Dreams can come true!
by Mary Donnelly
Rogue River, OR
It was a hot summer day in 1977. Kevin and I had left my uncles home in Corvallis and were heading back to his brother’s “new” place on the top of Cove road in Ashland. We had just helped them move from Southern California to get away from the crowds, the smog, the fast life, to a slower, totally rural farm life in Ashland. It had been my dream to live in beautiful Oregon since leaving Colorado in the early 60’s to live first in Honduras, and then to Southern California where I finished High School and met the love of my life, Kevin. He had just undergone surgery and radiation therapy for cancer and we were “taking it easy” in the place I never wanted to leave. We stopped for a picnic next to a beautiful river in a tiny town called Rogue River. “Wouldn’t it be great to live here someday”? I said to Kevin. He looked at me and said it was an awesome dream. His job with General Motors in So Cal, my college education, and eventually two children put our dream on hold for many years.
In 2002, Kevin was offered a job in the Rogue River School District as a Special Education teacher and accepted. We bought our home here the following year. It took us about 30 years to make our dream come true, but we did. We love our little town, our teaching careers in Oregon, and living in the best state of the country.
