July 8…. Willamette Valley

Back in school, I hated history class. It was required, so I had to take it, but I always refused to be engaged by it. Somebody did something to someone, so long ago that it was all Who Cares.

Somewhen during my life, I started to get interested. I’ve read more history books for fun than I ever did when I “had to”.

One of the subjects that has always piqued my interest has been the Oregon Trail, and the westward migration back in the 1800’s. I read about the hardships people endured just getting out here. It was an incredibly difficult journey, undertaken usually to make a better life for their families.

We’re in the Willamette Valley this week, and as we explored, I was telling Susy that THIS was the destination for the Oregon Trail. This area is what all of their dreams were focused on, and here is why they sacrificed so much. To get here. This was the promised land.

Looking around, I can believe it. This area is beautiful. Mild weather, year round. A huge flat area, just mile after mile after mile, perfect for farms. Plenty of water, creeks and streams everywhere, flowing into the Willamette River going up the center of the valley. Surrounding hills to the east and west, and enough hilly bumps scattered around to be interesting.

The farms we drive past all remind me of places I’ve been back east, in Pennsylvania and rural New York. The huge barns all look so familiar. And then it dawned on me…. THOSE are the people that took the Oregon Trail. Farmers in the east, tired of being pressed for space, picked up their lives and moved west. And brought it all here. The influences still show. Big red barns. Neatly laid out fields. Just bigger. They came for room to spread out and found it here.

Back in my early career with HP, I always toyed with the idea of moving into a division job with the Printer Division in Corvallis Oregon. We drove past the HP campus yesterday and it brought back those memories. Corvallis is a great looking smallish town, plenty of amenities, and Oregon State University to keep it lively.

It would have been interesting if I had been a little more enthusiastic about relocating here back in the day. Done my own version of the Oregon Trail migration. How different my life would have been.

Go Beavers! 🦫