on the date
expected and we missed the following week. Mark and I stay busy with
school and wondering how to get it all done! We will escort another
group of students to Costa Rica next summer and will join
Jaima's
group in Italy. Best wishes for a
wonderful Holiday Season and Happy New Year. Love,
Mark, Marty, Jennie Jaima , and Joelle
 
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Holiday Greetings
from Marie Fromherz
Dear Family,
May the wondrous spirit
of Christmas fill your heart today and always. Merry
Christmas!
I clean the conference
level of the Mt. Angel Abbey Retreat House every Monday. (Volunteer)
On Tuesday Ivolunteer to do the dining room of the Retreat House.
On Thursday I go to a Women's Bible Study. On Friday I
volunteer at the Providence Benedictine Nursing Center a couple of
hours.
Love you all,
Marie Fromherz
 
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Happy
Holiday's from The Gale's
We wish you a Happy and Holy Holiday Season . . . and Happy New
Year! 2002 started us out with the birth of our 3rd
Grandchild and 1st Grandson to Di & Joe Abbas. Mac Taner
is a Joy! Our Granddaughters turned 1
in January and 2 in February.
We hope you enjoy the launching of this family Web Site.
Continue to watch it as it changes almost weekly.
We are planning a
repeat Goldwing vacation to Alaska in summer 2003.
Stay Healthy and God
Bless! . . .
See you at Reunion 2003 -
June 20 thru 23 .
. . Please send news for the Spring 2003 Issue by April 1,
2003. congale@aol.com
Jim & Connie Gale
 
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 | Save
This Date! 2003 Reunion Picnic Sunday June
22 - Avery Park - Thompson
Kitchen - Corvallis, OR
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 | Save
This Date!
Senior Birthday Celebration
Monday, June 23, 2003 5:30pm @The Buzz Saw in Albany OR |
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