Updated 1/19/2012
Vancouver, Wash. (March 9, 2009) – Late last year, Linfielder Bob Ferguson published his book, Some Days Chicken, Some Days Feathers.
It is a 320-page memoir crammed with “delicious humor, yet Ferguson's poignant Vietnam experiences will bring a tear to the reader's eye,” says publicity material.
The book comes of the heels of a Wordsmith award Ferguson, a long-time Vancouver resident, received in 2007 from the Vancouver’s daily newspaper, The Columbian.
Comments from reviewers:
- "Magnificent.”
- "One of the best books I have ever read, and I read a lot."
- "Well written..."
Ferguson, a Portland, Ore., native, admits the comments are from friends. But, he said, “their overwhelming enthusiasm has pleasantly stunned me.” The book follows the Ferguson family -- which included his parents and an older brother -- from Astoria to Bend, where one of his earliest recollections is harvesting potatoes as a preschooler.
Later the family moved to Eugene, where he attend elementary, junior high and high school, graduating from South Eugene High in 1961. In Eugene, Ferguson “led a bunch of senior classmates on a panty raid of a 'house of ill-repute' that we still laugh about,” he said.
Ferguson graduated from Linfield College in 1965 after earning All-America football honors playing for coach Paul Durham. After college, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and became a photo reconnaissance officer in the F-4 Phantom jet. Midway through his 1968 Vietnam tour he was assigned to a ground unit as a Forward Air Controller conducting air strikes in support of the ground troops.
Since leaving the Marines in 1969, Ferguson has been the director of Camp Easter Seal, a camp for handicapped kids near Coos Bay, a stock broker in Portland in 1973 and owned a manufacturer’s representative agency for the last 35 years.
He earned a Master’s in Teaching degree at age 61 and now enjoys substitute teaching. “One day I was teaching eighth graders to write a memoir. It was fun and that got me to working on my own story,” Ferguson said, who believes that every person has a good story to tell.
At 6:30 p.m. April 23 in Linfield’s Nicholson Library in McMinnville, Ferguson will talk about his book and hold a free “fun-filled” workshop which will give those attending tools to write their own stories.
For $20, which includes shipping, Ferguson will mail an inscribed copy of the book. Contact him at robefergus@aol.com, 360-993-3342, 17204 SE 32nd St., Vancouver, WA. 98683.Ferguson invites libraries, book stores, schools, and senior centers to make contact to schedule a talk about his book and a workshop.
One of the photos above shows Bob Ferguson holding one of his USMC dog tags. Photo taken 1/19/2012 at Cardinal Circle held at Raccoon Lodge, Raleigh Hills/Portland.
