Ellen Gunderson Traylor
Montana Woman
Ellen had a Life's Dream
Here are some photos of The Gardiner Property with Port Hole Books and Publishing. And The Center renovation and development. All photos with a few exceptions were taken by Ruth Kirkpatrick on an old Minolta digital camera. I hope you enjoy the images, there were tons more, but chose the essence of the work involved and the joy of completion.
For Ellen. A very special lady as we all know. I truly believe she would be all smiles at the memories we share.
Digital of Ellen in Book, by Ronnie Hartley
Ellen was a truly unique woman and author!
Whether in Montana or on the coast at Gardiner, or in a boardroom meeting with publishing authors; her charm and professional control of a meeting or presentation stood far above the fray. Her understanding of the Scriptures and travels to the lands of Biblical history was her platform of writing. And she excelled in all venues of teaching.
This website is for those who followed and read her books, and became her friends. It is also to share so others will know of her books and life. And build a continued following for those who love her. Although many of you may never have met her in person; the writer and book lover inspired us all. And she made us friends. These she brought into her circle were treated with respect and she required us to live accordingly. Her respect for life and the Scriptures, family and her followers remains the model for all of us.
She was kind. She was quiet, but with a presence of solid ground you knew instantly she held. It was her grounding in Christ, her Lord and Savior, that took hold of anyone who came in contact with her, reader or not, follower of Jesus or not. She was a preacher in her own sort of thoughtful way, quietly.
But, make no mistake, she would stand up for Jesus, life, liberty and the American way of family life. No, not the way life is perceived today. Real life. And if push came to shove, she knew the ground she stood on, and those who sought to dissuade her met an irresistible and immovable force.
It honored me to work with her for about two years and lived on the property at Gardiner.
We made books come to life. But, her dream was the completed Center of the Oregon Coast. A set of buildings on a magnificent compound of property became a vision fulfilled in Port Hole Books and Publishing and The Center.
Jason, along with a host of others, took part in completing the renovation. And when Ellen and Dick returned from Montana, we finished it up by hanging curtains and placing all the fun accents she had in her mind to complete it. Those days were very special. On the following pages, photos of that will become yours to visit anytime you wish. It was a magnanimous job! But the efforts were worth it.
All of us helped her get to the finish line of that dream. For myself, it was hands on work, for which I’m so thankful to have been an integral part of that coming to play.
Jason became her manager after I left to return to family at 72. In 2016, I worked remotely and freelance on a couple of projects for her, but always wished my age had left me able to continue. She taught me so much.
Please Note: The photos I will upload are of The Bookstore and The Center, (with a few exceptions) not of her current life, at her Facebook Page.
This site is a kind of chronicle for the work we accomplished during my years at Gardiner from 2012 to 2014.
It will also (soon) have a comment section for all to keep returning to see more and, if you wish, send your own photos to be included in the site. There will be an email to send them on the site. All of this is in progress. It will take days. There are so many photos to go through. So keep checking back on the site.
Thank you and enjoy the opportunity to stay in touch. The site construction is in progress. I will post the link on the prayer chat, and you can share it with your trusted partners. Check back often, photos being sorted to upload.
I’m so glad to do this for her and you. The pages will continue to build over the next few weeks. I’m pretty sure the photos I took are not on her Facebook page, so it will be a nice tribute to her dream.
*** VIP: If any of you would like to write some stories about your lives and knowing Ellen Gunderson Traylor, this is the email address to send it to, and I'll post it with author credits on the following page.
Email: ellengtfans@mail.com
*** This is an invitation to write a story of you and Ellen, or just life. Something you would like to see up here for others to read, with your name as author posted. Then you can share it too.
All free, all with kindness in the message. I think Ellen would like that, don't you?
Free site to share: https://ellengtfans.wixsite.com/ellen
Thank you,
Ruth Kirkpatrick