Journey to Oregon
by Deborah Opitz
Silverton, OR
My father, Adlore Paquin, had asthma which was exacerbated by the cold winters in Minnesota, where he and my mother, Vera, lived. His doctor advised him to change climates. So, in February 1935, they sold their furniture and packed all their belongings into their Model A. My brother’s high-chair was strapped to the top. Mother says that now she can’t imagine what they were thinking, taking off with little money at that time of year. The snowbanks were as high as the top of the car when they left Minnesota. They first stopped near Haver, Montana to see Dad’s brothers, and stayed three months while Dad worked on a ranch. They took to the road again and visited Mom’s sister, Gladys, in Salem, Oregon. They then went to California, and Dad worked for Del Monte for a while, but the fog in Fillmore was bad for his asthma, so they traveled back to Oregon, the state they had liked the best, and settled near Monitor. They eventually had their own dairy farm and three more children were born Oregon natives. My mother says they lived the American dream here. Until the day he died, my father loved Oregon so much and said whenever he came home from a trip to another state, he felt like kissing the ground.
