Gary and Joan bring birthday wishes

The Tack Room

Aug 5, 2009 Bookcases memorialize Martina, Terry, and Tim

When our friend Jill was visiting last week for Ansel's birthday, she helped me clean the cluttered bookcases that line the hallway between the living room and kitchen. This was a huge undertaking. You just can't imagine how much "stuff" was crammed and cluttered there. After we got them all clean and empty, then we thoughtfully dedicated a section to Martina, Terry, and my boys respectively.

August 3, 2009 Ansel's 94th Birthday BBQ

August 3rd was the day we had what has become a traditional Ansel Marshall Birthday BBQ with my infamous BBQ'd marinated tri-tip. We had over 30 friends come and hang out with us at the Marshall home on OB Riley in Bend . One fun thing we did this year was to round-robin and have each person introduce themselves and tell the rest of us how they met Ansel and Martina. This was very interesting as very few of the attendees really knew each other, other than seeing each other at Ansel's party.

Aug 1, 4-H Pigs at the Fair

2008 Deschutes Co Fair
Friends Bradley and Alec Carter, Cole and Shandra Scott had 4-H pigs entered in the Fair. Ansel, Taylor and I took advantage of the family day pass and went to check them out.

August 1, 2008 Deschutes County Fair with Taylor

It was Mimi-kid Taylor's turn to come and spend a week with Mimi and Grampy Ansel. It happened to be the week of the Deschutes Co Fair, so we loaded up Ansel's go cart and headed to the Fair. It was a really hot day, thank God for Ansel's scooter or he'd have never made it from the parking lot to the Pig Barn, let alone see the some of the attractions.


Amber Scott (Lula Stirewalt Daniel's daughter) visits with Ansel. Of course he has a story or two to share with her. Martina and Lula's mother were best friends at Spray,OR) Amber's kids Cole and Shandra had pigs in the fair. Amber is their 4-H Leader.

Taylor watches Shandra feed care for her pig. Tay is pretty sure showing pigs isn't in her future.

These two pigs belong to Bradley and Alex Carter. Used to being penned together at home, they aren't going to let a little steel panel separate them. Aren't they cute?!

Taylor's first pony ride. Not quite outfitted for a cowgirl, but she enjoyed it none the less.

Love this picture ! Not sure what high ride we are in it wasn't too thrilling, but the view was nice... the Three Sisters Mts in the back ground.

Mimi and Taylor, I suppose it's some kind of Ferris Wheel. Taylor went on lots of other rides, even ate some icky Cotton Candy which she shared with Ansel.

August 1, 2008 HAPPY 94th BIRTHDAY ANSEL - you made it to 94 yrs

Ansel Nobel Marshall was born August 1, 1914 in Troy, Iowa in his maternal Grandparents house on their Homestead.

His mother was Eva Mae Vorhis of German decent, and his father was Hirum Walter Marshall of Scots/Irish decent. Eva was born in Davis County, IA and Hirum was born in Van Buren County. Ansel was the third child born and the young family had already traveled all over the Country.

Vivian the oldest was born in McHenry County, North Dakota in 1907 on some property they homesteaded on. They had to live on the homestead for two years and improve the land before they could get title to it and sell it. They didn't put roots down there, as Baily was born in Lamar, CO in 1911. At some point before Ansel's birth, they ended up in back in Davis County, IA. He remembers being told that he was born in his Grandparents house on their homestead. The family stayed there until Ansel was almost 1 year old and then Hirum loaded up the family and moved them to Okemah, OK where he bought a livery stable. Ansel recalls hearing that Papa tired of dealing with the public and he shifted his business to horse trading and running freight wagons. Hirum left Okemah and headed 90 some miles north and started training race horses at Fairfax, OK near the Osage Indian Reservation. The family remained in Okemah until the school year finished and then they made their way north to catch up with Papa and settled in Pawnee, OK.

This was when the story happened that Ansel tells about Mama and the children traveling by themselves by train and the train putting them off on a remote rail road siding to wait for a northbound train in the middle of no where literally - no building, no trees, no residences, no shade or shelter of any kind. Just a switch and the tracks and it was getting dark. Ansel was 7 years old...