Chapter 1

Early Childhood

The story of my life is very complicated, but I will do the best I can to tell
it like it is. I was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Yes, you could say
that I'm a Canuck. It seems that everyone likes to call Canadians, Canucks.
While this is a very interesting term, which is an affectionate term for a native
Canadian, I don't mind. It's kind of nice actually, to have a nickname like that is
amusing, Indeed. I suppose the first thing to talk about would be my childhood.
My father did not like farming with his brothers in Minnesota, so at the age of
15 he left the farm and immigrated to Canada and went to work for the
Canadian National Railway as a messenger boy. After some time he moved into
the job of brakeman, then up to trainman and then to conductor. My father
loved his job and did it well. It seems as though my father, who was a quiet
man by nature, seemed to be liked by all who associated with him.

My Father and Mother,

had a wonderful loving relationship, but eventually found out they could not
have children, and they really wanted a child. After a few years they decided to
adopt me. I was born in 1925, and I was one year old when my parents decided
to do so. After a lengthy and difficult process of adoption, I am amazed they
were willing to go through all of that for me. I am very grateful they
persevered. I really love my mom and dad, they were so wonderful to me as
though I were their own child. Mom was about 27 and dad was 30. My mother
was a very beautiful woman and a loving person. My mom and dad were very

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strict, although they did this with such kindness, I never noticed. As a result
they're guidance helped me to become the person I am today.

At the time I never new my father to be artistic. The house I grew up in was so
beautiful, that I found out that it was my fathers inspiration and he hired a
contractor with an excellent reputation and experience. Dad would also use it as
an investment, because he wanted to send me to the best schools. The 5 th St.
home was his first venture and he loved Scandinavian style houses, so he chose
this design.

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 On warm summer evenings, as my parents would gather out in the
backyard. Where they would have nice long discussions. One day a neighbor
friend brought her a little boy over for company. We had a great time together,
that's us in a chair sharing our little fun time. Even when I was young I noticed
my parents really just wanted to sit and relax, but me and my friend wanted to
jump up and play, but they didn't think that was the appropriate thing to do.
Can you just imagine how boring that was for us?

Another very good friend of the family was a very nice lady that I called
Aunt Grace. Her daughters husband was a fellow worker on the same railroad
as my father. Every time she came, she had a present for me. She always
stayed for a few days. She was very intelligent and yet very down to Earth. She
was a very jolly person and always had some good jokes for us. I can still
remember some of her bedtime stories. My father loved to garden, and he
would often take me out to the yard and show me what he had been planting,
hoping to instill in me a love of plants and nature. As you can imagine, at such a
young age, all I wanted to do was play with my wagon, Which gave me a great
deal of pleasure. He love to have me load my wagon and pull it to the worksite.
Even at that age I could feel my own self worth. I realize now just how
wonderful my father was.

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 Due to the fact that my mom & dad were very well respected in our area,
I had many friends. I especially remember a young lady call Daphne, She was
my very good friend at that time. We spent lots of time playing Jacks,
hopscotch and hide & seek. Many times she was so good at hiding, I never
could find her. I would search for ever it seemed only to find out she went
home. Daphne and I would often ride my tricycle together. After a while I
became very good at handling it, but she was good at riding it as well. She
would tell me, she thought I was one of the best riders she knew. Of course I
was the 'only' one she knew. On rainy days we would either go to her house or
she would come to
mine and we would color and cut up paper and whatever else we could get into.

Somewhere around the age of 6, I had a young friend named Brian.

Although he was just a neighbor, we were like brothers. He was a great buddy.
He always had a smile on his face and no matter where we were he always

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seemed to be happy. I think it rubbed off on me.

One day, we're sitting on the running board of my dad's old Ford and here
comes Major my dog running up to us and he Slobbered all over us. But that's
what German Shepherds do. If anyone even came near me, he would become
very protective. I loved my dog Major, and we were always together. Major
loved to fetch, so he kept us busy most of the time throwing things for him.
Major became such a good companion to me, that I enjoyed growing up with
him.
When we were not playing with Major, we would put him in the back yard
on a long rope where he was able to run freely. Sometimes a memory is so
powerful it retains it's vividness. I remember this one because it turned out so
traumatic, I will never forget it. One day after school, there was a knock at the
front door, I was in the front room, so I went to see who it was. A man at the
door asked for something to eat. At this time during the depression, there were
many hungry men out of work, looking for a handout. I called to my mom and
said there is a man at the door asking for food. So mother came to the door,
and said to him go around to the side door of the house and wait there and I
will make you a couple of sandwiches. My mom prepared some sandwiches for
him and took them to the side entrance. When she gave him the food, she said
to him please do not leave by the back yard, because we have a very

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protective German Shepherd tied up back there. A short time later we heard
the most awful commotion in the back yard. We rushed out only to find that
Major had bitten the man because he did not listen to mom's warning. As a
result, the police and ambulance came. The aftermath of this incident resulted
in the removal of my dog Major to a farm up north. I could not believe that this
was happening. I was so heartbroken that I could not understand how this
could happen. My mother tried to console me and tried to explain to me why
Major had to be sent away, but I was so distraught, that to this day, I am still
not able to forget it. Later, I was told that Major really took to the farm and was
very happy to be able to run all over and he really loved the other animals and
was very protective of them. I can't tell you how happy I was to hear of that.
I was invited to my friend Sebastian's birthday party when I was six. He
was also six years old I know this because he had six candles on the cake. He
was so proud of his cake he brought it outside to show it to everyone, but when
he went back into the house he tripped on the first step and his face landed
right in the cake. You should have seen the expression on his face when he
stood up, and the tears were just beginning to roll until he realized he had just
become the center of attention and he loved it. We all had a really good laugh
together.

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 Chapter 2
Grade School Days

We had a great friend of the family called Mickey McGilvery. He was a

very large and a very jovial character. He always made funny jokes that kept my
mom in stitches. He came over on a regular basis on Sundays. Mom always
cooked a big meal, because he loved to eat. Mom used to make dozens of
baking powder biscuits. Mickey would cut each biscuit in half and put half a pat
of butter on each half while they were hot. To him one bite was half a biscuit. I
would always try to keep up with him, but I never could. Of all the food, Mickey
loved the biscuits the best. After every meal, he would always flatter and
compliment my mother on how wonderful her cooking was. After diner, we
would all go into the living room, sit in front of a nice warm fire and Mickey
would tell us stories of Ireland. To this day, I have trouble believing some of
them, they were so outlandish. I think he had a gift in that area. I mean really,
he said that an Irishman caught a Leprechaun, but did not have a shovel to dig
up the pot of Gold, so he tied his beard to a stalk of grass to keep him there, so
he could go get a shovel to dig up the pot of gold. Before he came back, the
Leprechaun's buddies cut off his beard and they cut of their beards and tied
them all over the place to other stocks of grass and to this day there are plants
that look just like that in Ireland. Before he would leave to go home he would
always surprise me with a present. I really enjoyed the baseball bat that he
game me one day. Later on my dad took me outside and taught me how to use
it.

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 My family would often go to Goose Lake for our family picnic. One day I
ask mom if I could invite my friend Randall, and she said sure. After loading the
bikes into the station wagon we headed off. While mom was setting up the
picnic lunch, Randall and I took off on our bikes, as Randall and I were leisurely
riding our bicycles along the Lake, we happened to spot this raft. We were
curious to see if we could manage the raft. When I tried to get onto the raft, I
slipped and fell right in the drink. Boy, did I forget how hot it was all of a
sudden. Once I got onto the raft Randall was laughing so hard, that I thought
he should see how cold the water was, so I said, Oh you think that was funny
do you? So I shoved him in. After we dried off a bit, we had fun paddling it all
day.

As we paddled around the edge of the lake, we found a spot where a

small creek came into the lake. It was real shallow, and we could see the fish in
the creek. We tried to catch them, but we had nothing with which to do so, and
they were way to fast. We would hike most of the trails, climb some of the hills.
Played soccer, football, bike riding or whatever else we could think of. We had
many great picnic lunches, and I especially liked mom's egg salad sandwiches
and watermelon. We also loved sitting around the campfire singing and telling
stories. I especially loved the marshmallow toasting. I became very good at it. I
never let it burn, and I was able to make it nicely brown all over, and the inside
was almost totally melted. Boy were they great, and I could eat dozens of them.
We were so exhausted from all the activity, we slept all the way home in the
back seat of the car.

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 My mom and dad always like to be outside working in the garden. Mom
loved to plant flowers and grow them and see them blossom. My dad on the
other hand loved to grow vegetables and plant trees. Like I said before, dad
love to plant a garden in the backyard and he was very good at it. One day I
happened to sneak a picture of dad in the garden while he took a short break,
he probably worked hard all day.

Because of dad's routine of four days on the railroad and three days at
home, he found gardening to be a nice change and very relaxing. At times when
my dad wanted to get away from it all, he would join a couple of his buddies
and take off to go fishing.

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 It was certainly different than Railroading, or gardening. I would say that
he was a good fisherman. Dad would always return home with enough fish.
Mother always had a way of turning those smelly fish into a delicacy.

I can remember when I graduated from grade school I came home from
an errand that my mother had sent me on. When I went upstairs and opened
the door to my bedroom I was surprised to see a guitar on my bed. Well, I
didn't know what to think. Hurriedly, I ran downstairs and my dad was watching
wrestling, his favorite sport. Confronting him I asked! What is a guitar doing
on my bed?

Well he said A railroad friend of mine who has a son, played the guitar
but he just couldn't get the knack of it, so he told his father to give it way. So
he traded it to my dad. So dad brought it home for me. He said I thought you
might like to learn to play it. I will pay for some lessons if you're interested,
what about it, Ray? Well dad I don't know I would have to think about it a
little while. Would I have time to practice, and learn the guitar? So after a day

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or two, I approached my dad and said well I'll give it a try. So my dad hired a
teacher to give me lessons. After a number of lessons, I started getting pretty
good, so my mom and dad would ask me to play for their friends. My parents
were very proud of me.
I was also very athletically inclined so my dad bought me a punching bag
and boxing gloves. I found I preferred running and I excelled in track. I also
liked rugby, and boxing. My mom and dad missed my musical talent and
decided to surprise me with a piano thinking that it might re-spark my interest.
However, at that time I was not interested in learning yet another instrument. I
was more interested in sports.
As it turned out, the boxing came in very handy because in grade school I
fancied a young lady and when she told her boyfriend about me, he dared me
to fight him. So as not to loose face, I agreed to meet him at the Park on
Saturday at 2. I was a little nervous because he was bigger than I was and I
had never been in a fight in my whole life, and I had no idea what to expect.
When I got to the park it seems like he had told the entire neighborhood about
it, because there must have been several dozen kids there. As I walked up to
him, he shouted at me, if you ever mess with my girlfriend again, I will knock
your block off, and then he hauled off and took a swing at me, but I was able
to dodge his blow because of my training. Then I took a swing at him and
connected with his jaw, and in one blow I knocked him down. I thought the
fight was over and as I turned to walk away his friends began throwing stones
at me. At that time I had no idea why they were doing that, but I believe they
were his friends and wanted him to beat me up. As I walked away I noticed his
girlfriend hiding behind a tree. I think she may have been ashamed that it went
this far and did not want her friends to know what she had done. When I got
home, my mom asked me where I had been. I told her I went to the park, she
asked me what I went there for. I told her the whole story and what had
happened. She scolded me, but thanked me for telling her the truth, and asked
me to try to always avoid using physical means to settle differences.
During summer holidays, I asked dad if I could go to the farm in
Minnesota to visit my cousins. Dad thought that would make a great holiday for
me. My father being an employee of the Canadian National Railways, was able
arrange for a pass for me. This is the first time I had ever been on a train, and I
just loved it. To sit there and look out the window at all of the wonderful
scenery, time just flew by. Before I knew it I was in Minnesota. My cousins were
waiting at the station for me, and when I got off the train they all began to
giggle, could they be snickering about my snickers? Here I was all dressed up

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like a city slicker, and them in farming clothes they must have thought I was
quite a site. They drove me to their farm in their pickup truck. Driving though
the farm land was such a change from the city. I was fascinated. When we
arrived at their home, they had me change into more appropriate farm clothing.
Then we all enjoyed a very hearty meal, and by that time I was exhausted and
hit the hay, as they say on the farm. While I was there, I learned a lot about
farming and helped them with the chores. My cousin Roy was very helpful in
teaching me about farming. We would stack the bundles of grain, harvest the
grain, milk cows and do everything on the farm that is required. Roy would
always try to squirt me with milk from the cow, and I would always reciprocate.
When we went out to stack the grain, Roy would always challenge me to a
race to see who could stack the most grain. He would start at the end of one
row and I would begin at the end of another. Of course he would always win
because of having more experience. The best time was when we went to
harvest the grain. Going out into the fields with the hay rack, we would load the
bundles on the hay rack with pitch forks. So my uncle Mike would be up on the
hay rack arranging the bundles so they would not fall off. One time as I was
pitching a bundle of grain up on the hay rack, I stabbed my uncle Mike right in
the shin with my pitchfork. Boy, you could hear him scream and cuss all the way
into the next county. Italian men are noted for their swearing and cussing. My
uncle Mike was no exception.
At lunch time Martha, my uncle's wife would ring the bell and call us all to
have lunch. There must have been at least a dozen men or more. You wouldn't
believe how much food we could consume because we were all very hungry
after working so hard. Then after lunch we all would lay down on the kitchen
floor, put our heads up against one of the walls and rest for a half an hour
before we would go out into the fields again. It undoubtedly was the best time
in my life. This routine would last at least a week at each farm. Harvesting time
would last all summer, because we also did all of the farmers harvesting in the
surrounding area. We were like the Amish people in Pennsylvania, we all pitched
in to help one another. Roy, Bud and myself, are here working on the farm.
They had a pony that I liked very much, named Trigger after Roy Rogers horse.
I rode him all over the farm.

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 Roy's brother Bud was a very hard worker. He had a wonderful hobby,
singing and playing his guitar, and he was very good at it. Roy on the other
hand was a champion pool player and of course he taught me a lot of tricks.
One Sunday just as we were ready to go to church, Uncle Mike happened
to have his camera. How about letting me take your picture? If you insist, go
ahead. Yes uncle Mike, that is a great idea, I am all dressed up so go ahead
and take our picture. Dad is standing there and he looks very confident of what
he is thinking. Mother on the other hand is looking very elegant and beautiful as
usual.

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 While on the way to the church, I wanted to get a picture of mom and
dad, as they always looked so nice all dressed up. My mom always had white
gloves that she would carry because it was the style in her day, and my dad
always looked quite dapper. We were a close knitted family, as you can see. My
mother insisted that we should all be nicely dressed, especially when going to
church on Sunday, taking pictures, or at a special occasions. For a little lady,
she certainly had a commanding presence. I loved taking pictures, and on this
occasion I wanted to get pictures of the inside of our church, because they had
just renovated it.

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 I attended St. Joseph Grade School, where I met and studied with some
very nice friends my age. Of all the subjects they taught, I preferred Arithmetic
as I was good with numbers and I also liked Geography. I hated History. I really
enjoyed the teachers I had, they were kind and patient, and I feel I learned a
great deal from them. Of all the things I learned, lunch & recess were my
favorites. I looked forward to the day we graduated, because they told us they
were going to take a group photo, I think it turned out real nice.

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 Chapter 3
High School Days

When my father sold our 5th street home he bought a house on the corner
of 8th street East and Melrose Avenue. They chose this house because it was
only 4 blocks from our church. We loved walking to St. Josephs church on
Sundays. Although it was a very modest house, it was very comfortable, and we
loved it just fine.

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Dad was able to park his Plymouth on the side of the house. He would always
keep the car in perfect condition. Quite often my father would take me out into
the country and teach me how to drive. I can remember one time I drove off
the road and ended up in a shallow ditch, but my dad was able to get us out of
it without too much trouble. In spite of this I became a good driver, and I
wound up driving professionally later in life.

In my first year of high school, Which was named Campion College, in

Regina.

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 I found I had trouble adjusting, as I had been living at home and now all
of a sudden I am living in a facility with a lot of young men I did not know. It
was really quite different than I had been used to. I found the higher level of
discipline was very hard for me to get used to. Once I got used to the way
things were, I began to accept it more and more each day. I started running as
a young person and found I was pretty good at so I decided to try out for the
Track & Field. I was very good at broad jumping and high jumping, but my best
performance was in running.

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19
 In my second year I knew more what to expect and was better prepared
to deal with it. Once I got used to the discipline I found I actually thrived. Once
I got into sports, I actually started to enjoy it. After a while I made a great
many friends and was well liked. Due to my running skills, I was offered the
position of fullback on the high school Rugby team. When competing with the
other schools we for the most part did very well and were almost always up in
the standings. Occasionally they would set up a scrimmage game with a
professional team to improve our skills.

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 As the end of my final year in high school approached and graduation got
closer I started getting anxious. While in school, I was a very devout Catholic
and the priest observed that I always attended mass regularly and was a good
alter server. So one day one of the priests asked me if I had given any thought
to becoming a priest. I was immediately taken by surprise but to answer them, I
said I would need a little time to think about it. I went on my summer vacation
and I thought about it the whole time, but when I returned to the school, I
returned to him and told him how much I appreciated his offer, but I would
have to decline. In hindsight at this point in my life I feel it would have
definitely been a wrong decision. Because I was older than most of my peers in
high school, in the eleventh grade right after graduation, I receive in the mail an
ordered to appear at the military induction center in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

When I got there the Sargent gave me a form to fill in. Then he sent me
to the room where they did testing. Having passed the exams to their approval,
I was given a choice of which branch of service I would like. I decided I might
like the Navy the best. Next they sent me to a room where physical
examinations were taking place. Having passed that as well, I was given many
shots for who knows what all. After spending most of the day being poked and
prodded, they put a whole group of us on a train and finally gave us something
to eat. We were on that train for three days taking us to Cornwallis, Nova

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Scotia. This is the base we were sent to get our basic training. After finishing, I
was assigned to Niobe Scotland for my advanced training.

We learned all about discipline and learned all the Navy lingo. Right after
training, I was assigned to the minesweeper called the HMS Port Hope.

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 We went on our first assignment to sweep the Atlantic sea lanes. We were
out there for three months, not finding any mines, we went to our ships
namesake town of Port Hope, where we held open house on our ship. We were
there for three days, and many people enjoyed the tour. As a side note, that is
where my mother was born. The next Ship I was assigned to was called the
HMS Kootenay.

I was assigned to the Kootenay for approximately four months. The Kootenay
was a smaller fighting vessel and narrower body and it was designed primarily
for speed. It had a smaller compliment of gunnery than most bigger ships.
At one point we made way for London, where we entered East Indian dry docks
for maintenance. While there our duties were not as demanding as when on the
open seas, so we received shore leave quite often. I loved to go to London and
ride on the subway trains. I would begin at Trafalgar Square and ride every line
I could from that point. I just enjoyed riding the trains so much, time just
seemed to slip away. I was so carried away one time, I almost missed getting
back to the base on time. One time I actually was late getting back, and got
quite a reprimand.
Next I was assigned to the HMHS Howe, which was a Frigate, for another
four months. This vessel had a wider body, with a larger assortment of guns
and was able to handle much rougher seas with ease, and was much more
stable in the water than the narrower ship the Kootenay. It was like a miniature
version of a battleship. Of all the ships I was on this one was the most pleasant
to sail on. Possibly because nothing out of the ordinary happened. While sailing
on these ships, it was British Naval tradition for every man to receive a tot of
Rum, which was 96 proof, each day. Since I was teetotaler, I would give mine
to my buddies, which kept me in good stead with them.

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 Then I was transferred to the HMHS Britannic which was a hospital ship.
As well as transporting the sick and injured, one of our functions was to pick up
survivors. On my tour of duty, we received orders for a mission to do just that.
We seemed to be at the right time and place to be close enough to be able
accomplish this. We picked up at least 35 survivors from a ship that had been
torpedoed. When we arrived on the scene, the men had been in the water for
some time. When we got them aboard, the were suffering from hypothermia.
We did everything possible to alleviate their suffering. We had an excellent
medical staff that made them feel safe and comfortable.

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25
 On the weekends, we were able to have free time to pursue our own
interests. One of the things I liked best was dancing. We would go to the
Trianon Ballroom in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, where I met this beautiful
young lady whose name was Jenny Swanson.

She was my age and we loved to do things together. I fell in love with her
and wanted to marry her, but she said she loved me like a brother. She had an
older sister that was in love with me, but I loved Jenny. This awkward situation
lasted all of our lives. They always considered me as part of their family in spite
of the love triangle. They were a very close knit family and every year they
would get together for a family reunion. They always made a point of inviting
me for their Christmas celebration. They always kept me in touch with all of
their family doings and goings on.

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 Chapter 4
Vancouver

Once I was discharged from the Navy, I was to return home and complete
my final senior year of schooling. As a young person, being adopted, I was
totally sheltered and cared for. In the Navy, my eyes had been opened and
saw the world in a new light. While at home I was still being treated differently
than I wanted. They thought of me as a child still. I realized that things were
becoming tense, and to keep from hurting Mom & Dad's feelings, I felt as
though I needed a change. I thought about moving to Vancouver, BC, against
my parents wishes. When I got there, I put in an application to British Columbia
Electric company, which also owned and operated the transit system.
While waiting for a position to open up, I bought into the Yellow cab
company which provided the vehicle and a license to operate it. My cab was

27
number 956. I was very meticulous about how I kept my cab, and the company
often complimented me on it. As it turned out, it was quit a learning experience
and I grew to like it.
While I had quite a variety of riders, and peculiar situations, on one
occasion, I was flagged down by an attractive young lady in distress. She had
been out on a date that did not end well. I could tell because she seemed quite
disheveled. She had been crying, and asked me to take her home. On the way
home, we became acquainted. I walked her to her door to make sure she got
into her home safely. I was surprised when I got a call from the dispatcher to
go to her address to pick her up again. On several other occasions, she would
call me to take her where she wanted to go. After a while, we started becoming
friends. As I got to know Muriel better, we began going lots of places together
and became very close friends. I would have loved to have her as my wife,
however she did not want to spoil a great friendship. She had told me on many
occasions that she did not want to get married because she respected me too
much and did not want to ruin it. Not only was she very beautiful, but she also
was a very fine secretary and knew her business very well. We communicated
so well, we could almost finish each others sentences.

28
 One day out of the blue, she invited me into her home to have tea and
meet her family. We sat around having great conversation and I grew to enjoy
the company of her family. Her mother was Italian and a great cook, so I
certainly enjoyed my visits. I remember one special dinner she made that was
really delicious, and after the meal Mrs. Lear ask me how I enjoyed it. I said I
loved the ham. She said what ham? I said the ham you served at dinner.
She said, that was not ham my dear. I said with great surprise then if it
wasn't ham, what was it? It sure tasted like ham.
It was cows tongue, sweetie. What, did I just eat a cows tongue? She said,
where I come from, it is considered a delicacy. Well, you sure fooled me, I
would have sworn I was eating ham. I had no idea tongue was that tasty and
the way you prepared it, it was delicious. I got to know all of her family and
liked them quite well. After dinner Muriel and I would go for a drive and park
behind the school and do a little smooching. Muriel told me one time on one of
our outings how much her mother liked and respected me, which caught me
quite by surprise. She also related that her mom sais of all the boys you have
brought home Ray is by far the nicest.
Sometimes we would go for a long drive and we would stop somewhere
for dinner. We both loved driving to new places we had never been before. One
time Muriel mentioned Butchart Gardens, which neither of us had ever seen. We
found it to be one of the most enchanting places we had ever seen. We would
return to the gardens many times.

Her father who was retired, was now able to enjoy his hobby which was
fishing. Of all the different methods of fishing his preferred style was gill-
netting. I can't remember him being very good at it though, because he never
brought that many fish home. On one occasion I was invited to go fishing with
him. Being tossed around in the boat, I got caught up in the gill-netting while
he was winching it in. He saw what was happening and stopped the electric

29
winch just in time. After some time he was able to free me from the net and
everything was OK. From that day on, I was a lot more careful.

While we were dating, we learned that her older sister was engaged. We
learned later that they had already set a date for the wedding and she wanted
Muriel to be her bridesmaid and her two younger sisters to be flower girls. The
ceremony was very moving and the reception was exceptional and we all had a
great time. This put me in mind of asking Muriel if she would like to repeat the
process with me, but I just could not get the words to form in my mind. What a
shame I let such an opportunity to slip by me. I have often head it said that
going to a wedding, is the makings of another.

30
 I received a call from British Columbia Electric Company, that there was
an opening for me as a streetcar operator. I went to their offices and filled in
the forms necessary for the job and took the proper tests and training for their
requirements. After several months of operating streetcars, I became very
proficient. Several years later, the company made a transition for streetcars to
buses. It was a real pleasure driving the new buses.

As much as I loved driving cars, buses, trolley coaches and cabs, I loved
to ride a motorcycle even more. I did my research very well and I chose the
Norton brand which are made in England, because they were light, fast and
comfortable. I took many small trips to break her in. Then I chose to take a trip
to Seattle, after the grand tour, it started getting on in the afternoon, so I
decided to head for home. On the way, it started to get dark and it started
raining like cats & dogs. I was being very careful, as it is no fun riding a bike in
the rain and I was not properly dressed. I was on hwy 99 which was just a two
lane highway at that time I was just outside of Mt. Vernon on the way to
Burlington, the traffic in my direction was very light but it was quite heavy going

31
into Mt. Vernon. The visibility was very poor and for some unknown reason a
driver going in the opposite direction must not have seen me and decided to
pass and hit me head on, which tossed me over his car and out into the field. I
landed on my hip which was fortunate compared to the other possibilities. I
wound up in Mt Vernon hospital for several days. The accident had fractured my
hip bone. They told me I got off very lucky. After I recovered, I had learned my
lesson, and was taken home, and sold the bike right away. For me there would
be no more motorcycle riding.

After 8 years working for B C Electric in Vancouver, I began to feel as

though I needed a change. For so many years I had heard people talking about
the United States, in such favorable terms, I thought it might be fun to check it
out. On several occasions, during my holidays, I would jump in the car and take
a sightseeing trip down the west coast all the way to LA. I stopped all along the
way as any tourist would do and of all the places I visited, LA stood out like a
emerald. At this point I had finally decided to make the move. I went to the USA
Immigration office to find what it tool to get an American perm anent Visa

32
to live in the USA. They told me I had to have a person vouch for me, then I
had to have the promise of employment, and I had to have $1500 in a bank. On
the first issue, my family knew some good friends that lived in Corvallis, Oregon
and they were more than happy to sponsor me. As to the second item, I had
been promised if I came down, that I could very easily qualify for a job because
of my experience. On the last requirement the money was not a problem. After
filing for the Visa, I had to wait approximately one whole year before I was able
to obtain my Visa.

Once I was accepted, I went into the company and submitted my

resignation. They tried to talk me out of it because I had been such a reliable

After doing a little searching I found a one bedroom apartment which was
close to my church and not to far from the terminal where I would be working.

33
 Now comes the hard part, moving all my furniture into my apartment,
especially since I had a piano to move. I had been moving this piano around
with me every time I moved. The funny thing is I never played the darn thing.
The next morning I went into the Metropolitan Transit Authority and filled in the
necessary papers to begin work. After completing six weeks of extensive
training, I was assigned my first streetcar route. Later on according to seniority,
I was able to choose better runs. The highest in seniority got the best choices.
Since the Pico line had the highest ridership, the Pico line day shift was always
the first one chosen.

34
 After several years operating some of the other streetcar lines, they made
a transition from streetcars to buses. I drove buses for a number of years, until
I gained enough seniority to get a run on the Pico line. Which was my ultimate
choice. On the Pico Boulevard line, the streetcars were called Presidential
Conference Cars. I loved to operate these cars because, to operate them was all
you had to do was to operate one strip of toggle switches. The most important
thing about operating these cars was the dead man switch, which had to have
the weight of my foot at all times to operate the car. In case of emergency all
one had to do was to remove their left foot from the pedal and the car would
immediately come to an emergency stop.
Since I was single, the evenings were quite boring and I longed for
something to do to relieve the boredom. I went to a club where there was a
piano bar and ask the pianist if I could sing a song or two.

They usually asked me what I knew and I would tell them I knew a lot of
popular songs, like That Old Black Magic, I Left My Heart In San Francisco,
Too Marvelous For Words, and When You're Smiling, Etc. Etc. They would
usually give me a shot at it. After one song, sometimes the audience would
shout out Encore, Encore. So I would sing a couple more. I had been taking
singing lessons with an instructor who thought I was good enough to cut a

35
record. Se he picked a couple of my better songs, booked time in a recording
studio and we recorded the two songs, As You Desire Me and Too Marvelous
For Words. I was really happy with the way the record turned out. I wonder
whatever happened to that record, I wish I still had it. While I was singing
publicly a producer introduced himself to me and offered me a part in his play
called Plain & Fancy about Amish life. I auditioned and was given the part of
Ike Pilersheim.

36
37
 After 8 years of driving in Los Angeles traffic, it seemed that it was
becoming even more polluted than when I first arrived, I got so tired of
breathing all that fowl air, I just had to get away.

I heard that Santa Barbara was a nice place to live. Being near the coast it
was probably cooler, cleaner and less traffic and a lot of sunshine and I heard
also they have some beautiful beaches there. So I thought I would give it a try.
After getting settled in a nice apartment, I then again applied to a school bus
company called Durham. This time it was a small school bus.

I was assigned to a route that picked up special children. It was really

enjoyable working with these boys. These children were great, there ages were
from about 7 to 10 years. Because I treated them like I would treat any body
else, they respected me and treated me very well. One of the children named
Josh asked me what he should call me. Wanting to remain in charge so they
had someone they could look up to for protection and safety, I told him, that
they could call me by my first name provided, they put Mr. in front of it, like Mr.
Ray, instead of just Ray. That seemed quite acceptable to them. We had some
really fun times together, and could they laugh. Of course, boys will be boys, so
there was a certain amount of horse play, although it only took a gentle request
to tone it down. Even though my role was as their driver, they treated me as
their friend. It's amazing how well you can get to know someone, just by
picking them up and dropping them off.

38
 My nature is one of exploration, and after a while I always seem to get
that urge to move. So, I decided I might like to see what the San Francisco bay
area had to offer. So I thanked the company for the wonderful treatment they
gave me and regrettably had to say goodbye to all my boys. I then moved to
the bay area and chose a suburb called Burlingame, a residential area which is
in San Mateo County.

Upon arriving and after getting settled, I applied to Samtrans. Due to my

vast experience driving professionally for most of my life, I was accepted
immediately. For eight years, I drove buses for them and the one I almost
always drove was good old #342.

39
 I never had any problems with that good old bus. I was extremely happy
with my work. I did extra things on the bus, besides just driving it. I would help
people on and off the bus, help folks with their groceries, and many other
requests. I did it as a matter of courtesy. In anticipation of the American
Disability Act, about to be passed, the company was ahead of the curve, due to
the number of seniors in the county and they were among the first to install
wheelchair lifts in their buses.
After sitting on my bus seat for many hours each day, when I got home, I
needed a distraction, I thought I might like to fulfill a childhood dream, I have
always been fascinated with trains, and since my father was a railroad man. I
decided to see if I could scratch build model train layouts. I felt a great sense of
satisfaction from trying to keep the HO scale in proportion. Once my friends saw
what I had built, they were always asking me to help them built theirs and they
were always asking my advice.

40
 One morning this five year old boy named Juan would get on my bus to
go to school. He always liked to sit up front in the bus, and he began talking to
me. As time went on our conversations grew longer and more in depth. I
eventually found out he loved trains as much as I did. I told him that I loved to
construct my own train layouts. He asked if he could see one. I told him sure, I
would love to show you my current layout. When he saw my layout, he was so
taken with it, he told me how much he would love to have something so
realistic. I told him I would build one for him, but only if he was involved in
every phase of it, by helping me. I thought it might be a very constructive
learning experience for him.
In my off times, I was teaching myself to read sheet music and play my
own piano accompaniments.

41
 After a year and a half of studying music theory and practicing the piano,
I felt I could teach piano to children from 5 to 12 years old. I found that it was
difficult teaching children, as after 5 minutes their minds tend to wander quite
easily. I did have one older lady that was really interested in learning to play the
piano. She was very dedicated and she was also quick to learn. I have always
been proud of my Catholic heritage and I always had religious articles in my
home. I soon found out that she was also a Catholic. After a while she could see
that I was very lonely. She must have been able to sense my loneliness. She
said, she had a friend that I might like to meet named Marilyn and she was also
a nice Catholic lady. My lady pupil told her about me, and me about her. She
said that it would be best if I would go to her office and introduce myself first.
When I arrived at the medical office where she worked, I asked the lady at the
desk if I could speak to Marilyn, she said she was with the doctor presently,
however, she would be out to take her lunch break in a moment. When she
came into the waiting room I knew right away it was her.

42
 Chapter 5
Marilyn

I immediately stood up and introduced myself to her. She hesitated for

just a moment and then spoke to me saying I am very pleased to meet you. I
replied, I am very pleased to meet you as well. After that uncomfortable
moment that seemed like an eternity, I manage to get the words out, if this is
your lunch break, may I take you to lunch? She very quickly said, yes, I
would like that. We went to a nice cafe around the corner. We had a very nice
lunch with a very pleasant conversation which inspired me to want to see her
again. As I walked her back to her office, I asked if I could see her again for
lunch. She said I would love to, thank you. Upon returning her to her office, I
was very happy that it went far better than I had imagined. I had the strangest
sensation, that my loneliness just seemed to vanish. From then on we dated
quite often and became very good friends. On many occasions she would invite
me to her home for dinner. On one occasion I invited her to get a Pizza and we
picked one up and took it to my apartment. After enjoying most of the pizza,
she saw my piano and said do you play? I said I tickled the ivory's
occasionally. She said would you play something for me? I said, yes, do
have a favorite? She asked me if I knew Claire De Lune? I said, yes, I know
lot's of popular tunes. After I played her a few songs, she said, I had no idea
you played so beautifully. Do you play professionally? I said I dabble a little,
but nothing serious. She said why not? I said, I am not formally trained. I
would need more lessons. From then on she asked me to pursue it. I decided
she was right, that I had been skirting the issue far too long and decided to

43
take lessons. It was time for me to make a change in my life and accomplish
something I really have wanted to do.

I found myself becoming more and more fond of her each day, and I
thought I would ask her to marry me. This was quite a shock to her, as she had
never been married before. She was quite reluctant to take that step as she had
no idea what that might entail. For two years she kept skirting the issue, until I
finally said to her If I can make you laugh every day, will you marry me? After
she finished laughing, she finally agreed. We then arranged with Our Lady of
Angels Catholic Church for a date on the 2nd of December 1982. The priest
performed a most uplifting ceremony and we were both very impressed.

44
 We postponed our honeymoon, as we both had prior commitments that
we could not set aside. We also wanted to put away a little nest egg with which
to have a more meaningful honeymoon. We decide that it would be better for
us to live in her apartment. Marilyn and a very nice two bedroom apartment,
she had very exquisite taste in furnishings.

She had a little kitty called Irma, and she was quite old, but still very
adorable. As old as Irma was she was still spry enough to chase things around
the apartment. One time when she was tossing the ball around, it flew out of
the window followed closely by the cat. We both almost had heart attacks, and
we immediately rushed to the window only to find her on top of some shrubbery
that saved her fall. We dashed down the stairs and out the front door and
around to the bushes only to find that no harm had come to her and we were
both very relieved. Marilyn brought her back upstairs to our apartment where
we both gave her all the love and reassurance we could.

45
 After driving for Samtrans for 8 years and having a flawless driving record
and several awards for safe driving, I was given the gold buckle, the ultimate
safety award.

In 1987 after retiring from Samtrans, we decided it is about time we had

that honeymoon. So we rented a 26 foot Itasca motorhome and headed off for
Saskatoon, Sask., Canada. Marilyn was very excited to go, as she had never
been out of the United States. So we packed up the Itasca with everything you
could imagine and away we went. We took the coast route 101 up to Florence,
and headed east to I-5 then to Eugene, OR. We spent the night in a RV park
near Eugene, and then after a good nights rest, we took off early in the

46
morning, and headed North. We passed through Portland, OR and kept on
going up to Seattle, WA., where we rested comfortably during the night again.
Then we headed east on I-90 until we reached Butte Montana. After a few days
traveling, we ended up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Once we arrived and had
recovered from our long drive we rested. Next morning we went to the
retirement home to visit the two Nuns that taught me in grade school.
One was Reverend Mother Winnifred, who was the principle of St.
Joseph's school where I went, and Sister Edeltrude, who was my sixth grade
teacher.
We visited with them the entire day, had dinner together and lots of
catching up to do. All through the years, every Christmas we would send each
other cards and letters and kept in touch in that fashion. I felt so blessed and
surprised when Sister Winnifred told Marilyn that of all the students she had
taught over the years, Ray was the only one that had kept in touch. Sister
Winnifred asked me what I had been doing lately. I told them, that I had been
learning the piano for some time now, and she kind enough to asked me to play
something for them. It just so happened that the facility had a piano. So I
played them a few of their favorite hymns.

47
 Marilyn and I asked them if they would like to go on a day trip by train to
Moose Jaw and return? They thought that would be just great. So next
morning, we all went down to the station, and boarded the train.

After a nice lunch there and a short walk around downtown Moose Jaw,
we then took the next train back to Saskatoon. After a pleasant visit with them
and we said our farewells, and then we headed back to our RV park.
The next day we drove around Saskatoon, and I showed Marilyn all of my
old favorite sites like The Town Hall Clock, The library, the city hall, the train
depot, then we stopped and had a nice lunch.

48
 Then later on in the day, I thought I would show Marilyn my old home at
423 5 Street, Where I grew up.
th

I knocked on their front door. When I explained to the owners, that my

father had built this house, in which I had been brought up and raised, they

were very interested and surprised, and they were happy to meet a previous
owner. They told us they had done some remodeling and asked if we would like

49
to see what they had done? We were thrilled at the prospect of seeing my old
home after 60 years. I said we would love to. They told us we did not do very
much upstairs, but I'm sure you will like what we have done in the basement.
So they took us downstairs and showed us how they remodeled the basement
into bedrooms. I remember there was large coal furnace in the middle of it. I
said what happened to the furnace? Oh, it's still there, we just enclosed the
furnace with partitions. I remember the days when my father would have a ton
of coal delivered, and I was fascinated watching the delivery man put the truck
chute in to our receptacle and watch it slide down into our coal bin. Every day
my dad would wake at 4 AM to shovel coal into our furnace and light the fire to
warm the house. My dad was so thoughtful, warming the house for mum and
me.

You would not believe how cold the winters are in Saskatoon. There were
days when I had to walk to school when it was 20 degrees outside.
The owners of the house were very interested in finding out what it was
like in Saskatoon when I was growing up. So they invited us up to the
kitchen-nook for a cup of tea, and krumpets. Marilyn told them how grateful she
was to see the house that Ray grew up in, as he talks about it all the time, and
now I can see why. It is a very lovely home. We had a very delightful visit. Then
we said our goodbyes, and thanked them so much for showing us around.
As much as we Loved our visit to Saskatoon, I hated to leave. There were
times in my mind that I would have liked to just stay there and never leave.
On the road again (where did I just get that)? OH, I know my wife would
sing that all the time, because she loved Willie Nelson. Every time we were on
the road,and that song came on she would belt it out loud. I still get a fond

50
memory of her every time I hear it. As we drove along, the highway was lined
on both side with huge trees. All of a sudden, Marilyn looked out of her window
and said to me, OH! Look at the swimming pool. I looked over and did a double
take. I said to her, honey that is not a swimming pool, that is Lake Louise,
trying my very best to hold back the laughter. I told her to pull out the map and
have a look, as she found where we were, she turned a bright shade of pink.
After a moments pause, that seemed like forever. She begged me to let us
spend the night by the lake.

We stayed in a beautiful park, right by the lake. After one of those great
breakfasts you only get once in a while when everything turns out just right.
Marilyn made a nice picnic lunch for later and we changed into our hiking
clothes and walking shoes and took a leisurely walk around the lake front.
We found a beautiful place that overlooked the whole lake and spread out our
picnic lunch. What a great day. The view, was out of this world. We could have
stayed there forever, however we eventually had to move on. We headed for
our next point of interest which was Kelowna, BC. Because we are on our
honeymoon now, we were in no hurry to get anywhere soon, although giving it
more thought, we were also not in any hurry to get anywhere late either. HA,

51
HA. Making several pit stops along the way, we had lunch at a lovely spot on
the side of the road. We spent the whole day driving to Kelowna. I had an old
grade school buddy, named George Vickers, whose parents lived in Kelowna,
British Columbia. I asked Marilyn if she would mind meeting some old friends of
mine? She said she would love to. So we stopped in Kelowna and had a nice
visit with his parents. Next day, we hit the road again for our next stop,
Vancouver, BC. We would switch drivers, about every 200 miles or so. That
way, we stayed fresh and alert and were able to arrive in Vancouver later that
evening. We were very anxious to get together with the Swansen family,
however it was late and we were quite tired from the trip. So we found a nice
RV Park, pulled the rig in and hooked it up. We realized that we were even
more exhausted than we first thought. We fell right to sleep. Next morning the
birds were putting on such a commotion, we woke up earlier than we thought.
First thing I did was to call Selma, tell her we arrived safely and would really
love to come visit the family. Selma became so excited to hear my voice, she
dropped the phone. After what seemed like an infinite amount of time she
regained her composure, picked the phone back up and said, Ray is that really
you?
I don't know, Let me check. No. I'm pretty sure it's me. It is so nice to hear
your voice again. So, how have you been doing? Not much on my end, but I am
more interested to hear all the Swansen family news. How are, all of you girls? I
can hardly wait until we can all be together. Selma said, don't you worry about
a thing, I will get everyone together and we can have a really great reunion.
Call me back around 3 PM, I should know by then.
So we made a good breakfast, cleaned up and just decided to relax.
Having driven so many miles in the last few days, we were still quite tired and
needed some quiet time. At 2 pm, I went out to unhitch my car from the
motorhome. Around 3 pm I called Selma, and she asked if we could be at her
house by 5 pm. I said, you bet we can! Marilyn is so excited to meet all of you.
OK, we will see you at five. About 4:30, we jumped into car and away we went.
When we got to Selma's, we were so excited to see everyone, after a lot of
hugging, we eventually settled down to a scrumptious dinner. After we all had
our fill, we retired into the living room. After all the really important news was
passed across the dinner table, We could all now get down to some serious
reminiscing about old times. After a couple of hours, we all began to feel a little
weary, especially me. I asked if anyone would mind if we could called it a night.
I still have to drive back to the motorhome.
Selma suggested that next morning, that Nancy, her daughter could take

52
us for a tour of the city, so Marilyn could see where I used to live for thirteen
years. After being away from Vancouver for twenty years, it was amazing to me
to see all the changes that had taken place. Marilyn was absolutely fascinated
with such a beautiful city. We made several shopping stops along the way, to
buy film and souvenirs. After several hours we began to get hungry. Selma
packed a very delicious picnic lunch which we ate in Queen Elizabeth Park, in
the heart of Vancouver.

We thought we had picked a really good table, only to find out that there
were some people feeding the pigeons, and we seemed to be in the landing
strip. Now we had all had a marvelous day, but were getting tired, so we
decided to go home. We went to Selma's first to pick up our car, and then
headed back to the RV park.

53
 Chapter 6
Heading Home

The next morning we decided to get together for breakfast and to say our
farewells and headed back home to Burlingame, Calif. Of course, we could not
make it in one day, so we talked about what road to take home, and Marilyn
asked, could we please drive down the coast highway. I said we could, once we
got to Corvallis, because I wanted to visit with an old friend of the family Wilson
Rhone that was a postman there and he is the man who vouched for me to
come to the United States. He invited us to park our motorhome in his driveway
to spend the night. Next morning, since he was a train buff like me, we decided
to take a day trip from Albany to Salem and back, while Marilyn stayed and
visited with his wife Ivy. At breakfast, they told us as we were preparing to
leave, that as long as we are going down to the coast Highway, be sure not to
miss the Sea Lion Caves. After a nice visit with the folks, we left Corvallis and
headed for the coast and the caves. To view the sea lions, we first had to
descend in an elevator more than 200 feet, to get from the surface level down
to sea level, where there were thousand of them inside of a giant cave, basking
n the rock, making a sound you would not believe.

The last time I had heard anything like it, was at a political convention.
After picking up a few souvenirs and gifts we decided to move on. We were so
fascinated with the whole spectacle that we stayed there long enough to
understand there conversations. As I recall it went something like this. Bark,
Bark, Bark, Bark. Of course I am not at liberty nor allowed to translate. We were
quite surprised to find so many seasons represented, not only were there Easter
Seals, there were also Christmas Seals, and also seals that were quite insulting

54
so we left.
We drove all the way to Brookings, Oregon and asked where is the nicest
RV park here, without hesitation the gas station attendant said, Harris Beach
State Park.

So we headed back up to the park for the night. When we looked at our
maps, we saw two ways of getting home. One was on I-5 which was the inland
route and it would be an extra hundred miles and about another hour, so we
chose the coastal route again, because we thought it would be cooler, more
things to look at, and I loved looking at the ocean. We had just enjoyed one of
the best honeymoons that any person could want. However, it was so good to
be home, as has been said by many a traveler. We did not get back to
Burlingame until after 11 PM, and we were so beat, we could barely make it
upstairs to flop on the bed and fall fast asleep.
Next day we then finished the necessary clean up of the Itasca, we drove
it back to the rental facility to turn it in. We told the attendant, that we were
very happy with the way the Itasca performed, and how economical it had
been, and we had no problems with it at all. They were very happy to hear that.
We had a couple of days left, and we thought we would just stay home
and rest, since we no longer had obligations to meet. We had a nice long talk
about what to do next. After the honeymoon, we realized how much we
enjoyed traveling. We entertained the thought of buying our own RV and just
becoming foot loose and fancy free. We embarked on a mission to find the
perfect motorhome. We sent for many brochures, and after some study, we
found that we liked the Allegro models the best. After a couple of weeks
studying the brochures, we had a fair idea of what we wanted. To get a look at
the real thing though, we had to take a trip to the agencies in Irvine, CA. We
chose the next weekend to drive to Irvine where we spent the night, went to a
nice restaurant and the next morning went to the dealership to check out the

55
motorhome we thought we might prefer. The salesman asked us what we
thought our requirements might be. I said, could we look at a few to get an
idea of what the insides were like? So he showed us several models of different
lengths. The one we decided upon was the 38' Allegro.

He then let us take It for a spin around town to get the feel of it and to
see if we could handle it. We fell in love with it. We wanted to take possession
right then and there, but he said it will need to be service and set up first. Next
morning, after a hardy breakfast, the dealer told us to come in around 8 AM, it
should be ready. So we went to pick up our new motorhome. We signed a few
papers and the deal was consummated. I took the wheel of the big rig first. We
took it quite easy as we were not that familiar with the workings of the RV and
we got as far as Solvang, where earlier in my life, I had played piano for some
of the retirement centers.

We went out to dinner again, but we were so excited, we couldn't get to

sleep. After breakfast we took the rest of the day driving home to Burlingame.
Even though we were thoroughly exhausted, we didn't even bother going up
into the apartment, we decided to christen the new bed.

56
 Now that we had decided to become full timers, we had to load all of the
things we wanted to take with us into the RV, and sell all the stuff we did not
want. It took about a week to sell everything. So we were now free and could
do what we wanted. We decided to head south, and to go to the Winchester
Mystery House in San Jose. We had heard from others just how strange the
place was, and I have to admit, it did not disappoint us.

One of the parts of the house I found most interesting was the area where
the floor of one room was higher that the next rooms floor, and to make it just
that much stranger was you had to go down a stairway, and then back up
another. So to go from the lower room to the upper room, you had to go down
to go up, to go up, and from the upper room, you had to go down to go up to
go down. Another unique part was the story was her fetish with the spirit world.
She believed she had to continue to expand the house to accommodate all the
spirits killed by the Winchester rifle. She was obsessed with the number
thirteen. 13 steps, 13 doors, 13 windows, Etc. Etc.
There was nothing holding us back now, and we had heard how great it
was in Palm Springs so off we went. After a couple of days travel, we stopped
at the first RV park that looked nice to spend the night. It just so happened they
were having a pot luck social that very evening. We thought, that would be fun,
so Marilyn prepared a potato salad and off we went. We spoke with many of the
folks there and asked where we should camp in Palm Springs, they said it is 10
degrees cooler in the upper valley, than it is here in the lower valley, but it is
still, hotter than a cat on a hot tin roof. We decided to take their advice and
headed up a very long steep grade to Yucca Valley RV park. We were very
fortunate to find a park with many trees and a pad that was almost totally
shaded. We unhitched the Mazda and did all the necessary hook-ups, and pulled

57
down the awning. Then we felt we had to test out our folding chairs to see just
how comfortable we were going to be. Around lunch time Marilyn went inside to
fix us a little snack. The reason we chose this area was to get away from it all
and get as much into the country as we could and still be in civilization. We
enjoyed the climate in the beginning, but after about a year and a half of the
heat, we were starting to shrivel up like raisins. Neither one of us could take this
constant heat any more and so we agreed to go somewhere cooler. We
remembered this little town called Brookings, where we stayed on our
honeymoon trip. We drove up to Brookings, and stayed at Harris Beach
Campground again. While there we drive around in the Mazda looking at
potential RV parks that offered permanent spaces. In a couple of days, Rivers
Edge RV Park called us to say they had a space available. We drove up, looked
it over, and it was acceptable. We then hooked up the RV and settled in.
The first thing on our minds was to find a Catholic Church. We heard they
had a Knight of Columbus breakfast at the Star of the Sea hall, from 7:30 until
10:00 so we decided to take advantage of it since we were in the RV. While we
were there having a wonderful meal, where we met Father Tom Mannion.

Marilyn and I found we immediately liked him. He was very intelligent as

well as humorous. When he found out that Marilyn was a choir director and I

58
played the piano. Plus I knew most of the church hymns. He asked us if we
would consider coming to his Mission church in Gold Beach called St. Charles
Borromeo. His request was such a compliment, we found we could not refuse.
He was a very family oriented priest and once we heard his homily we liked him
very much and said to each other, this is the one. As we became acquainted
with the people in the church, we began to enjoy many of the church functions.
Early on when they learned that I was able to play Catholic Hymns well, they
ask me to play their grand piano for the mass. Many of the parishioners, would
remark how well the two of us could make it sound so spiritual.

Every year on Saint Patrick's Day, they had corned beef and cabbage, as it
was traditional.

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 Jerry Biewend, was a master at preparing the traditional meal. Everybody

thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and afterwards I would lead the Sing-A-Long with
many popular Irish melodies. Father Tom being very Irish loved to sing Danny
Boy and so we would always start with that song, and I was able to play it the
way he liked to sing it. Everybody just loved the way he would sing it, and it
would make the whole evening sparkle. Marilyn made this outfit for me as she
was an excellent seamstress. As you can see, I got the biggest kick out of
wearing it. When Father Tom left us, Marilyn and I decided the driving to Gold
Beach every week was beginning to wear on us. So we decided to start going to
the Star of the Sea, in Brookings. We were very thankful to have found yet
another priest that we could relate to. Once they got to know us, they thought I
might make a good usher.

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 About a year later one of the Knights of Columbus approached me and
asked if I would be interested in becoming a knight. After a few questions
regarding their functions, I said yes. I filled in the forms and waited for my
initiation ceremony. Marilyn said she was very proud of me for taking on such
an honor and duty. After a year, when the election for new officers arrived, I
was voted in as their warden. I was very pleased when they honored me. I have
been their warden every since. My duties included, collecting dues, checking
membership cards, collecting the pennies for pooches donations. When the
Grand Knight would strike the gavel, and call the meeting to order, then he
would ask me if all the knights here are in good standing, I would make the
proper hand gesture signifying yes, and say yes, all knights here are in good
standing. He would then make the proper hand gesture signifying acceptance.
Then the meeting would proceed as normal. During the meetings, when it came
time to discuss an item of new business, I would make recommendations, and
most times they seem to respond favorably.

Every second Sunday of the month, the Knights of Columbus would have a
breakfast which provided funds for different organizations as a fund raiser. As I
was the cashier, I loved taking their money, as the saying goes! During the
breakfast one of the Knights would always come over and joke with me during
slow periods and we formed a great camaraderie. We also had a gentleman
named Tim Retnick, who would bring in a four by four piece of plywood and
during slow moments he would put on a little tap dance show for us all, and of
course I would provide the music.
John Kliespie was our chef at the breakfasts and he was an especially
good one. Everybody just loved his cooking. He also did the dinners before the
monthly meetings, and he knew how much I loved baked potatoes. After the
meal he would always send the left over potatoes home with me.

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 Marilyn and the other ladies always stayed on to clean up the hall. John
and I would try to one up each other every chance we got. He suggested one
time that I should have a new title. The Earl of Little, I thought this was
funny, but then another Knight after hearing this said, no he is The Earl of
Plenty. Marilyn loved to accompany me to the breakfasts, because she loved to
help serve the refreshments with the other ladies. For those who never met
John, you must realize that he was just a big tease and loved to have fun with
other people and catch them off guard. Over time we became very close to the
Kliespie family and they always invited Marilyn & I to their home for
Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. John and Gretna, had not only a very large
family that would attend, but they also had many church friends. There must
have been at least two dozen people altogether. We felt very grateful and
privileged to be included in their family. I loved Gretna's food so much, I always
went back for seconds, and she was always tickled that I loved her dinners so
much.

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 Chapter 7
At Rivers Edge

We were enjoying the motorhome and the park we were in, however, after a
couple of years it started to seem smaller than it once had. I must admit,that I
had heard people talk about having their space, but did not fully understand
what that meant, until I had begun to experience it myself. During the winter of
2002 there was an unusually heavy rainfall which created a flood situation and
we were instructed to move our motorhome to higher ground in the park. That
was the last straw, that broke the camels back. We agreed, we must sell the
coach and move into an apartment. It sold very quickly, as we always
maintained it very well. The buyers loved it and wanted to take possession right
away, so we had to find an apartment very quickly. We found an apartment on
Moore Street, called Pacific View Apts. We moved out of the RV and into the
apartment without too much fuss. After a few months, we came to realize that
apartment living was not all that bad, and being in town it was much move
convenient for shopping and appointments.
Shortly after settling in Brookings, we went in search of a family doctor.
Once we found the one that was part of our medical system, we got to know
Joanne and Larry Hubler. It just so happened that the two of them met at the
doctors office. They became very good friends. When Joanne found out that
Marilyn was also a Registered nurse, she asked Marilyn if she would be willing
to help her care for Larry. Later on I would accompany her and play Cribbage
and Dice with Larry, and in no time we became family.

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 Marilyn had an older sister named Dorothy.

Who had a daughter named Lana, and her husband Danny, and a son
named Jason, and his wife Eva.

Lana's daughter Katie has the most adorable child, and I can barely wait
to see Tobie again.

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 If I am not mistaken, as Katie & her hubby are cutting the cake while
Tobie seems to be patiently waiting for his piece. They all seem to be having a
great time.
Marilyn and I would regularly visit with our Doctor Laurence Taylor in Gold
Beach for many years every three months. While the doctor was tending to my
needs, Marilyn would wander across the street to spend some time in the Gold
Beach Book store. The book store was owned by Ted Watkins. I approached
him and asked him if he would like piano background music in his facility. After
mulling it over for a few days, he thought it would be a great idea. So I started
playing on the weekends from four until seven.

Since we moved to Brookings. In 2005 I began having a pain in my left

shoulder. He discover the onset of Arthritis and recommended I see a bone
specialist in Coos Bay. His name was Dr. Sean Hobson, an orthopedic specialist.
I frequently went to him every three months for a Cortisone shot. My wife
Marilyn and I liked him very much. and it went very well. After about ten years
my shoulder began to get much better so it was no longer necessary to
continue the therapy, And from that day on my shoulder has felt normal. Why,
Ill never know? Marilyn knowing how much I loved Ice Cream she would always
insist on treating me to some. We would stop at Old Town in Bandon by the
Sea at the Fudge Factory, where they had at least two dozen flavors. They
provided regular containers for Umpqua ice cream that only held about 2 or 3
scoops at a time. Me be a joker, and loving Ice Cream above anything else,
thought it might be humorous to bring in a huge bowl and a large ladle and say
fill 'er up Doc. Next I would select 5 or 6 flavors. I would always drive the first
leg setting out to Bandon which is just about halfway there and then Marilyn

65
would drive the rest of the way to coos Bay. On the way home I would again
drive the first leg to Bandon, and then Marilyn would take over and drive from
Bandon to home, so I could enjoy my ice cream. It was such a wonderful treat,
it made the whole trip worthwhile, and my wife got such a kick of of me
enjoying it. When we arrived home, we rested and finished the evening with a
couple of games of Scrabble. Then we would retire for the evening.

My wife Marilyn, was a very lovable person, everybody loved her, but no one as
much as I. She was very helpful to other people, like driving them to the

66
doctors office, and she would go shopping for people that were shut-ins. The
Pilot newspaper wrote a beautiful full page article on the things my wife and I
would do to help others. The newspaper did describe my wife as a mother
Theresa because she was just that. We were both very devout Catholics and we
took our faith seriously. We tried our best to live our lives just as GOD
instructed us.
For many years now Marilyn and I seemed to coast through life most
pleasantly, enjoying our day to day activities, and then one day she was sitting
on the couch and she spoke to me saying Ray, I can't lift my left arm. I
immediately called for the ambulance, and they took her to Curry General
Hospital in Gold Beach. After a thorough examination the doctor informed us
that she had, had a slight stroke which only paralyzed her left arm. Because
Marilyn was such a faithful person, I believe the stroke could have been far
worse were it not for God's intervention and as it turned out it was a small test
of her faith. When we came home, it was suggested to us that a caretaker be
brought in to help her with daily chores. After a while she started going down
hill and we all felt including her, that she might be better off to go to the Good
Samaritan Convalescent home. Up to this point I had been trying to keep up
with my piano gigs, but found the traveling took away from my time with
Marilyn. So I had to give up my regular routine at the Addie Meedom
Convalescent Home and since it was such short notice I told them they were
welcome to my keyboard. In the home she received excellent loving care. I
brought in my Bose music player, because she missed my piano music most of
all. This made her feel more relaxed and at home. Some time later she began to
feel very frail and did not seem to eat much in spite of our encouragement or
respond to treatment. I visited with her every opportunity on every occasion I
possibly could. Our priest Father Luan, would come each day to say the Rosary
with us and help us pray for her. Even in her condition, she knew how much my
Birthdays meant to the both of us, and she asked me if I would mind
celebrating my day early for her sake. So I arranged for all of her church friends
to join me in our day. Even though I knew she would not eat it, I felt an
overpowering need to get a special cake just for her.

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 A few days later, on one of my visits, I could feel a difference in her
condition. Hospice had done a fine job making her comfortable and pain free. I
was sitting by her bed and she began to breath heavily. As I held her hand and
prayed, she took one last heavy breath, and then I felt her spirit leave. Although
it was one of the hardest moments of my life, in a strange way, I felt a sense of
peace come over me. Somehow I knew there was nothing to fear and I knew
someday we would be together again.

68
69
 As per Marilyn's request she wished to be cremated. Redwood Memorial
Chapel arranged with Father Luan as to when a memorial service at the church
could take place. A great many of our friends attended the service. Harry
Roberts delivered a beautiful eulogy and every one was very impressed. A few
of our friends got up and said how much they loved her and how much they
would miss her. After the church service we all went to the cemetery where
another ceremony took place and her urn was interred in her Niche. At the
reception many people came up to me and expressed their condolences. As

70
usual the Star of the Sea Alter Society, provided all the refreshments for the
reception and it was very well received.
When I returned home to an empty apartment it finally hit me. I felt so
alone. I had never felt that way before. I found it very difficult to move forward.
My life seemed somehow artificial. Finally after some time I eventually realized,
I must get on with my life. I had left all of the sympathy cards people had given
me until now as I just did not feel like reading them. I was quite surprised at
how much they seemed to elevate my spirit. I did my best to contact all of our
friends to thank them for there kind thoughts. They all encouraged me to move
on with my life, and I could see they were correct. After I thought back I
suddenly realized that if Joanne Hubler had not taken such meticulous care of
all of the arrangements, I would have never been able to make it through this
on my own. Although it felt like I was alone, that is not entirely the case.
Marilyn and I had this wonderful kitty we named Joseph after the priest in our
parish. In fact we seem to have made a habit of naming all of our pets after
priests. My Joe has a really nice reclining chair that is so comfortable, he is
almost always reclining there. I too like how nice it fits, but I have to spend
some time begging, pleading and praying to get him to relinquish the of use it
occasionally. After enough groveling, he finally gives in and lets me use it for a
while, but not without interference. He continually walks back and forth
unceasingly, thinking that he may be able to drive me away. It's a never ending
battle of wits.

JOE, PLEASE, PLEASE,

may I sit in your chair
for just a little while,
because I am so very
tired, Please humor an
old man.

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 I began to practice my piano again, and the thought occurred to me that I
might like to join the Brookings Senior Center. Having played there when I first
came to Brookings, I asked them If I could play for them again. The
administrator said, that would be wonderful. I told him I have a keyboard that
had a very nice sound and it could be played softer than an acoustic piano, and
would he like me to bring it in. I told him that if I brought it in, I would leave it
there with the Activity Center if I ever decided to leave. I played for them three
times a week in the mornings before they served lunch. After a while the center
had a membership drive and offered lifetime memberships at a reduced rate
and I decided to take advantage of it. Me being a lousy cook, and after enough
TV dinners, I really enjoyed the home cooked meals. What I like best about the
meals is that there are always two choices for the entree. I find I usually have a
hard time choosing, because Eleanor the manager of the Meals and the kitchen
staff is just about the best I have encountered. I don't believe I have ever had a
meal I did not enjoy. Along with all those responsibilities, she is also in charge
of the Meals-On-Wheels program. Thayne, the president of the centers board
has a tough time keeping all his little fledglings in line. Note however the
feather in his hat.

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I can't even imagine how difficult that must be.
I must admit, I really enjoy my volunteer work at the center. They allow
me to entertain the folks with my piano music, Jokes and I call Bingo every
Friday after lunch. So many people have told me how much they enjoy my
music and wished they had some at home. I thought about that for a while and
I decided that I would record a lot of my songs on CD's and hand them out to
the people that wanted them. Naturally some of them wanted to pay me for
them, but I told them that these were gifts and it is my way of thanking them.
Recently the wonderful folks at the center honored me by singing happy
Birthday to me, not once, but at the end of September and then again at the
beginning of October. They are all such kind and loving people. I consider them
my family.
You would think that when a person reaches the ripe old age of 92,that
life would slow down to a crawl. Nothing could be further from the truth in my
case. If anything it seems to be going faster than ever. I do not understand how
others can get bored. I think they modeled the Energizer Bunny after me. My

73
doctor just gave me a clean bill of health and remarked what great shape I am
in for my age. He found nothing wrong with me that could be cured by a pill. I
have established quite a routine. I attend my church functions religiously twice
a week and on a few other occasions. I also meet with a prayer group once a
week, then we all go out for a nice breakfast. Quite often my friend Harry
Roberts, would take me out for a breakfast.

Once a month I also take part in the Knights of Columbus meetings and
then we finish it off with a hearty meal, and sometimes we would go to Wild
River Pizza parlor. Also once a month we put on a fund raising breakfast in the
church hall to support different charities. Of course, I also like to sneak out for a
nice dinner with a friend on occasion. Did I mention I love food.
I try to make myself available for anybody that needs transportation for
their needs. I myself am amazed, that I am still able to drive my van safely at
the age of 92 and after all the miles I have driven in my life I have never had
any problems.

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 I am looking forward to my trip down south to visit with Lana and Jason
and their families next May. As I said before, I can hardly wait to see Lana's
grandson, Tobie.
I am more than certain I have left out a great multitude of things I am
sure you would like to know, however it seems the story goes on. I am living
each day to the fullest extent and to the best of my ability according to what I
believe God would have me do.
Over the years, God has been so good to me I don't know how to properly
thank him except through prayer. Amen.

Epilogue: We have had so much fun and laughter writing and assembling this
book, it is going to be very difficult to stop. However, stop we must or we will
never get it published.

The

End
PS: Ira suggested when I told him what I wanted to do, that he would love to
help me put it together. The two of us must have laughed off a couple of dozen
pounds each. Ray wrote all the lyrics, I just helped a little on the words.

75