Robert Quammen:  

I was born in Opportunity in a house on the corner of Sprague and N. Pine. My Mother was born on 12th, the property the Purcell family bought from my grandfather Jim Dowling. Grampa Jim and my great aunt spent their whole lives in Opportunity. The big house between the town hall and the Dentist was theirs. Aloha from Honolulu!! to those of you who might remember me, the skinny kid with the big feet. Our family lived at S. 500 Pine. My best friends were Steve Miller and Billy Bain. I can't remember Jimmy's last name, he lived on Evergreen, his parents were chicken farmers, was another great friend. I still love Lola Sheen since she was the Queen and I was the King in Neal Prescott's sixth grade class play at Opportunity Grade School. It's only fair to admit I also loved Linda Bennett, both of the McNeely twins at different times of course, but Charlene the best. And Karen Barden, Janet Christian, Judy Miller and Sandra Anderson. Has time blotted out the memories of the adventures we had enjoying what was in the old military warehouse beside the RR tracks? My step father was in the Navy and we moved to California in the middle of my Junior year at Central Valley. We quickly moved again and I graduated at Astoria, Oregon Class of 1957, where I played Varsity Basketball and ran both the 880 and the Mile at track meets. I was best at the longer distances though and Astoria introduced me to cross-country running, at which I was pretty good. I joined the Navy immediately after High School, was placed in the beginnings of surface to air missi...Expand for more