New historic memoir focuses on Bay City, Tillamook County in the 40s, 50s

There are two versions of the hardcover book. One is grayscale on creme paper stock and the other is a premium color edition on premium white stock. Most of the images are black and white, but the color edition will allow the color images to print in color.

Gordon Lee’s memoir focuses on his childhood from when he was born in Nebraska and the family moved West during WWII so his father could find a war-effort job, eventually finding employment at the shipyard on Swan Island. After the war ended, the family moved to a cabin in Barview while Lee’s father built a house for them in Bay City. Lee recounts details of his youth and what it was like to grow up in Tillamook County during this time period.

He was a student at the Bay City school up until the 11th grade. In his memoir, he details what Bay City looked like before the re-routing of Hwy 101.

The memoir centralizes around the family’s poverty and how Lee managed to earn money working several jobs as a child, while also having many adventures despite their financial situation. The book has several historic photographs pertaining to Lee’s family and the various historic places that are mentioned in the book. Lee eventually left Bay City to join the marines, and then returned to Oregon to work a number of jobs before retiring. He worked most recently as an antiquarian.

Gordon Lee is also a life member of the Tillamook County Pioneer Association. He maintains a large private collection of historical Oregon photographs and other artifacts.

Gordon Lee is currently retired, but has penned seven manuscripts during the pandemic by hand onto yellow legal paper.

When asked how he was able to accomplish such a feat he said, “Writing is easy for me because I have done so many interesting things in my lifetime. You also need good work habits and a desire to accomplish your plans. Knowing your subject is also a requirement.”

Lee was inspired to write the memoir about the Bay City period of his life because he wanted to share it to hopefully inspire others.

“Although I did not have expensive, material things, I had a need to try new things as well as ideas that made it an exciting way to live and to learn while growing from a child to a young man,” Lee said. “My memoir is filled with real life events, including the good times and the bad, which is true to life.”

The hardest part of publishing a book for Lee has been waiting to hold the hard copy of his book in his hands.

“The best part of the process has been going through old family photos that I have not looked at in years. It brought back so many memories,” Lee said.

Lee’s younger brother Bill passed away while the book was being worked on.

“I wanted him to read the book and remember too,” Lee said.

Lee hopes to inspire others to write their stories, whether they are memoirs or another genre.

“The biggest part of writing is to form an idea and then get started and write. Mistakes can be corrected. If you do not start there is nothing to correct,” he said.

Lee doesn’t do email because he does not have the internet, so he has been corresponding with his publisher through the postal service for the entire publishing process. The next book that Lee is planning to publish is a guide to Tillamook County with information off the beaten path that he has personally curated for travelers. His memoir releases close to his 85th birthday on Aug. 5

If you would like to support your local bookstore and they do not carry Lee’s book, you can have them order a copy of the book for you. Most bookstores should have access to Ingram’s catalogue. This is the first title to be published by Caliber Press, an independent publishing company based out of Spanaway, Wash.