I was born in Gold Beach, Oregon in 1949. My parents built their own home there, living in a tent while they built their house. My only memories of Oregon are what have come from home motion pictures.

We moved to Washington State when I was four, locating into a small development that we called "Sunset Ranch". The house has three-quarters of an acre of land and was situated very near the present-day location of Bellevue Community College. From my bedroom window I could see out towards the Olympic Mountains. It was a beautiful view. In the back yard we worked the soil and developed a rich garden plot. I enjoyed turning the soil each spring and helping to maintain it, nurture it and finally harvest its bounty.

Our family spent many weekends enjoying the outdoors. Camping and fishing were pleasant pastimes. My father always had a knack at figuring out how to catch fish and many vacations were spent visiting lakes, camping and enjoying the wealth that our area has to offer. Later, when he introduced my brother and I to hiking, it was like a seed had been planted that sprouted into an interest and enthusiasm for the outdoors.

Both my brother and I always liked to organize activities. We started our own artists club called the American Artists Club of America, or AACA, which included many of the neighborhood kids our age. We had drawing classes and displayed our work around the walls of our recreation room. And, because we had gathered many of the neighborhood kids together so often, we hosted neighborhood "Olympics" in our back yard during the summer months, having races, making homemade hurdles, a pole-vault pole fashioned from bamboo and high jump pit. We even had a shot put made from a heavy steel ball. Later in the summer we organized everyone into making camps in the woods, creating job roles for each person and printing up our own currency for exchange! And, because the father of one of our friends worked at a radio station, we spent several days taping our own mock radio shows!

Later, we started making fishing tackle-- lures, flies, jigs and pop-gear. It was fun not only making the tackle, but we ended up selling some of our creations at school and testing them during our trips to the outdoors.

We also had an interest in ceramics. We had molds that made small animals, which we would assemble, glaze, fire and then sell at school.

A major project that affected my life was the family project of building a new home. Having bought property on Pine Lake (near Issaquah) we proceeded to plan and build a home there.

I graduated from Issaquah High School in 1968, attended the University of Washington and earned a B.S. in Fisheries. In 1972, I married my sweetheart, Valorie. We lived in Seattle for several years, before moving to Black Diamond, Washington. I have three children: Thomas, born in 1975, Paul, born in 1977 and Anne, born in 1980. I am currently employed in the aerospace industry, working at The Boeing Company in Renton, Washington.