Jeanne Iverson Larson Hometown: Bismarck, ND Current Home: Beach, ND Major: Elementary Education Email: bjlarson@midstate.net
After graduating, I moved to Grand Canyon, Arizona. At first I worked at a motel outside the park, but after signing a teaching contract I moved inside the park and worked at a small grocery store. I had met my fiancĂŠe while visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park the previous summer and we were married in November. I taught sixth grade and also had the elementary music program. That summer I worked in the fire tower on the South Rim and my husband finished his National Park Service intake training. In September we and 10 others began our nomadic lifestyle. We were off to the ski area at Badger Pass in Yosemite. Here my love affair with generators and the snow shovel began. We had at that time the record snowfall in the Sierra Nevadas. To get into the house we had a 12 snow-step stairway, a 12' bridge and 12 steps back onto the porch. Once there, it was cozy with a huge stone fireplace that was our heat and a wood burning army stove. It made great bread; after I got the top cleaned off, it became my lefse grill. The bird lived on a perch above the fireplace and the mice loved his food. We eventually got that problem solved. After nine months there, we traded in our skis and snow for sun and black sand. We were off to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, Hawaii. Again, there were generators. Our water from roof catchment was stored in huge black rubber bladders. We hauled drinking water from Pahoa, where I substituted almost full time K-12. After three years of living 75' above the ocean and living in a very isolated location, now totally covered by lava, we moved to headquarters outside Volcano. Our next move took us to Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We were at Boulder Beach, which sported a beautiful view of the lake only 30 miles from Las Vegas. We enjoyed the lake, spending every evening boating and water skiing. After five years of hot and dry we packed up and headed to Mt. Rainier National Park. There was an elementary school just through the woods. I began substituting again, and ended up doing full time teaching in special education in Eatonville. After 23 years Bill retired. We moved to Beach, a small town 20 miles west of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I now am on the City Council and School Board, and still substitute teach. I love my life
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