One of the ways we plan to celebrate America’s 250th birthday is for people to give back by sharing their stories of gratitude and gratefulness. We aim to achieve 1,000 stories from Oregonians on why they are thankful for being an American.
Gary from Portland shares this story on his grandfather:
“My dad grew up dirt poor from two alcoholic parents with all the odds stacked against him in life. He lied about his age to get into the Navy. Some of my earliest memories are of us living in a tiny trailer, with dad and pregnant mom sleeping on a single bed and me sleeping on a shelf. Between school and his evening job, Dad would stop at the city dump and recover whatever lumber he could find, to build our first house, a 20×24 single room. His amazing resourcefulness over the decades made him millions and a modern American Dream rags-to-riches story. In America we can achieve the impossible.”
—Gary C, Portland
