Oregon150

by Alexis Steenkolk
Toledo, OR

I live clear on the outskirts of Toledo where the pavement meets a one way gravel road. Elk City is a small jewel I treasure that lies 15 miles off the Newport ocean shore. Out towards the countryside a sturdy house built on love is where I was raised. My name is carved in the bridge below my house along with the many Steenkolk’s before my generation. My family is made of hard working men with Skoal cans imprinted in the back pocket of their jeans. Every morning my relatives meet for coffee at the family gas station just to B.S.

Fresh cut grass fills the clean summer air as I take the time and cherish my surroundings. With our property extending for acres my possibilities were infinite. I have spent every summer riding quads through open cow pastures and fishing on our dock. The aroma of my grandma’s fresh homemade apple pies remind me of popsicle stained faces and running through the sprinkler. Walking down the road to get the mail my Bopa taught me how to shoot my first 22 by aiming at tin cans in the river. On rainy nights my cousins and I would throw on our boots to go frog hunting and play in huge puddles.

My childhood days sprouting just as the wild flowers do, year after year I spent many unforgettable summers swimming in the river and making tree forts. My scars are just a small remembrance of all my favorite childhood memories. The countryside is where my heart belongs.