I’d like to share a story about a life well lived. On Saturday, July 29, Glenn and I drove to Prineville to attend a celebration of long-time friend Mike Templeton. Close to 300 guests gathered in Carey Foster Hall at the Crook County fairgrounds, with close to 300 for a memorial for Mike, who passed away in April of this year. Mike, Glenn and Warren Ladiges graduated together in the Glenwood High School class of 1964 and the Washington State University class of 1968. Glenn and Mike both received degrees in Forest Management, while Warren went on to Veterinary School in Pullman.
Mike married his high school sweet heart, Jackie Booher, in 1967 and together they raised their family of three children, Brent, Eric and Kaylee. Kaylee was a tiny little 1-year-old girl who was brought to America on the very last airlift of children from Vietnam in 1975. The family lived in various towns throughout Oregon while Mike worked for the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). When the Templetons lived in Corvallis, their children attended Santiam Christian School in Adair Village. Mike served as a school board director there for several years and was privileged to be able to hand his children their diplomas when they graduated.
One of the towns the family lived in was Prineville, and when Mike retired after 31 years with ODF, he and Jackie moved back there to enjoy their retirement in beautiful central Oregon. While in Prineville, Mike and Jackie were active members of Kiwanis and volunteered for many community activities and events over the years. Mike also volunteered to write grants and help raise funds to build Mosaic Medical, a non-profit community health center that would provide quality care to everyone, no matter their social or economic status. After the center, later re-named Mosaic Community Health, was built and began serving the residents of the area, Mike served on the Board of Directors for many years.
Mike and Jackie’s sons, Eric and Brent, shared wonderful, humorous and very moving memories of their dad. Two of Mike’s uncles, who were actually close to his own age, shared memories of growing up with him. Other attendees who had worked with Mike over the years or knew him through school or his community service also shared moving tributes. In addition to Glenn and me, other former or current Glenwood residents attending were Warren and Vicki Ladiges, Carole and Jerry Johnson, Lonnie and Jim Dean, Gary Sprague, Jerry and Louise Lorenz and Toni Estrada and son.
Mike’s service was a wonderful tribute to a man who lived his life very well. The family gifted attendees with tree seedlings in memory of a man who loved his work in the tree nurseries and forests of Oregon. We brought home a little cedar seedling and hope it grows and flourishes here in Glenwood as a living memorial to Mike.
Our condolences go out to Jackie, Brent, Eric, Kaylee and all their families.
Many of you know, or have seen my news over these last few years, about a young cowboy, Shane Scott, who has excelled in rodeo since he was a small boy. Shane had a spectacular 2022-23 high school rodeo season in Oregon, which culminated in another trip to the National High School Rodeo finals in Gillette, Wyoming, where he finished in first place in saddle bronc riding and seventh in bull riding. Shane Scott is the world champion high school rodeo saddle bronc rider! In addition to those awesome finishes, he was the Reserve All-Around Cowboy there at the National Finals.
Shane, who will be a senior this fall at Crook County High School in Prineville, is the grandson of Diane and Oop Burgin and Marilyn and the late Mike Scott. Diane was thrilled to be able to attend the finals and watch Shane soar to those top finishes in his events. Congratulations, Shane. We here in Glenwood are all very proud of your outstanding season. Way to go, cowboy.
Here in Glenwood, our two high school rodeo athletes who were there in Gillette along with Shane have returned home after competing very well down there. While Joslyn Arnold and Peyton Sanchey did not place in the top 10 in their events at the Finals this year, they excelled in Washington State competition all season to earn those spots at Nationals and that’s something to really be proud of. I’m looking forward to a chance to visit with both of our awesome cowgirls to hear about their experiences in Gillette.
The Glenwood Homemakers are pleased to offer a Continuing Education Scholarship again this year. This scholarship, in the amount of $500, is open to anyone who graduated from Glenwood High School prior to 2022, has at least 12 post-secondary credit hours and will be attending an accredited two- or four-year college, university or trade school at least half time this coming fall. Anyone who has been a Glenwood resident for at least two years and plans to continue their education may apply. The deadline to apply is Sept. 1, 2023. To request an application packet, please contact Chris Miller at 364-3427 or cmillerqmr@gmail.com.
The Klickitat County Fair is fast approaching (Aug. 16-20). Many of our Glenwood kids are members of the Mt. Adams Community 4-H Club and have been working diligently on their projects or with their animals. For those who show beef, swine, goats, or other livestock, the culmination of all their hard work is the Market Stock Sale on Saturday, August 19th. To help support our kids in this sale, you can make a donation to the Market Stock Sale Community Support Pool. Please contact Travis or Kelly Miller if you wish to donate to help our community kids get some monetary reward for all their efforts raising their animals this year.
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Mary Pierce writes about the community of Glenwood every other week in Columbia Gorge News. Please send any news items to gmpierce09@gmail.com.
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