Gale Vinton

Although daily meal preparation isn't as much fun as it was when her late husband, Gale, was alive, she still fixes balanced meals for herself.

She regularly contributes to church bake sales and makes treats for gatherings of her friends or fellow club members.And when she has a chance to share dinner with her children and grandchildren, she's always delighted.

"I just hosted my son, Will's, birthday brunch," she said."We had a great time.

"And the church group was here yesterday.Now I need to make another batch of divinity," she said.

The kitchen is the heart of her home, which has been in the Vinton family since 1895.
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"She and I are spending our old age together," Vinton said,

Vinton is 94, though neither she nor Neko look their age.

She speaks English when she talks to Neko and most McMinnville residents.But she grew up speaking Finnish and taught her late husband a little of that language.

She still reads, writes and speaks Finnish whenever she gets the chance.When she finds another Finn, she happily chats in her native tongue.

Daughter of Finland

The door harp in her front entranceway bears a Finnish greeting that translates: "My harp is playing for you.Please enter my house."

It's a far cry from the sod house in North Dakota where Vinton was born Saima Pekkola.

Her parents had emigrated to the cold, windy, treeless prairie from Finland to homestead.The Pekkolas built their house from the earth because wood was scarce.

When she was 5, her folks sailed back to their homeland.

Although the family booked the least expensive quarters below decks, the six children enjoyed the trip.Vinton recalled passengers on the upper deck throwing fruit down to them.

En route, the ship's smokestack blew down, leaving the small vessel powerless and swaying wildly in the North Sea.

After the storm abated, crewmen were able to make repairs.But the little girl was left with an indelible memory.

The Pekkola family spent the winter near Helsinki.
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Growing up, Vinton spent much of her time on horseback, herding cattle or driving a team of horses pulling a harvester.She helped harvest her family's strawberries, prunes and walnuts, then picked fruit on other farms to contribute to paying the bills.

"I always liked outdoor work better than inside," she said.

After graduating from Carlton High School, Vinton turned down a scholarship to Willamette University.Her family couldn't afford the room and board, she said.

Instead, she followed her former high school principal to his new business college in Olympia, Wash.He offered her a job so she could work for her meals and lodging while taking classes.

Back home, she found a job as secretary to the president of Oregon Mutual Insurance.Then she moved to McMinnville National Bank, now US Bank, and worked as secretary to the bank officers.

Gale Vinton interrupted her business career, though.

One day, she and her brother, Bill, drove their Pontiac into Herman Larsen's service station.Vinton, who lived in Salem, was visiting his friend Larsen.

Vinton remarked that he would like to date that girl if only she didn't have a boyfriend.Larsen assured him that was just her brother, so Vinton asked her out.

"Gale took me to the Elks dance," she recalled."I was a very shy little person."

They married in May 1937.And he returned to his hometown to become Larsen's partner in a car dealership.

She raised their children - Will, who became famous as the creator of Claymation animation; Mary, who started the Jefferson Dancers and now runs an arts school in Portland; and Alice, a real estate agent in Hawaii.
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For five decades, Vinton has been part of the Friday Afternoon Bridge Club.Although the club has lost about half its members over the years, the remaining players get together each Friday for a few hands and a lot of socializing.

She also plays in bridge tournaments at Michelbook Country Club.

"There, you play bridge," she said."You don't mess around and visit."

She also plays pinochle with friends from the McMinnville Senior Center or with her brother, Eric, and his wife, Dorothy.

She joined the Current Events Club in 1969.

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Vinton has been part of the senior center's singing group.She also sings with a Methodist Church singing group that visits nursing homes, delivering show tunes and songs of the ' 30s and '40s.

"I'll never get over the thrill it gave me when we sang at the Hampton House," she recalled."Some of the people couldn't carry on a conversation anymore, but they knew every word of those old songs."

Volunteering has been a big part of Vinton's life.

She worked with American Red Cross blood drives for 40 years.She cooked and served with the Pioneer Pantry senior meal program and St. Barnabas Soup Kitchen.
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Keeping busy is important, Vinton said, "especially as we get older."

She said, "It's important to keep busy, to keep active.I think you stay healthier."

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