Ordean was born on March 30, 1935 in Bottineau, North Dakota to Albert B. and Lillian J. Dravland. I have two older brothers Alvin and Lyle and one younger brother James. I was baptized on May 12, 1935 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Landa, North Dakota, and was confirmed on May 28, 1950 at First Lutheran in Bottineau North Dakota. When I was five years old my parents purchased a farm southwest of Bottineau. I attended school in Carbury beginning with first grade and continuing through eighth grade. To finish my formal education I attended Bottineau High School and received my diploma in June of 1954.

On June 22, 1933 Evelyn was born to Dick O. and Lena G. Theesen. When I was only eight months old her mother and father purchased an eighty acre farm south of Hastings, Nebraska. As you can tell Ordean and I had similar childhoods . Over the next few years our home became a happy busy place filled with the sound of children’s voices as my younger brothers Richard and Herbert and two sisters Dorothey (Griess)and Lavera (Hoggatt) were born. I was baptized on August 6, 1933 and confirmed on March 30, 1947 at First St . Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hastings, Nebraska. From the first grade until the eighth grade I attended an old one room school. To complete my formal education I became a student at Hastings High School and received my diploma in 1951.

After graduation I(Ordean) began working on surrounding farms until I decided to join the Air Force in September of 1955. I started with basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, then I received orders for transfer to Lincoln AFB in Nebraska.

When I finished high school I began working for the Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Co. as an operator. In 1955 I transferred to Lincoln and continued to work with Lincoln Telephone until September 22, 1959. I met Ordean on March 16, 1956 at the service club, we spent time square dancing and enjoying each other’s company.

While I(Ordean) was stationed in Lincoln I had the opportunity to travel to England for three months on temporary duty assignment . When I returned to the United States I proposed to Evelyn and she accepted.

While Ordean was in England we kept in touch through letters and upon his return to the States he proposed to me with a diamond ring. We became engaged on October 16, 1956 and as you know with a wedding there comes quite a bit of planning. I began making arrangements and I asked Dorothey to be my maid of honor, Lavera and my cousin Deanne deFreese to be candle lighters and Richard and Herbert to be ushers. Ordean’s brother James was his best man. Ordean’s mother, father and brother James traveled to Hastings by train for our wedding. The big day arrived and on February 10, 1957 we became man and wife. Our reception was held in the basement of the church. We drove to a motel in Minden, Nebraska for our honeymoon, then the following day we drove back to Hastings for Ordean’s parents. All of us headed to North Dakota where I met Alvin and Clarice Dravland. I also met Lyle and his family.

In September of 1959 I(Ordean) decided to re-enlist and received orders to transfer to Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. Evelyn and I made the trip along the Alcan highway pulling our 37 foot long trailer home. That alone took 21 days to complete. Once in Anchorage we found a space in Spenard Acres Trailer Court.

In December of 1960 Ordean and I flew to Nebraska for the wedding of my sister Lavera. We flew back home to Alaska and I went back to work at the Alaska Communication System in Anchorage. We were charter members of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and we were very involved in our church. On February 17, 1962 I gave birth to our daughter Marie Jeanette Dravland at the hospital on Elmendorf Air Force Base. Marie was baptized on March 18, 1962 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Anchorage. In June of '62 Ordean’s parents and grandmother Thora “Gog” Fagerlie drove up to visit us and see Marie for the first time. Two days before Marie’s first birthday we flew home to Hastings, my mother was undergoing surgery for a brain tumor. While we were in Hastings, Ordean received orders to transfer to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. In one incredible week we sold our trailer home, shipped our station wagon, had all of our belongings shipped. The congregation had a farewell party for us and we stayed with Howard and Florence Dahls for a few nights. The Dahls drove us to the airport where we were seen off by the Brauses and Longs. Upon our arrival in Hastings we were met by my parents and brother Richard’s family. This was the first time they had seen Marie.

We purchased a new trailer home that measured 10'X 55' and had a lot in Council Bluffs, Iowa just to the east of Omaha. I was stationed in Omaha for 26 months and then received orders to return to Elemendorf with Security Service. In June of '65 we sent our trailer home by truck and barge. We drove the station wagon and pulled a small trailer. Once in Alaska we lived at Alaskan Village Trailer Court at the foot of the Chugach Mountains. Three years later I received orders to Darmstadt Germany. In July of 67 we drove to Bottneau in four days and then on to Hastings .While in Hastings lightning struck the home of Dick and Lena Thessen. Evelyn, Marie and I were in bedrooms upstairs and her parents were in a bedroom downstairs. We were lucky to get everyone out as the house burned to the ground. Fortunately we had purchased a camper in Grand Island and so we had a place to stay. Evelyn’s parents slept in a trailer her brother had.

We drove back up to Bottneau for the 40th wedding anniversary of Ordean’s parents. The following night Ordean’s father had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. We spent two more days in Bottneau before returning home. In '68 we sold our trailer home and moved into an apartment for two months. In June we drove to Bottneau again to see Ordean’s parents and brothers. In July we drove to Hastings to visit my family. My sister Dorothey and family flew in from Alabama and all of my family were together on July 7th . We left Nebraska on July 16th and drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to visit Ordean’s brother James and Lois.

We left Sioux Falls and drove to New Jersey, once at McQuire Air Force Base we shipped our car. Our flight on Easten Airlines lasted 7 and ½ hours. We landed at Rhine Main Air Force Base in Germany. I was stationed in Darmstadt on an Army post. We traveled by train to Bremerhaven to pick up our car then on to the registrar’s office in Oldenburg where we met Evelyn’s mother’ s first cousin Ernst Holz. We accompanied him to his home and met his wife Charlotte. The next day we drove to Steinhagen where Evelyn met Marianne and Rolf Kinder. Marianne is her second cousin and a pen pal. We spent the night with them in a large bed with feather comforters. Evelyn was surprised to find that Marianne had saved all of her letters from 1953 and 1954.

In October 1968 we drove to Neuwied where I met my grandmother’s youngest sister Margareta who was 86 years old. She was excited to see us but could not speak English. A friend of hers named Maria did the translating for us. Maria took us for a long walk along the Rhine river and we had trouble keeping up with her. When Margareta died Maria gave me her gold watch necklace which I was thrilled to receive, and I wore it constantly, even back to the United States. We were active in the Darmstadt community chapel. In March of 1969 I went with the chapel women to Berlin, Germany by train, when we crossed into east Berlin the engine was changed to a communist controlled engine. Once there we toured Berlin by bus and saw the Berlin Wall.

In April of 69 the chapel sponsored a trip to Rome and Evelyn, Marie and I took the opportunity to see Italy. We saw the Colosseum the Forum the Appian Way the Basilica of St. Paul the Fountain of Trevi the Pantheon the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and the great church of Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica where we could see all of Rome. We had an audience with Pope Paul VI to receive his blessing and that was a very moving experience for us. Later we drove to Holland to view the tulips ( although we could not tip toe through them ) and the miniature city of Madurdam near the Hague. Then we drove on to Luxembourg and also saw the American Cemeteries and St. Lorriane at St. Avold, France. In August my work took me to Athens, Greece unfortunately Evelyn and Marie could not travel with me.

In late March of 1970 we drove through Garmisch, Germany to Austria then on to Venice and Florence, Italy. Marie decided she wanted a souvenir so she got the chicken pox. At Pisa, Ordean had the opportunity to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We drove home through Switzerland and took a train through a mountain. When we returned we went on a tour of Nurnberg, Germany. In May of 1970 we went to Berchtesgaden for a Lutheran retreat. While there we took several tours including one to Salzburg, Austria where they filmed “The Sound of Music”. We also went on a salt mine tour, a tour of Obersalzburg; known as Hitler’s retreat and saw the underground offices of Hitler’s secretary. After Marie’s school let out for summer break we drove to Koln to see the big catheral and then on to Hague where we took in the Madurodam. After a night of camping near Hague we drove to Ostenda, Belgium and took a ferry over to Dover, England. From there we drove into London and saw the Queen’s Palace, the Changing of the Guards and took a boat ride on the Thames River. We took the opportunity to walk around Trafalgar Square and to see Big Ben and Westminister Abbey. From London we drove to Lakenheath Air Force Base and Bury St. Edmunds. We returned on the ferry and went to Flanders Fields Cemetery. Over the July fourth weekend Ordean had the opportunity to go to Berlin on the duty train.

August was an exciting time in our lives we took the train to Norway, Darmstadt, & Hamburg. In Frederickshaven we changed trains and went to Denmark where we boarded the ferry to Oslo. Once in Oslo, Norway we met Rawn Conradi, who drove us to Drobak where we spent two days watching the ships come into the harbor and the gorgeous sunsets. We took a bus from Drobak back to Oslo and then a train to Snasa where we met Ida Heggland who was a cousin-in-law of my father’s. We also met her children and their families. We went to the Dravland family farm in Snosa, Norway. We then hopped on a train to Trondheim and explored the big Cathedral. We returned to Olso for four days of sightseeing in Frogner Park, took a boat out to see the Wasp ship which was docked and strolled around the Royal Palace.

We purchased three “soljie”( pronounced soy-a ) pins. We returned on a ferry and had a stop over in Frederickshaven, Denmark. In September of 1970 we traveled by bus to Oberammergau from Rhine Main to see the passion play which we enjoyed tremendously and caught another tour of Linderhof’s Castle and Ettal Monastery. We also attended a Reformation service in Worms. Ordean took a one year extension overseas in the Air Force so we thought it would be nice to fly home to the U.S. and visit our families. I attended my 20th high school reunion in Hastings. Before we flew to the U.S. we made a request to adopt a child in February of ,71. Upon return to Germany we were notified that in September we would be adopting a baby girl. Angela Bittelbrunn came to live with us on September 10, 1971 and you know her as Amy Angela Dravland, she was 10 months old at the time of adoption. She was born on November 1, 1970.

In April of '72 we moved from Darmstadt to Augsburg, Germany. For six weeks in June and July Evelyn’s parents were there for a visit. We took them on a tour around the country and to visit her mother’s first cousins whom Evelyn’s mother had never met. Evelyn’s grandmother Anna Marie deVeer Kreienheder was the only one of twelve children who made the journey to the U.S. We also met Kurt deVeer and Lena Jahnke and their son Helmer. While Evelyn’s parents were visiting Marianne and Rolf Kinder stopped by for the weekend. In July of 1973 we left Germany and headed for the U.S. landing in New Jersey. From there we retrieved our Malibu and Impala and set out for our journey towards Colorado and Lowry Air Force Base and my new assignment. On the way we dropped by to visit with both of our families . In 1973 we purchased our first home at 900 Vaughn Street . We had a garden and two car garage. On the first weekend of August, 1974 we took in Cheyenne Frontier Days with the rodeos, parades, shows and races.

We took a trip through Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons in the summer. On September 20, 1975 Ordean celebrated 20 years with the Air Force. On March 26, 1976 Amy became a U.S. citizen, she also had eye surgery on April 16, 1976. I was selected as “Wife of the Year of Lowry AFB” along with 26 other women. On May 28th Ordean retired and we held a party in his honor at our home with 39 guests. There was also a ceremony held for him at Lowry. We had family from both sides there to celebrate and some local friends as well. In June of '76 we left for a trip to Alaska in our pickup truck. We drove up through the Black Hills and North Dakota. We celebrated Earl and Minnie Korman’s 50th Wedding Anniversary who are friends of ours and Alice and Neil Sivertson’s 25th. On the way to Alaska near Dawson Creek, British Columbia we were overtaken by a flash flood and ended up in a Safeway parking lot for the night. Once we reached Alaska we sold our trailer and took a ferry from Haines to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Upon return after 8 weeks we were happy to be home. We spent Christmas in Hastings that year.

I took a job with the U.S. Postal Service working at the Bulk Mail Center for 3 years and then I became a letter carrier in Aurora. I also served on the church council at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. On March 2,1977 we all traveled to Hastings to help Evelyn’s parents celebrate their 45th Wedding Anniversary. Marie was confirmed on Palm Sunday April 10, 1977. On August 8, 1977 we drove to Bottneau to attend my parent’s 50th Wedding Anniversary. In November Evelyn, Marie and Amy drove to Hastings to attend her father’s 80th birthday.

In March of '78 we took a trip to New Mexico and Arizona in our Impala with our pop up trailer. We toured the Indian Missions, the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert. We then toured the meteor crater and was amazed at the shear size of the crater. We visited the Land of the Canaan in the Desert near Phoenix, Arizona. ( This was special to us since we had resided near the large Land of Canaan near Damstadt, Germany). We toured Phoenix and took off for Globe to see Ordean’s Aunt Joan, Uncle Clarey and cousins Joel and Tim Finman. They showed us around and took us to see Roosevelt Dam and Salt River Canyon. After spending a few days there we set off for El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad Caverns where we descended over three miles into the caverns and enjoyed lunch ( yes there is a restaurant in there).

In 1979 we endured one of the worst winters on record for the state of Colorado. On February 4th my father died suddenly and we had no choice except to fly home for the funeral. Later in the spring Evelyn’s mother was admitted to the hospital in Lincoln for surgery on a brain tumor. Her mother died on May 26. We all went back to Nebraska for her funeral. Evelyn later returned to help her father with legal and personal issues. We ordered a CAPP Home and began laying the foundation for it in September of 79. I had Monday and Tuesday off so I could work on the house. We completed work on the home in 1980 and made it our home in June. Marie graduated from Aurora Central High School in May and then took a stenographic course at Aurora Technical Center. Marie also bought her first car. Evelyn was working for South Middle School in the cafeteria from 9:30 - 2:00pm. In October Lavera drove her father out for a visit and then we took him home. My mother flew here for Thanksgiving.

On July 25, 1981 my father died, Marie Amy and I drove home and Ordean followed two days later. Marie and Ordean drove home and on the way stopped off to buy a cement German Shepard dog. They painted it and set it out on the front steps before I returned home. In May of '82, Marie joined the Air Force and left for basic training. In June Ordean, Amy and I left for a vacation in California which included Disneyland and a visit to Uncle Mel and Aunt Eulalie. Over the next year we had spent time working on the yard and house, raising chickens and turkeys. On June 25, 1983 Marie married Mike Pelech in Aurora. They were both stationed in Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. They later divorced. Marie gave birth to Eric Nathaniel Dravland on March 16, 1985 in Germany, and we were excited to be grandparents. Marie was stationed in Omaha. Later she went to Shepherd AFB in Texas for training and so Eric came to stay with us for a month. In September of '86 Marie was assigned to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana near Shreveport. I spent the first month with her and gave her a hand in getting settled. The first weekend we were there we drove to Little Rock, Arkansas to see my cousins Martha and John Coulter, then I flew home.

While Evelyn was in Louisiana I(Ordean) built a patio roof on the back of the house with Amy’s help. Evelyn became involved in PTSA and the Parent Advisory Committee at Hinkley High School where Amy attended high school. In December of '86 we flew to Shreveport to care for Marie. She had her tonsils lanced and Eric had bronchitis. We spent Christmas with her and Amy came down with strep throat and the stomach flu. This was one Christmas we won’t forget. Marie married William (Bill) Law on July 4, 1987 in Shreveport. At the end of August Evelyn flew to Las Vegas with her sisters and had he time of her life.

Christmas of '87 we drove to Bottineau and spent some time with Alvin and family. Upon returning to Denver we discovered that our driveway had been snowed under. In June of '88 we took our motor home to Bottneau and celebrated Lillian’s 80th birthday. Uncle Mel and Aunt Eulalie were there from California. On July 6, 1988 Marie and Bill welcomed Paul Ordean Law into the family. He joined his older brother Eric. In October of '88 Ordean had his right leg stripped of vericose veins and he was off from work for six weeks. In June of '89 Amy graduated from Hinkley High School. On December 6, 1989 Marie, Bill, Eric and Paul welcomed William Mark Law into the family. He is known by family as Mark.

In December of '89 we were all in Louisiana for Christmas when I was notified that my mother was in the hospital. Evelyn, Amy and I flew home on the morning of January 2, 1990 and began driving yet that afternoon. Amy stayed behind in Colorado. We spent time with my mother and then drove home a few days later. On January 14, 1990 my mother died. We drove back to Bottneau with my truck since our car broke down and had to be towed. Amy purchased a 1990 gray Dodge Dakota . In August of '91 Eric came to live with us and began first grade. Bill and Paul moved in with us in October and Marie and Mark in November. In January '92 the Law family moved into their home at 995 Vaughn Street. In 92 we did a lot of traveling to the Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Tucson and Globe, Arizona. In July Marie, Eric, Paul and Mark Law went with us to the reunion in North Dakota. On the return trip we stopped off to visit Evelyn’s family. We watch over our grandsons while Marie is in Colorado Springs with the Air Force Reserves.

In '93 Ordean built a second garage and work shop east of the house. In '93 we purchased a new Silverado and had a camper shell put on the back. We used it in our trip to the east coast. We visited New York, Niagra Falls, Springfield, Peoria, Richford, Lancaster, Washington DC and St. Louis. In March of '95 Ordean and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate his 60th birthday. In July we traveled to Bottneau for the reunion and helped Alvin and Clarice celebrate their 40th Wedding Anniversary. We brought Eric Law with us and took him to the International peace Gardens. Ordean and I went to Branson, Mo. With a group called senior friends, and had a wonderful time, we saw nine shows! In May of '96 Ordean was a delegate for the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod Assembly in Fort Collins, CO. In June Ordean and I drove to Orangevale, California to see Ordean’s Aunt and Uncle and cousins. In July we drove to Minneapolis and I attended the WELCA 1996 Trienneal Convention. We dropped by Spearfish, SD on the way home and enjoyed the passion play. On August 24, 1996 Aimee (changed spelling from Amy) married Michael Gaughan at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Denver, CO.

On December 27, 1996 I retired from the post office after 20 years and celebrated by throwing a party in Aurora with my friends and family. On February 10, 1997 we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary. In April ,Evelyn and I were delegates to the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod Assembly to Colorado Springs, CO. We celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary on May 25, 1997 with an open house at our church. We enjoyed many friends and family. In July of '97 we took Paul Law with us to the family reunion and went fishing with Alvin at Devil’s Lake. We drove to Duluth to visit my Aunt Jean Bakke and dropped by Sioux Falls to see James, Lois and Julianne.

In August of '97 I attended the Thessen family picnic in Hastings and it was fun to see the whole family again. At the end of 97 Ordean and I flew to Seattle to visit friends and for the wedding of Jeanette Knutson. We also dropped by to see a cousin, Audrey Franson. In January '98 we drove to Tucson to visit David, Sylvia and Ariana. Alvin and Clarice were there as well and it was so much fun. In February we drove to Hastings for Richard’s step daughter Wendy’s wedding. In March, we drove to New Rockford to visit Lyle and Betty and then to Bottineau to see Alvin and Clarice. In June we went to Fargo for the reunion. The theme was Scandinavian Days and we had a ball. In August we went to Hastings for the Theesen reunion. Ordean worked on a home for Habitat for Humanity and I made quilts for the local children’s hospital and nursing home. From June7-July4, 1999 we drove up to Alaska and saw more animals this time than in all of the nine times before! We drove home and worked on the yard, then left for North Dakota for the Reunion. In August we left for Pillager, Minn to visit friends Dan and Pat Long and helped our friends Harry and Phyllis Knutson celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. On August 13, Ordean drove a van to Breckenridge with a band for a mens group gathering. I drove to Hastings alone for my family reunion.

In early October, 1999 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and on February 15, 2000 I underwent surgery and I am now cancer free. In November we drove up to Fort Collins to visit my nephew David and his family and celebrate his daughter’s second birthday. January 2000 - we watched the new year ring in around the world and put together a 2000 piece puzzle together. We are now enjoying life and looking forward to the new millennium.