How Mom's Parents Met

This story is the "Prologue" to my mother's autobiography, something she wrote based 
on how her parents, Robert Vester Owen (who went by Ves) and Olevia Lois Purinton, actually met.

*They married on February 28, 1923*

This is a fish story. At least it is about a fisherman. Well, actually, it is about a farmer who went fishing. This fellow's name was Ves Owen and he took a notion once to leave his Oregon homestead and go fishing. Somebody convinced him there were fish to be caught at this place in California called Clear Lake. So this Ves Owen, he struck out to find them.

Not far from Clear Lake sits Kelseyville, as well as some other towns but in this story they don't matter very much. It was Kelseyville where Mr. Owen finally wound up. One day he was looking for a place to board, because he'd decided to stick around and work for a spell. Money was the only object at the moment-- this Mr. Owen was a seasoned bachelor with only himself to worry about, and so why not?

Ves Owen, but I'm unsure of his age here. He was almost 24 years older than Olevia.

Well, this seasoned bachelor went up and knocked at this door to ask for lodging. And how was he to know that he would eventually get involved with that young thing who answered his knock? Her name was Olevia and she was eighteen, but of course he didn't find that out until later.

Olevia Purinton at 18, I think.

He said: " Hello-- I heard you might have a room to rent" or something like that.

And she said: "Well, you had better come back later when my Auntie is here."

Olevia's Aunt Frankie was a trifle dismayed when she heard about this.

"Olevia," said Aunt Frankie, "you know I said before that we had no more rooms available."

And Olevia said: "Yes, but I knew when you saw his blue eyes you would change your mind."

The upshot of it all was that Mr. Owen got the room, and eventually he got Olevia, too. Whether or not he ever got any fish I don't know, but in this story that doesn't matter very much. And whether or not this is all strictly factual, I don't know either, but it made a nice story to tell the children.

The earliest photo I could find of Ves and Olevia together-- 

here they are with Bob and Lois, their two oldest children,

 probably 1929/1930

Mom, written on Mother's Day 2020

(This is a reprint from my Grandma blog that I write for my grandkids. 

Today I posted about Mom~~from Valerie)

Eileen with her big sister, Lois

I'll start with the basic personal history facts: Eileen Jane Owen was born on October 19, 1934 in Corvallis, Oregon. She was the youngest child of Robert & Olevia Owen (these were my grandparents and you will meet them in future blog posts). She had a red-haired brother named Bob and a musically-inclined sister named Lois. Another baby named Gene Franklin passed away as a two-week old infant, four years before Eileen was born.

 Eileen with the doll, her mother and sister, and Daisy the sheep

 Eileen, Lois with the doll this time, and Bob

She seemed to have an idyllic childhood growing up on a farm in Western Oregon--the kind that nowadays we can only dream of or read about in books. To quote her autobiography: 

"When I was four we moved to "Sunnymount," which was just up the hill from the Price place [nineteen miles south of Corvallis]. This was my favorite home during my childhood. There were always lots of neat things to do such as looking for green frogs at the spring or catching garter snakes or "fishing" in the tiny brook that trickled down through the grape thicket. (It didn't matter much that my fishing pole was built from a stick, a string and a safety pin because there weren't any fish.)

"It seems incredible to me that I survived by childhood. Occasionally I read of a child falling out of a tree and sustaining fatal injuries, or drowning in a river, and I always wonder how I'm still here. I mean considering all the time I spent in trees and on rivers, without so much as a broken bone or other near disaster.

"Monroe, situated between the Coast Range and the Long Tom River, was plentifully supplied with good wading water and good climbing. I spent a large amount of time in either one or the other, and in between I scouted for wildflowers, watched crawdads, and climbed in and over old cars in the junk yard.

Because she was so much younger than her older siblings, everyone treated Eileen special. Her dad was older--54 when Eileen was born so he retired well before her friends' dads did. She thought it was a grand arrangement because her dad would sing, joke, and tell stories all the time, and she thought she was the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.

Eileen with her father and Bob and Lois

The whole family, Eileen on the far right

There are many stories to tell about my mother but this is her through my eyes: She liked to write and read. She played the piano and she could sing. She sewed a lot, and was creative and artistic in many ways. She liked people. She didn't like to cook. She loved October. She appreciated nature. She wrote poetry, letters, journals, and family histories. She enjoyed quips and clever plays on words. She liked to learn. On road trips she made us stop and read historical markers. She liked to play games. A messy house was her nemesis. She was always busy with church callings and assignments. She was a dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a great faith in the Savior. She was known for giving great talks in church. She was a diligent visiting teacher and friend to many. She was exactly the right kind of mother to me. Growing up I always thought she was the smartest person I knew.

Grandpa Robert "Ves" Owen

My grandpa's name was Robert Vester Owen although he went by "Ves." He was the 11th of 15th children of Benjamin and Jane Owen. He had a very interesting life. He was born in 1880 and he saw the world change a lot during his life. He served in World War I. He drove a stage coach for part of his life. Mostly he was a farmer and then he worked for the railroad in Portland, Oregon. He didn't get married until he was 40 years old to my grandmother Olevia Purinton Owen. My mom, Eileen Jane Owen, was their youngest child.

Grandpa died when I was only four years old--same age as some of his great great grandchildren are now so I don't remember him very much. However there are a couple of things that I remember very clearly that I want to share with you.

When I was little, we had to drive about four hours to go from our house to our grandparents's house in Portland, Oregon. They lived in on the bottom floor of an old house and to get up to the house you had to drive up a dirt driveway through some trees and rose bushes to reach the house. I have a clear memory of driving up in our car and seeing my grandpa and grandma waiting together on the porch. I remember thinking that they had been waiting all day just to see me. I remember that my grandpa would hug me and I knew that he loved me so much.

My grandparents had a round kitchen table where we would eat great dinners that my grandmother would cook using her wood burning stove. I can remember my grandpa singing after dinner. He was a very good singer, like my mother and aunt were as well. He would sometimes sing for shows at Church and in the community.

My grandfather also wrote poetry. I didn't know that when I was a little girl, but when I was older, my mom gave me a small book with some of his poetry. One of my favorite poems that he wrote was called: "To Robert Jr." which was my Uncle Bob.

There's a race to be won

When the day is done.

And a place,

In the Race

For you.

I am wearing your colors

And hope,

At the end,

To cheer

When I see them come through.

I memorized that poem when I was younger, because even though it was written to my Uncle Bob, I believe that my Grandpa loves me and will be waiting for me at the end of my race....just like I will be for each of you----a long, long time from now.