elderberrypress.com
By Lloyd H. Kessler
An icon of Clark County and Portland construction, Lloyd Kessler, owner of LHK, Inc. reveals a life-long love affair with surveying, cars, construction, restoration, and family. Having worked on landmarks such as Vista House, Multnomah Falls, the Cape Meares lighthouse and numerous regional parks, campgrounds, and trails, we finally have an insider’s look at the world of local Northwest contracting. Where does raising a family, being a husband and building relationships fit in? From a man who was raised through wars, depressions and recessions, see a story that spans six decades of work and marriage, and awaits a conclusion that lies somewhere between Kessler’s Parkway Terrace and Vancouver Lake.
what are the odds?
About the Author
Lloyd Huntley Kessler:
what are the odds?
A Memoir:
Family and Unique Construction in the Pacific Northwest and Beyond By Lloyd H. Kessler
Copyright © 2015 Lloyd Huntley Kessler All rights reserved. Elderberry Press, Inc. 1393 Old Homestead Drive Oakland, OR 97462 Tel: 541.459.6043 email: editor@elderberrypress.com Cover design/book production by Terri K. Sheets Our books are available from your favorite bookseller. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: ISBN: 978-1-934956-66-3 [soft cover] Lloyd Huntley Kessler: What Are the Odds? Subtitle: A Memoir: Family and Construction in the Pacific Northwest and Beyond 1. Pacific Northwest—non-fiction. 2. Construction—non-fiction. 3. Commercial Construction—non-fiction. 4. Genealogy & Family History—non-fiction. 5. Great Outdoors—non-fiction. 6. Washington State History—non-fiction. 7. Oregon State History—non-fiction. 8. Family Business—non-fiction. 9. Brotherhood—non-fiction. I. Title
Printed in the USA
Lloyd Huntley Kessler: What Are the Odds? A Memoir: Family and Unique Construction in the Pacific Northwest and Beyond by Lloyd Huntley Kessler
2015 Edition
ELDERBERRY PRESS, INC. OA K L A N D
A c k n ow l e d g m e n t s I am most grateful to these people for their contribution to this effort: Lyn Z. Page—my ghostwriter, organizer, designer and new friend. Heather Deringer—also my ghostwriter and new friend. Rex Jackson—son-in-law, with his many computer graphic skills, improving the quality of old photos as needed. Joanne Ruth Kessler—youngest daughter, whose interest in our family’s genealogy helped to provide research into mysteries generated by my memory gaps. David George Kessler—younger brother who provided updates to his own life’s history, some of which I didn’t know. Christine Lewis of Ohio—who scoured the Internet for hours in pursuit of long-lost data and many possibilities, all for someone she has never met. Chris knows the value of family research and her time was valued. My family members—who blessed my life through their presence from my early 20’s on into their own adulthood, and then gave me grandchildren and great grandchildren to delight and renew me as I age. My wife Millie—for the sixty-plus years of partnering, pampering and persistence in making a better man of me by her presence as my wife, and for being a fine mother to our children. Even though we lost her to Alzheimer’s on July 3, 2014, she is still the woman who persevered beside me through all the events that tested us over the years. I am indeed a lucky man. It takes a lot of time and effort to put together a whole book—much more than it appears to require when the idea first makes itself known. This book is no different. What started out as a book about my life’s work turned into one about my family as well. Along the way, it was clear that in order to tell you about my work, I must also include those who assisted and influenced me along the way. Gathering, identifying, researching and selecting information that was no longer residing in my memory also required help from others.
F o r e wo r d I can hear my bones talk back to me today as I ask them to move a little easier. I’m aware that they do that sometimes. On my last birthday I turned 86. It could be better. I could be 90. I’ve had an interestingly good life, and I thought others should know my history. I never planned out anything in my life, but my dreams often gave me previews of future construction projects before I even knew about them. As a result, I’ve met the challenges well, for the most part. So here I am, putting my life of remarkable coincidences out there for all to read. This road I’m on allowed me to live this good life, and propelled me forward into my twilight with many blessings. I’d like to tell you how I did that and what I learned along the way. What are the odds that all these events would be so coincidental? Is it fate? Is it Divine intervention? Is it paranormal? Or is it what dreams are made of? Coincidence? IS there such a thing? I wonder. I say I’ve been very lucky to be blessed with a loving family and a successful life. A series of connections from one job to another made for unusual progress toward my very good fortune. Many people made my life worth living, along with the chance to thrive doing work I loved. I can say that I did my best. What ARE the odds of all this happening to me?
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1
My Early Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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My Siblings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3
My Parents & Early Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4
Early Jobs Surveying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5
Millie’s Early Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6
My Millie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7 Revelations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8
Cars—The Ones I Loved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
9
Millie’s Life-Changing Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
10
Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
11 The Kesslers—All for One & One for All . . . . . . . . 71 12 Lessons Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 13 The Wreck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 14
1955-1967—Projects & Misery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
15
1968-1972—From Wages to Ownership . . . . . . . . . . 122
16 Finances, Taxes & Legal Representation . . . . . . . . . 131 17
1972-′74—Tales from Many Trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
18
1974—A Very Busy Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
19
1975—Ozette River Trail Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
20
1976-′77—Adventures in Waterproofing . . . . . . . . . 165
21
1978—Santa Ynez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
22 Dogs on the Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 23
1979—Big Sur Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
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1979—Splinters Cabin Trail Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
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1980—North Dryden Flume Replacement . . . . . . . . 223
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1981—Yakima Teton Canal Covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
27
1982-′83—Thorne Bay, AK, Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . 238
28
1983—Tree Coolers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
29
1984—Louisiana Pile Dikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
30
1987-′88—The Late Eighties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
31
1988—Marble Bluff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
32
1988-′89—My Gold Mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
33
1989-′92—More Water Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
34
1992-′93—Historic Ski Lodge Restoration . . . . . . . 328
35
1991-′93—A Rough Couple of Years . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
36
1993—Jewett Lake Dam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
37
1995—Above & Below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
38
1997—Three BLM Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
39
1997-′98—Those Dam Dikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
40
2001—It Was a Very Busy Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
41
2003—Cape Mears Lighthouse Repair . . . . . . . . . . . 433
42
2005—Longmire Bridge Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
43
2006—Parkway Terrace Subdivision . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
44
2013—After Millie’s Move to Highgate . . . . . . . . . 463
45 Rescued! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 46
2014—Epilog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
Appendix
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
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Chapter 1 My Early Years I started out as a baby. Yes, I know; so did you and everyone else. However, I was Lloyd Huntley Kessler, born June 19, 1928, weighing in at just the right heft for me to become the elder brother to two brothers and a sister before I was 20: Thane Couzen, born a year later; Ardis Ruth, arriving six years later; and David George, finally here 19 years later in 1947. I’m indeed lucky.
Lloyd—1930. —1—
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Thane and Lloyd—1930, the cones are vanilla—the only flavor our folks bought. Right: Lloyd in 1931— about 3 yrs. old. Eel River at Red Mountain Creek confluence.
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Lloyd and Thane—1931.
Thane and Lloyd—1932. We spent a lot of time around the water. —3—
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Lloyd and Thane—1932. What do you suppose Thane was laughing at—those cats?
My first memory dates back to age 3 or 4. I can yet remember wading on my own in the Eel River in northern California, with my brother Thane. Thane and Lloyd in the Eel River—1934. We spent most of the daylight hours at the river, digging in the sand and paddling around. Picnic lunches always came with Mom when we played there.
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Dan Hutchinson (cousin), Thane and Lloyd—1934. Three-wheel races were often held in the driveway.
1934—Lloyd—1936. —5—
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Cousins: Harry Wuner, Bob Underwood, Dan Hutchinson, Thane, and Lloyd (in front)—1934. We spent a lot of time together in those years, with a normal amount of mischief among us.
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Chapter 2 My Siblings Thane Couzen
1934 Thane was 13 months younger than I. We roughhoused at home, like most brothers, and although I was stronger and could beat him up, he would never give up—or admit that I was hurting him.
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One afternoon when we were 11 and 12, we raced our bikes down Oak Avenue, a steep road toward the Willamette River near our home in Oak Grove. Thane flopped over and slid a long way on the rough-paved road. One side of his body was severely lacerated from ankle to shoulder, but he would not let me help him. We made our way home in spite of his pain, where mother dressed his wounds. Not once did he let out a whimper. I admired that quality in him. He was tough. My brother and I, from early on (first grade or so) were allowed to roam and explore the wooded area adjacent to our homes. My parents made sure we understood the boundaries. They let us out of their sight and expected us to take care of each other. They also expected us to be back at a pre-determined time. We always were, and they never had to look for us. Thane graduated from Milwaukie High in June of ‘47 (one year after me), becoming part of the post WWII 1947 “Happy Group” that replaced the wartime “Serious Group.” There was still a draft, but we were headed for better times. He had wilder friends, and did more reckless things, like passing cars on the right, and setting off a firecracker in a theater in Oregon City. In the summer of ‘47, I got him a job as a laborer on the road project I was working on for the Bureau of Public Roads at Glacier, Washington. That fall, he joined the Army Airborne, spending most of his time in Japan. He managed to survive a parachute jump-gone-wrong. He landed hard, seriously bruised and banged up. It took him a few days to recover, but it could have been much worse.
Lloyd and Thane—April 25, 1949—North Richland, WA. —8—
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Thane’s tour of duty ended at Fort Ord, California, the same week the Korean conflict started. (June 25, 1950) He started college at University of San Francisco that fall, and graduated later from a different university in 1954. After college, he made his early career selling life insurance, and sometime later owned a State Farm insurance agency in Hayward, California. He retired at age 64, and died of cancer a year later. He had lived one kind of American Dream: college, military, marriage, children, career, business owner, and success. I loved him.
Thane’s favorite car—1987 Porsche 944.
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Thane and his wife, Maine-born “Ris”—short for Evarista—raised four sons: Ron, Alan, and twins Charles and Mike, the youngest. Thane was a dedicated father who kept the boys involved in sports, and took them fishing at every opportunity. In high school, Thane was on the cross country track team. The hobby he pursued throughout his life was running marathons. He ran them up until a couple of years before his death. I admired that in him also. His son Charles originally received a back injury while working for a construction company shortly after high school. California’s settlement to his case put him through college. He was a super door-to-door salesman in later years, offering a variety of meats as his product. As the economy failed, he had to expand his territory. One day, as he was driving slowly down a street near his home, a woman driving an SUV crossed the center and hit him head on. He stopped prior to impact but suffered severe damage to his arms, wrists and back, severely limiting his ability to lift and drive. The woman was texting on her cell phone and never saw Chuck’s truck. He is still dealing with the aftermath of that crash as he handles the claim himself against the insurance company today. Good luck, Chuck. Thane Kessler Family: Charles, Thane, Ris, Mike. In front: Ron, Alan—circa 1963.
Thane lived a good life, from July 11, 1929 to Dec. 3, 1993. He is buried in Hayward, CA.
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Ardis Ruth
Lloyd, Ardis and Thane—1936. In the background is a 1936 Willys, the only new car George H. Kessler and family ever owned.
My sister was 6 years younger than I, so there was not much interaction with us, the big brothers who didn’t really care about her girl-stuff. According to HER, we were kinda thorns in her side! As a teen, Ardis was very rebellious. Our parents enrolled her in St. Helen’s Hall in Portland, an Episcopalian boarding school for girls that was established in 1869, and was known for its ability to stem the rise of exciting young women’s rebellious behavior. For a year or two, that was her home. The family then moved to Belmont, California, where she attended Notre Dame High School. She had the capacity to be a good student, and graduated from Diablo High School in Concord, in 1952. She married a furniture salesman, Bill Gregory, whose parents owned a furniture factory in Portland. They raised 3 kids in Fullerton, California: Daniel, Christopher, and Elizabeth. Ardis, like our father, was a very strict disciplinarian. She was very opinionated and had a loud mouth too. Millie did not like her much up close, but preferred their interactions to be by long distance phone calls and letters. They got along best that way. When Ardis and kids came to — 11 —
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visit, they went shopping with our kids, telling them that they always stole something when they shopped. Our kids never stole, of course.
Gregory Family: Bill, Ardis, Elizabeth, Danny and Chris.
By the time Ardis’ kids finished grade school, her husband had become a full-blown alcoholic. They split, leaving Ardis as the primary provider. Her kids started high school, but soon drifted away. Dan bummed around and worked just enough to survive and get involved with drugs. In his early 20’s, he was stabbed to death on a park table somewhere in Colorado. Chris worked summers for a few years as a smoke jumper with the US Forest Service. He later took up residency on an Indian reservation. (It’s not clear to me what his purpose was for doing that.) He now lives with his wife somewhere in Iowa. During high school, Elizabeth, like her brothers, drifted into drugs and all the related problems. She too, did whatever it took to survive. When desperate, she came to Ardis for help. She eventually got a job in a convenience store in a small town in Iowa, where she now resides. — 12 —
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Ardis had an outgoing, warm personality, but in family matters, she was the alpha female. When she passed away in 2006, she bequeathed Elizabeth and Chris $120,000 each from the proceeds of her real estate holdings. She wanted them to have a good future, too. Ardis’ last rites I used to think that wakes were all about the sadness of losing a loved one. Now I don’t think so. Wakes are about the celebration of the life that was. Her memorial service was held at St. Wilfred of York Episcopal Church in Huntington Beach, California, and it was anything but solemn and dull. Ardis was a strong woman, sometimes too strong, but with many friends. Whatever dark disposition that strength sometimes brought her was quickly erased by the laughter she no doubt orchestrated at her wake. There was much more laughter than tears. Even those shedding tears were smiling. They continued to both laugh and cry at the outdoor reception. The perfect weather marked one of only two days it had not rained that September. After the reception, most of the immediate family boarded the boat to prepare for the burial-at-sea ceremony, which consisted of a prayer on deck and the offering of flowers along with her ashes, both cast upon the sea. The waters were calm on the cruise down the Newport channel. My brother Dave and I hit it off well with the boat captain. He told us that most of the time he had to keep his “undertaker’s face” on during these ceremonial excursions because most people are somber as they go to sea to bury their loved ones. This is his craft’s only business, so it was important not to offend his passengers. Not this time. We laughed and joked with him, admiring the bikiniclad women riding sailboards as we cruised down the channel. We met the Coast Guard cruiser, captained by a beautiful woman, who helped us navigate past the sailboards. We discovered during our chatter that our boat captain and she were lovers. Unhindered by that information, we proceeded out to sea for the burial, giving us closure amid our mirth. The whole funeral wake ceremony was a very fun time. I felt guilty, but this was exactly the way Ardis had planned it. Of that, I’m sure. She lived from April 15, 1935 to August 23, 2010. — 13 —
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ARDIS RUTH WHITE Obituary White, Ardis Ruth April 1935—August 2010 Resident of Fountain Valley, after a two year battle with cancer, Ardis passed away peacefully at her Fountain Valley home on August 23. Born Ardis Ruth Kessler April 15, 1935 in Nice, California, Ardis has lived in Orange County since 1965. The third of four children born to the late George and Naomi Kessler, she was the beloved wife of Charles White until his death in 1994. Ardis was preceded in death by her brother, Thane (Russ) Kessler and her oldest son, Daniel Carlos Gregory. She will forever be remembered by her brother, Lloyd Kessler and his wife Millie; her brother, David Kessler and his wife Carmela; her children, Christopher Paul Gregory and Elizabeth Ruth Gregory; her grandsons, Ronald Daniel Gregory and Cody Allen Gregory; as well as her nieces, nephews and countless friends who were blessed to know her. She will be especially missed by her “adopted” family; Joan Tucker and her three daughters Patricia, Anne and Nicole. Ardis was a long time active member of St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church in Huntington Beach, where she served as a lector. She was also active in the church flower guild and baby basket committee. An ardent world traveler, Ardis was always planning her next trip. Her favorite destinations were Europe, Hawaii and the Caribbean. She was an active member of the Monday Morning Club, Harbor Singers and the Bixby Twilight Golf League where she formed many lasting friendships. In addition to travel, Ardis enjoyed singing, golf, volunteer work and visiting with friends and family. With her ready smile, sense of humor and can-do attitude, Ardis brightened the lives of all who knew her. Friends and family are invited to attend a Memorial service for Ardis on Saturday, September 25 at 10:00 am in St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church, 18631 Chapel Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92646 (714) 962-7512. A reception in the church hall will immediately follow the memorial service. The family requests that all donations be made to the St. Wilfrid Flower Guild, 18631 Chapel Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92646. Published in Orange County Register on September 12, 2010 — 14 —
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David George
David Kessler with his cap pistol in 1949— age 2—nineteen years my junior. Out for a walk with Mom, Naomi.
Since David is so much younger than I, it was difficult for me to keep up with his childhood as I forged my own adulthood. However, he is no less loved than his siblings were. He’s been good enough to fill me in with some details I had not remembered about him.
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Waving ‘bye.
Eagle Scout.
As you can see, he earned his Eagle Scout badge by age 17. Everyone was proud of him, including me. In the spring of 1968, sometime after high school graduation, he served a tour in Vietnam in the U.S. Army, becoming a Flight Engineer on Chinook helicopters as an E-5. During the Vietnam War, he served at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, a mountain city in the center of the country. During his second tour in Vietnam, he moved to the Army base at Phu Hiep, just south of Tuy Hoa Air Base, on the China Sea. He made many flights into the war zone. One day he told his CO, “I can make these Chinook transmissions better if I spend more time on the ground.” Those particular transmissions were known to be unreliable at the time, and were thought to have been responsible for many crashes. David convinced the CO that he knew how to make them more dependable. The CO agreed, so David spent the rest of his tour on the ground, making sure that no one else rode in unreliable seats, powered by unpredictable equipment. He arrived safely at home in the spring of 1970, after two tours of duty in Vietnam. David has excellent mechanical engineering aptitudes, abilities, and experience that helped him to solve problems on Sikorsky Air Cranes, — 16 —
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as well as other aircraft transmissions and engines, including the Super Guppy, over the span of his career. In 1973, he worked as a crew chief for Erickson Air Crane, a company that flew the Sikorsky for helicopter logging, BPA highline construction, and demolition. One Air Crane could remove 18 or twenty towers in a shift, compared to a conventional crew’s ability to move just one.
The helicopter could also move and transport towers back to the staging area for dismantling in one move, unlike the less cost-efficient manner used by conventional crews, which dismantled each tower separately at the tower site. The parts then had to be trucked to the staging area.
One of David’s projects was the Super Guppy—Santa Barbara, CA. — 17 —
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During 1980-'81, David worked with Aero Spacelines, where the wide-bodied cargo aircraft, the “Super Guppy” was assembled. It is used for ferrying outsized aircraft components. His job there was Contract Administrator for their agreement with UTA French Airlines. Today David works for a Santa Barbara firm called Yardi, where he is Vice President, Affordable Housing. He is responsible for the development and support of Affordable Housing Projects (HUD). David and his wife Carmela have one daughter, Stephanie, married and now in her late 20’s, who has had their first grandchild, Carina Cheyenne Lebate, born July 4, 2014 in Santa Barbara, California. Stephanie is also employed by Yardi, and travels a lot, troubleshooting for their clients. Carmela recently retired as a counselor from the Lompoc School District, and was recently elected as a Member of the School Board. David has both a good mind for mechanics and business. As such, he was executor for Ardis’ estate. We don’t see each other often, because he lives in Lompoc, California, but we keep in touch regularly.
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