R. Michael Harding:
CLASS OF 1973
Corvallis High SchoolClass of 1973
Corvallis, OR
R. Michael's Story
Life
After graduating CHS in '73, went to OSU in Pre-Med. Lived at home the first year. In good weather, rode my bike from my folk's place (7 miles out in the country) to campus. The most enjoyable place I lived at OSU was the College Inn. Graduated in 1978 with BS in Microbiology and General Science.
Got accepted to several medical schools and decided to stay in Oregon to attend OHSU (in Portland) after my surgeon father's advice: "Going to medical school is like trying to take a drink out of a fire-hose--the quality of education you get depends more on how you apply yourself than if you attend a 'big name' medical school."
OHSU was much more tolerable because I got married to Barbara LaBaun (whose dad was a professor in Construction Engineering at OSU) the summer before I started med school. She worked full time as a teacher-therapist at OHSU's Children's Psychiatric Day Treatment Center, while finishing a Master's in Special Education at OCE in Monmouth and then Portland State.
After finishing medical school and internship, I decided to take a short period of time off from further training to practice emergency medicine in Roseburg. That "short period" has turned into 23+ years in Roseburg as an Emergency Physician, with 10 years of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the Roseburg VA Medical Center. I recently left the VA to return to private practice, so I could practice Emergency Medicine that lets me see women and children again (not a lot of women, and zero kids to treat in the VA healtcare system!).
Barbara and I have three kids: Gregory is 20, Sara is 15, and Jonathan is 13. They are all terrific (most of the time!) and they've all attended Umpqua Valley Christian School from Kindergarten through graduation from high school. Friendships associated with school, the kid's athletics, and church have been a major part of what keeps our life busy. I can really relate to the bumper stickers that read, "I don't have a life. M...Expand for more
y kid plays _______." We can insert "baseball, basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, soccer, or 4-H" into that blank, depending on the time of year.
Our family has enjoyed a recent move from "town" to a 28 acre farm just outside of Roseburg. This has allowed me to get back to my childhood roots: building fences, bucking hay, feeding animals, organic gardening, cutting & splitting wood, playing on tractors, etc. We also have the challenge of remodeling the old farmhouse, which was built in 1906.
I've enjoyed the CHS-CVHS class of '73 reunions I've been able to attend, and the occaisional classmate I've crossed paths with since leaving Corvallis almost 30 years ago. We get back into Corvallis to visit my folks, who still live on the 40 acres I grew up on. Dad retired from his surgical practice a few years ago, and now he and mom have fun "playing farmer."
My younger sister Liz currently lives in New Mexico with her husband, Bart Hanson, who is the son of Gene Hanson, the CHS biology teacher.
My younger brother Doug married a lady with a Ph.D in biophysics from UC Davis, and a law degree from New York. They live in the Portland area, so his wife can practice patent law for biotechnology, such as genetically engineered organisms. Ironically, Doug's wife is named Tanya--and despite the infamy of the Olympic skating fiasco involving Nancy Kerrigan, when they got married, Tanya took my brother's last name. She has since been featured in the Oregonian as "the other Tanya/Tonia Harding" in Portland. They've had some pretty interesting interactions trying to make reservations at a restauraunt, etc.
Yougest sister Karen now goes by her middle name Allison, and lives in Corvallis with her husband, Ron Dettrich, who is the younger brother of our CVHS classmate, Dan. Allison is the webmaster and one of the telecommunications guru's for Benton County.
I'd like to hear from classmates, but due to busy schedules, can't promise a fast reply!
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