Growing Up in North Dakota

Last, in this record, is that, yes, we did move to California. My mom and dad, in retrospect, were incredibly brave as, when they left North Dakota, my dad did not have a job here. They simply packed up a trailer with books, and household goods and a few pieces of precious furniture and took off. They had decided to live in the Bay Area, so when we first arrived we lived with Ruth and Royce until Dad found his job in Santa Clara. They were able to borrow a down payment and purchased the house in the Bonnie Brae subdivision in Santa Clara.

We couldn’t believe the beautiful house that came with the sliding glass door leading to the big back yard with a fence around it. There were lots of kids in the neighborhood and good schools.

I was going into 8th grade and attended Jefferson Junior High, which is now closed. 8th grade was the only year of school that I attended without my dad teaching at the school. (I never liked the fact that my dad taught where I went to school – I never had any anonymity.) Anyway, the life they created for us here was good, and I’m very thankful that I was able to attend high school and college here – and obviously meet your father here too.