By Tammy Malgesini
Staff Writer
Published on July 12, 2016 11:01AM
In 1985, my husband and I packed our belongings and headed to Eastern Oregon.
When we drove to Umatilla for John’s interview, neither of us had ever been beyond The Dalles.
“It’s looking a lot like desert,” I told John during the drive.
He said the trees would return but as you know, they did not.
With teaching jobs at a premium, John accepted a job at Clara Brownell Middle School in Umatilla. We planned on staying two years. Nearly 31 years later, we are starting a new chapter in our lives. Well, at least John is as he recently retired.
When he went to the interview I wanted the answers to a couple of questions, including what the weather was like. He was told Umatilla was in a “banana belt.” Whatever, I’ve never seen a banana tree here. And, that first winter it snowed before Thanksgiving, staying on the ground until after the new year because it was so cold.
I continued to work in Portland for a few weeks after we first moved. I rode a bus through the Columbia River Gorge, ending up at home in Umatilla in mid-September.
Eager to explore the area, I suggested we go to Pendleton. Little did we know it was right smack dab in the middle of the 75th annual Pendleton Round-Up.
We soon found out we were Levi’s people living in a Wrangler world. Our friends from the city were amused — especially when we sent them flocked tumbleweeds for Christmas.
Over the years, the slower pace of life in Eastern Oregon grew on us. And, we’ve even owned a few pairs of Wranglers.
We don’t really miss the city life, especially the traffic. But we miss the green trees.
I told friends when Hermiston’s brand was “You Can Grow Here,” it didn’t mean we were going to grow old here.
While we’ve enjoyed the past three decades in Eastern Oregon, we’re hoping to move on to greener pastures. I’m not sure how much longer we’ll call Hermiston home, but one of these days we’re hoping to set out on a new adventure in the Silver Valley of northern Idaho.
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Tammy Malgesini is the community editor. Her column, Inside my Shoes, includes general musings about life. Contact her at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539
