My Portfolio

Dad was a big boy, a 13 pound baby at birth. The youngest of five children raised in the depression, from a broken family. He lived alone during most of his formative teen age years. He worked as a cowboy, and was fun loving, but not focused on his education.  He...

My Grandpa Fairchild was one of the roughest toughest cowboys I knew.  I watched him jump on a horse that was stomping in circles, not cooperating with the rider.  He would jump on the saddle and talk firmly and make them mind until they knew who was boss. In high school...

The smell of cinnamon Snickerdoodles, fudge icing, and dried rose petals transports me back to my Grandma and Grandpa’s farmhouse. It was always exciting to travel to Idaho in July to see relatives. It was a long drive and took most of the day. Driving northwest to Idaho, and then a...

When it comes to aging and the transitions that life demands, as a society we have made decisions affecting our elders for all the right reasons, but for too many those decisions have unintended consequences. Few would disagree that the aging environment has changed dramatically over the last 30 years. Advances...

  Acer rubrum To Zyzyphus jujuba Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   My Aching Prostrate Lies Prostate Before You   When the Remedial English teacher decided to find out where her new students ranked in regard to their grammar skills, proper use of words...

Acer rubrum To Zyzyphus jujuba Essays, Stories, Adventures, Dreams Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Sharing My Legacy Story   Creating a positive legacy is the responsibility of the person who shows up each and every day to put their best foot forward; to do their best; to...

LaVera James--what a special friend to have.  She was born on April 1942 to Ernest and Hazel Dansie Davis.  She was the second oldest in her family with an older sister, two younger sisters and two younger brothers.  She has lived in Salem all her life.  She lives next door to...

Deborah Lynne King, 65, passed away January 29, 2014, in Lynchburg, Virginia. Debbie, as she was known to her friends and family, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, June 11, 1948, to Albert Wesley King, Sr., and Barbara Muriel Dannals King.    She graduated from West Springfield High School in 1966 and...

Golden V. Adams Jr. was born May 31, 1944 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Golden Virgil and Ruth Lenore Thiessens Adams.  Since his father was in the U.S. Army-Air Force in France, Golden didn’t see him in person until he was eighteen months old.  Living with his grandparents and great-grandparents,...

Being born the first son of the first son of John Vincent Zukowski, gave me that special privilege of being heir to the families throne... and prince Raymond knew he would be king someday, or at least he tried to make his younger brother know he was dealing with royalty. My...

Why Legacy Talks came into being: A survey of Baby Boomers and their parents, conducted by the Allianz American Legacy Study, were asked to rank their priorities when it comes to passing down an inheritance. Despite the perceived importance these generations place on leaving a legacy, only a small fraction has...

On the road… again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   The Titanic Was Only 2 ½ Miles Away   Who would say such a thing, unless they were on the ocean, in a ship?  After all, the Titanic still lies silently at a depth of 12,500 feet on...

VISITNG ANGELS HOME CARE PARTNERS WITH LEGACY STORIES TO LAUNCH LEGACY TALKS, REMINISCING WITH PURPOSE Visiting Angels, one of the largest home care franchisers in the United States, has launched a new photo reminiscing service called, “Legacy Talks.” Developed by the team at Legacy Stories, Legacy Talks helps seniors take a...

    Here lie the remains of the ring that at one time brought memories of my grandmother and great-grandmother!  No longer a ring but only worn out gems—a golden band destroyed of its original form and beauty.  The dastardly culprit I can still see in my mind’s eye with a smug...

                  Thanksgiving celebrating means different things to different people even within the same family!  My husband Tom grew up in the South and my young years were spread all over the country thanks to Dad’s Air Force career.  I’ll begin with my experiences and relate how they fit...

      My Certificate of Baptism shows that I was baptized in the Holy Family Catholic Church in Lisbon Falls, Maine on July 20, 1941.  That made me 3 ½ months old as I was born April 8th of that year.  My God Parents were my Uncle Joseph Frederick Witham, my...

     At the stroke of midnight my husband held me in his arms and expressed his love for me.  We had been reflecting all day on the wonder of this millennium year with the help of ABC News coverage of world-wide celebrations.  He let a few minutes elapse then handed me...

This is my grandparents Elmer and Ethel (St. Germain) Pierre. They were married on 15 October 1935. This was taken at the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul, Minnesota.

              I have seemed to find answers to life’s perplexities by walking in “Godly places”.  Just where do we find such places?  They are all around us!  As a child I enjoyed walking down streams of water that flowed from concrete drains that were used to keep the streets from flooding...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Encroachers vs. Squatters   In American style football, the penalty for offsides is 5 yards.  An infraction of the neutral zone also carries a 5-yard penalty.  When the referee blows the whistle for encroachment, the offending team gets a...