LINFIELD FOOTBALL IS A FAMILY AFFAIR (11/19/2019 Portland Trib)

LINFIELD FOOTBALL IS A FAMILY AFFAIR 

Wildcats have amassed 127-25 record under Joseph Smith, and two sons star on this year's playoff-bound team


By Kerry Eggers, Portland Tribune, Tue, Nov 19, 2019 

McMINNVILLE — "Smith" is not just a name in Linfield football. It's a brand.

Joseph Smith, 48, is in his 14th season as head coach of the Wildcats. This week, he was named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year.

Wyatt Smith, 21, is Linfield's 6-foot, 205-pound junior quarterback who leads the NCAA Division III ranks in passing yardage per game this season, having thrown for 3,121 yards and 39 touchdowns. He set a school record with eight touchdown passes in a 77-22 win over Puget Sound on Oct. 12. Wyatt was named NWC Offensive Player of the Year.

Colton Smith, 19, is Linfield's 6-foot, 170-pound freshman who ranked sixth in the conference in receiving yardage per game, having hauled in 47 passes for 711 yards and nine TDs. He was named NWC Freshman of the Year.

The 20th-ranked Wildcats (8-1 overall, 7-0 in NWC play) head into the first round of the national playoffs at noon Saturday against 12th-ranked Chapman (9-0) in Orange, California.

If there's a more successful football family in all of college football, that's saying something.

Linfield's only setback was a 27-19 nonconference loss to Redlands on Sept. 21, the second game of the season. Chapman, champion of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, beat Redlands (8-2) 21-18 on its way to the league title.

"We're a much better team than when we lost to Redlands," Joseph Smith said. "I like our chances. But then, I like our chances every game we play."

As well he should. Linfield has assembled a 127-25 win-loss record under Smith's direction, continuing the winning tradition that began with Paul Durham in 1948 and continued through the regimes of Ad Rutschman, Ed Langsdorf and Jay Locey. The Wildcats have enjoyed 64 consecutive winning seasons, most ever by a college football program at any level.

"A little pressure is always there," Joseph Smith conceded. "Nobody wants to be on the team that ends the streak. But our goals are much higher than that. Our winning percentage over that period is over 80 percent. I expect us to be in that range every year."

Smith, 48, has been a part of the success for 31 years. The Grants Pass native was a four-year starter at cornerback under Rutschman and Langsdorf, earning second-team NAIA All-America honors as a senior in 1992. The Wildcats went 12-1 and lost to Findlay in the NAIA Division II national championship game that season.

Smith served as an assistant coach at Linfield for 13 years, including seven as defensive coordinator from 1999-2005. During that time, the Wildcats went 60-6 and made five NCAA Division III playoff appearances, capturing the 2004 national championship.

As head coach, Smith has won 10 NWC titles and gone as far as the national semifinals in 2014 and 2015.

Last season, Linfield went 7-2 and earned another league crown, but was not selected to participate in the Division III playoffs.

"Nobody was very happy about that," Wyatt Smith said. "That lit a fire in our team going into this year. We've had a chip on our shoulder. Now we're having a great season."

The Wildcats lead the nation in pass offense (375.8 yards per game), are eighth in total offense (495.3) and ninth in scoring average (46.4). They have outscored league opposition 364-101 while averaging 52 points.

Wyatt ranks third nationally in touchdown passes (39) and is fourth in completion percentage (.720) and passing efficiency (185.5). Though he started only the last two games, Colton ranks sixth in the NWC in receiving yardage average per game, having caught 47 passes for 711 yards and nine TDs.

"This is one of the better offensive teams we've had, and we're young," Coach Smith said. "The majority of (players on) our two-deep are freshmen and sophomores. We'll miss our senior starters, but on paper, we're a better team next year."

The Smith brothers grew up around Linfield athletics. Joseph Smith coached football and, for 12 years, was an assistant in baseball under the Scotts, Carnahan and Brosius. Wyatt and Colton were ball boys for Linfield football when Brett Elliott was quarterbacking the Wildcats to the 2004 national title. Now Wyatt is challenging the school records of Elliott, Linfield's current co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

"When we were kids, Wyatt and I would always have our mom (Darla) drop us off at Linfield after school," Colton said. "We'd go play around on the sidelines, find something to do and have a blast doing it."

Both of the boys were terrific three-sport athletes at McMinnville High. Wyatt was a three-year starter at quarterback and an outstanding baseball player. Colton led the state in receiving yardage as a senior.

Even as youngsters, they got along.

"We've always been very close," Wyatt said. "We haven't had a sibling rivalry."

"We always played together," Colton said. "I'd always play with Wyatt's friends. There were moments when I'd get on Wyatt's nerves and he'd have to let me know he's the older one. He was bigger than me, too. I could always tell when it was time to back off."

The Smith brothers thought about playing college ball elsewhere, but it seemed inevitable they'd wind up at Linfield.

"It was meant to be," Wyatt said. "I always knew I wanted to be a Wildcat — Colton and me both. We wore Linfield jerseys and played out in the back yard. I knew it was where I wanted to go."

Wyatt wanted to play two sports in college. He was a regular on the diamond for the Wildcats as a sophomore, hitting .316 while playing first base and catcher.

"It's a little tough with the time commitment," said Wyatt, a 3.6 GPA student majoring in finance. "There's no offseason, but the benefits outweigh the problems. I love baseball. I love football, too. Whatever season is in season, I go all in on."

Colton had the added incentive of getting to play with his brother for two years at Linfield.

"I was considering some other schools," he said. "I had a dream of going bigger for a bit, but as it got close to signing, I wanted to have an opportunity to play right away. I knew by coming to Linfield I had a good shot to get snaps early in my career.

"And Wyatt was here. We had played together my sophomore year in high school, and it was really fun. I realized there was no reason for me to go somewhere else."

Joseph Smith did not want the boys to feel pressure to join his program.

"As a football coach, I wanted them to come to Linfield," said Smith, who moved from coaching receivers to tight ends this season so he wouldn't be Colton's position coach. "What Darla and I wanted as parents was that they would make the kind of connections and friends that would set them up for the rest their lives. Linfield was the best place for them to accomplish that.

"Colton was the best receiver in the state of Oregon last year. He's an FCS-level player. He was a steal for us to get. I would imagine he's here because of Wyatt and me and the program and the education he can get here. There's no school that plays football on the West Coast that out-earns a Linfield grad."

The kids have enjoyed playing for their old man.

"It's special," Wyatt said. "People ask me if it's odd. It isn't — it's all I really know. He's always been great to me, but he doesn't play favorites. I know I'm going to get yelled at, just like the other guys."

"I watched my brother play for my dad, so I knew it wasn't going to be weird," Colton said. "It's been great for me, too. When Dad is in his coaching mode, I'm just another player. But he can flip the switch easy and go back to being my dad off the field."

Joseph calls coaching his sons "surreal."

"But I'm used to it," he said. "I coached them growing up in baseball along with their friends. We have seven kids off their youth baseball teams who are playing football here. That's been really fun.

"Wyatt and Colton know they're going to be held to a higher standard than everybody else. They're respectful and able to compartmentalize coach and parent. For them to achieve what they did in high school — to be good in the classroom and in three sports — makes me very proud."

In Joseph's three decades at Linfield as a player and coach, no freshman had ever started at quarterback.

In 2017, Wyatt began his freshman year as the No. 3 QB but wound up starting the final four games.

"I didn't want to start him, but we were struggling at the position," Coach Smith said. "He did really well and showed poise in decision-making. We needed a guy who could stay calm under pressure while everything was going to hell. He's really good at that."

Wyatt was second-team all-NWC last season and has developed into one of the best QBs in the country this fall. By the time he is through, he'll hold every record for a Linfield quarterback not named Brett Elliott.

"Wyatt has had a great year," Colton said. "He has an ability to make reads. He doesn't have many picks (seven), and for as often as we throw, that's something. He's also a very good leader. He's a leader by example first, but he is getting more vocal. It's been fun to see."

Colton has made an immediate impact in Linfield's passing game this season.

"He's very talented," Wyatt said. "He has a lot of assets to bring to the table. He's explosive, fast, a play-making guy. He has the ability to change the game. That's why I love throwing the ball to him."

It's going to happen for as long as the Wildcats are alive this season, and for next season, too. And on the sidelines, there will be the coach — and dad — soaking it all in. 


PHOTOS FROM LINFIELD/LIAM PICKHARDT


- -Colton Smith (left) and Wyatt Smith (right), sons of Linfield coach Joseph Smith, are top offensive players at wide receiver and quarterback, respectively, for the Northwest Conference champion Wildcats.


--Linfield is back in the national football playoffs under coach Joseph Smith and in part due to the exploits of sons Colton and Wyatt....

Trustees favor 'Linfield University'

Trustees favor 'Linfield University'


By Starla Pointer, McMinnville News-Register, Nov. 12, 2019


Linfield College’s Board of Trustees approved a resolution favoring a name change at its fall meeting this month. If the board gives formal approval in February, the McMinnville-based school will become “Linfield University” beginning in the 2020-21 academic year.


It would be the institution’s fourth name in just over 160 years. The school was founded in 1858 as Baptist College at McMinnville, soon renamed McMinnville College, then named Linfield College in 1922 following a major donation by the Linfield family.


Over the years, trustees said, Linfield also has gone through “a multiplicity of revisions in curriculum, programs and structures” in order to meet the needs of students “in widely-divergent historical eras and to evolve as a dynamic organization.” The change also would help in marketing the college and attracting more students, their resolution said.


President Miles Davis announced the potential name change in late October, saying the term “university” would define the school’s mission as it moves forward with graduate programs, as well as undergraduate studies.


Davis said Linfield is working toward grad programs in health fields, as an expansion of its popular bachelor’s degree / registered nursing program; and in other areas, such as the wine studies program, which already is partnering with a university in France to offer a combined bachelor/master’s degree program that starts on the McMinnville campus and finishes with two years in Europe.


Linfield surveyed alumni in October about the idea of a name change. Davis said most of the 2,000 responses he received were supportive of “Linfield University.” Only about 7% responded negatively, most of them saying they are fine with the word “college.”


No matter what it’s called, Davis said Linfield will always retain its small-school friendliness and opportunities, which range from international studies to classes taught by professors to chances to play sports, join the marching band or audition for a play no matter what their major.


Trustees said the initial Linfield University structure probably will consist of a College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Nursing, and a School of Business. All students will take classes at the College of Arts and Sciences on the McMinnville campus first “so that the distinctive interdisciplinary features of a Linfield education will remain accessible to all, in both undergraduate and graduate programs.”

LINFIELD FOOTBALL 38-31 OVERTIME WIN VS. WHITWORTH IN SPOKANE'S PINE BOWL ON NOV. 9. 2019

Photos by Tommy B and Lance T.

==Story from Spokane Spokesman-Review


Linfield rallies to beat Whitworth in overtime of Northwest Conference thriller


By Ryan Collingwood, Spokane Spokesman-Review Sat., Nov. 9, 2019


It was getting dark at the Pine Bowl as Linfield’s powerful offense orchestrated its final push, igniting a 38-31 overtime win over Whitworth.


The Pirates’ hopes of a second straight Northwest Conference title and playoff berth became even dimmer.


Whitworth’s scoreboard illuminated a field devoid of football lights as teary-eyed players tried to make sense of their heartbreaking loss in what was essentially the Northwest Conference title game.


The Pirates slowed down the 19th-ranked Wildcats (7-1, 6-1), but not when it mattered most.

Quarterback Wyatt Smith – son of highly successful Linfield coach Joseph Smith – rolled left in the extra session, ran near the sideline and lobbed a 2-yard touchdown pass to his brother, Colton Smith, helping one of the winningest NCAA Division III programs lock up its latest conference title.


Whitworth (5-3, 4-2) had an opportunity to answer and send the 4-hour game to a second overtime, but Leif Ericksen’s fourth-down pass to Nick McGill fell incomplete, sending Ericksen to his knees in frustration.


Instead of potential hardware, Whitworth will wrap up its season at next week at Pacific (4-5, 4-2). 


“We had a great game plan, and there’s no doubt in my mind that everyone left it all out on the field,” said Whitworth safety Zach Hillman, who had a late interception. “I thought we played well. There’s no reason to hold our heads down.”


The Pirates had a 31-21 cushion in the fourth quarter after Bryce Hornbeck picked off Smith and returned it for a 35-yard touchdown. 


Linfield’s offense, which averages 499 yards and 49 points a game, put up 21 points in the first quarter before being held scoreless the next two quarters.

The nation’s second-leading passer, Smith, who had three interceptions going into the game, was picked off three times.



But Linfield came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring the game’s final 17 points. Its game-tying drive was boosted by a 46-yard pass to Jacob Calo, and an extra 10 yards were tacked onto the big play due to a roughing the passer call.


“We had a lot of highs and lows, and Whitworth is a great team,’ said Smith, who completed 41 of 60 passes for for 425 yards and five touchdowns. “Our defense stepped up big for us and kept giving up chances.


Whitworth went scoreless on its final five drives.


“We saw some things we didn’t expect to see, but found ways to attack them,” Ericksen said. “We had chances. They had chances. But they just made a few more plays.”


Ericksen completed 28 of 52 passes for 280 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Whitworth was held to 61 yards rushing.


Whitworth knotted the game at 21 in the second quarter with trickery, a 20-yard reverse pass from receiver McGill to Taylor Hall. McGill also hauled in a 46-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. 


Linfield was on the goal line in the final seconds of the first half, but Whitworth stuffed with Wildcats as the clock expired.


Noah Alejado’s 41-yard field goal gave Whitworth its first lead of the second half.

Linebacker Ian Black had a game-high 18 tackles for Whitworth. 


“That was a Northwest Conference championship game, and we knew it was going to be a championship fight,” Ericksen said. “We have one more game left, so we have to respond well. Our season isn’t over yet.”


==Photo gallery from Spokane Spokesman-Review (click on link below)


https://www.spokesman.com/galleries/2019/nov/09/whitworth-vs-linfield-nov-9-2019/



==From Linfield Sports Info


'Cats sink Pirates, clinch NWC title and NCAA berth / Game Recap: Football | 11/9/2019


SPOKANE, Wash. – Colton Smith pulled in a 2-yard pass from older brother Wyatt Smith in overtime, vaulting the Linfield Wildcats to an emotional 38-31 victory over the Whitworth Pirates Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Pine Bowl.


The Wildcats (7-1, 6-0 NWC) overcame 24 unanswered points by the defending NWC champion Pirates, clinching the program's 10th NWC title in 11 years. Linfield scored the game's final 17 points. The victory also assured Linfield of a berth in the upcoming NCAA Division III playoffs, which begin Nov. 23 at a site to be announced Nov. 17 by the NCAA.

Linfield quarterback Wyatt Smith passed for five touchdowns and a season-high 421 yards, leading the 23rd-ranked Wildcats to their sixth-straight victory.


Whitworth (5-3, 4-2 NWC) lost on its home field for the first time in three seasons, snapping a 12-game home winning streak


Linfield outgained Whitworth in total yards, 517-407, running a total of 97 plays from scrimmage, three shy of the Linfield single-record.


The Wildcats opened the scoring with a touchdown on the game's first drive. Wyatt Smith passed 12 yards to Colton Smith just two minutes into the contest. The Pirates answered with Leif Ericksen's 10-yard touchdown pass to Jerusalem To'oto'o with 7:55 left in the first quarter.


Linfield moved back in front five minutes later as Smith connected with Keegan Weiss fir a 40-yard scoring pass. The 'Cats went in front by two scores after Artie Johnson pulled in an 11-yard TD pass from Smith.


Whitworth scored twice to close the half, the first coming on a 46-yard pass play from Taylor Kolste to Nick McGill with less than a minute left in the first quarter. McGill's trick pass to Taylor Hall tied the game at 21 with 4:24 left. The ball was deflected in the end zone by Isaiah Cole before settling into the hands of Hall.


The Pirates got the ball back to start the second half and promptly took their first lead of the game on a 41-yard field goal by Noah Alejado. Whitworth then opened a 31-21 advantage midway through the third quarter as Bryce Hornbeck picked off a Smith pass and returned the ball 35 yards for a touchdown.  


Trailing by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, the Wildcats scored twice in a four-minute span to tie the game. Andrew Starkel booted a 22-yard field goal at the 13:31 mark to trim the margin to seven, and Johnson scored the equalizer on a 10-yard shovel pass from Smith with 9:07 left to play.


Linfield got the ball first in the overtime and the Wildcats took the upper hand on their 12th play of the drive. The Pirates advanced just five yards in four plays in overtime, with Ericksen passing incomplete on the final two plays.


Johnson rushed for 97 yards on 22 carries and caught 11 passes for 56 yards and two scores. Colton Smith, who made his first career start, caught 11 passes for 75 yards and two TDs.

Wyatt Smith passed 60 times – second-most in Linfield history – and completed 41. He was intercepted three times by the Whitworth defense, twice by Hornbeck.


Keyell Davis led Linfield's defensive charge, recording nine tackles. Tyler Sitton, Tyler Good and Dustin Ramsayer-Burdett were each credited with six tackles.


NEXT

Linfield returns home to play George Fox in the regular-season finale on Saturday in the annual Pacific Office Automation Hall of Fame game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. with Senior Day introductions taking place at 12:45.



==From Whitworth Sports Info 


Linfield Edges Whitworth 38-31 in Overtime/Posted: Nov 9, 2019  


SPOKANE, Wash. – Visiting Linfield scored the final 17 points of the game, including the only touchdown in overtime, to pull out a 38-31 win over Whitworth and clinch the 2019 Northwest Conference football championship on Saturday in the Pine Bowl.


The 18th-ranked Wildcats improved to 7-1 overall and 6-0 in the NWC while the Pirates (5-3, 4-2) saw a 12-game home winning streak come to an end.


In a duel between the NWC's top quarterbacks, Wyatt Smith of Linfield completed 41 of 60 passes for 421 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.  Whitworth's Leif Ericksen completed 28 of 52 passes for 280 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Linfield looked poised to make this game a runaway when the Wildcats ran out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter.  

Smith completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to younger brother Colton Smith on the Wildcats' first possession.  After Whitworth tied the game on Ericksen's 10-yard pass to Jerusalem To'oto'o, Smith completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Keegan Weiss and an 11-yard shuffle pass to Artie Johnson to give the visitors a two-touchdown lead late in the first period.


Whitworth responded by outscoring Linfield 24-0 over the next two-plus quarters.  First Nick McGill caught a double pass from Taylor Kolste for a 46-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter.  Then McGill was credited with his own 20-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Hall with four minutes left in the second.  McGill threw into triple coverage, but Hall corralled a deflected pass for the Pirate touchdown.


Whitworth took its first lead of the game when Noah Alejado converted a 41-yard field goal on the Bucs' first possession of the third quarter.  Later in the third, Bryce Hornbeck picked off Smith and returned the ball 35 yards for a 31-21 Whitworth lead.


Linfield got back on the scoreboard when Andrew Starkel converted a 22-yard field goal with 13:31 left in the game.  The Wildcats pulled back into a tie when Smith and Johnson connected on another shuffle pass, this time from 10 yards with nine minutes to play. 


Neither team threatened to score in the final minutes as both defenses came up big.  Linfield took over on offense first in overtime and Smith converted a third and ten when Jacob Calo made a diving catch at the 11-yard line.  Six plays later Smith threw the eventual game-winning touchdown pass to Colton Smith from two yards away.


Whitworth gained five yards in its overtime possession as the light faded to darkness in the Pine Bowl.  Mana Kupihea broke up a fourth down pass to Nick McGill on the final play of the game.


Linfield outgained Whitworth 517-407, but the Pirates had a 3-2 edge in turnovers.  Smith came into the game with only three interceptions all season, but Whitworth picked off Smith three times in the game, two by Hornbeck and one by Zach Hillman.


Iain Black had a career-high 18 tackles, including 3.5 for loss for the Whitworth defense.  The Pirates sacked Smith four times in the game. 


Whitworth will conclude the season next Saturday at Pacific (Ore.).

#

Linfield considering name change to 'university' (N-R 11/1/2019)

Linfield considering name change to 'university'


By Starla Pointer McMinnville N-R Nov 1, 2019



Linfield College is considering changing its name to Linfield University as it prepares to add graduate programs and seeks to continue increasing enrollment.


President Miles Davis said he will present the name change proposal to the Board of Trustees when they meet next week. If the board grants tentative approval, with the intention of finalizing the change at its next meeting in mid-winter, the college will begin laying plans for changing signs, logos and memorabilia, such as Wildcat T-shirts and hats.


A university is an institution that offers graduate programs as well as undergraduate education in schools and colleges.


Linfield is working toward grad programs in health fields, as an expansion of its popular bachelor’s degree / registered nursing program; and in other areas, such as the wine studies program, which already is partnering with a university in France to offer a combined bachelor/master’s degree program that starts on the McMinnville campus and finishes with two years in Europe.


No matter whether it’s called a college or a university, though, Davis said Linfield will always retain its small-school friendliness and opportunities.



Davis sent an electronic survey to alumni Oct. 22. He said he received about 2,000 responses, and said most were overwhelmingly supportive of “Linfield University.”


Only about 7 percent responded negatively, most of them saying they are fine with the word “college.”


But the supporters said they like the idea of a university with a school of business, a school of nursing and a college of arts and sciences — the latter the moniker for the liberal arts campus in McMinnville.

Some asked why the change to “university” hasn’t happened earlier, Davis said. Some wondered whether Linfield would restart its master’s degree program in education, which was disbanded in the 1980s, in addition to starting new graduate opportunities.


Currently, Linfield uses the name college to describe its overall program, with the nursing bachelor’s degree program in Portland, started in 1982, labeled “the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing.”


Nursing and business majors make up the bulk of Linfield’s 2,200 students, Davis said — 65 percent overall, and 87 percent of those enrolled in online programs.


About 400 students are studying on the nursing campus in northwest Portland. Most start at the McMinnville campus, along with their peers in business and other programs, then transfer to Portland after two years.


In 2021, the nursing school, which is now at capacity, will move to expanded quarters in east Portland. Last year, Linfield purchased the 20-acre, 10 building campus of the University Western States chiropractic school.


Having additional space will mean room for more students, Davis said, and also a wider variety of health care degree programs and graduate studies — physical therapy, for example.


Experienced nurses would have more opportunities to return to school through Linfield’s online program to earn bachelor’s or advanced degrees. And there also will be more room for clinical practicums, required for students who want to become licensed.


Linfield was founded in 1858 by American Baptist Church members. Then known as McMinnville College, it held its first classes where the Baptist Church is now located, then built Pioneer Hall on its current site. The campus expanded in terms of both facilities and programs.


In 1922, it was renamed Linfield College in honor of the Linfield family, who were major donors.


After decades of offering a classical, basic education that trained primarily “teachers and preachers,” Linfield added a business major in 1927. Other majors followed, including those in sciences, social sciences, health and human performance, technology, languages and other fields, including the school of nursing in 1982.


Adding that first new major, business, was controversial, Davis said, as all change is. But change is necessary, he said, as a college must reflect the desires and needs of its students. 


The makeup of the student body is always evolving, he said, with more women, more students of color and more first-generation college students in recent years. One continuous thread has been students’ desire to have a defined career path -- a concrete way of determining a return for their investment in higher education.


“The intrinsic value will always be there,” Davis said, “but we’ve reached the point that people need to ask themselves, ‘What will I have when I graduate?’”

TRAVELIN’ MAN IN HIS VAN: Linfielder John Ekemo visited 48 U.S. states, 8 Canadian Provinces and Mexico during a 177-day trip

(Photos: John and his van and a photo John took of Main Street in Riverton, Wyoming.)

Growing up in Cordova, Alaska, John Ekemo (Linfield Class of 1969) had a yearning for travel.

“Cordova has three roads -- one each of three, six and 25 miles – none of them connecting to another town. The only way into or out of Cordova is via Valdez, a six hour ferry ride away. From Valdez it’s an eight hour drive to Anchorage. So, when opportunities to travel arose while I lived in Alaska I took advantage of them,” John said.

For instance, in 1972 he traveled to Spain and Portugal; in 1974 to New Zealand, Australia and Tahiti; and in 1975 he took a trip during which he visited 26 states.

“After the 1975 trip, seeing more of the U.S. was on my bucket list. But I didn’t get to ‘seeing more of the U.S.’ until after I retired in Seattle in January 2019 after 50 years of work including 35 years in real estate appraisal.” His career also included banking and real estate.

Starting on March 23, 2019, and ending Sept. 15, 2019 -- that’s 177 days -- John traveled in his van through 48 U.S. states, 8 Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) and Mexico.

Including six ferry rides (three each in the U.S. and Canada) he traveled almost 30,000 miles. 

During the time John (who has three sisters) was live-in caretaker for his mother, May Ekemo, in Seattle he started planning for a van trip. After his mom passed away (Alzheimer’s) at the end of October 2018, the trip was possible.

He traveled in a 1995 GMC Camper Van which he bought for $8,000 and put about $2,000 into so it was “road ready.”

His trip started and ended in Welches (Clackamas County), Oregon, in the Mount Hood Corridor. 

“One of the criteria of my trip was to avoid freeways and take minor less traveled roads. Probably just 500 or so miles on my trip were driven on freeways. Another criteria was to avoid major cities,” he said.

John “enjoyed living in the van and having freedom to go someplace on the spur of the moment. I’ve decided to keep doing it while my health is still good and I am able. At some point I will move into a house or apartment, but right now I consider myself houseless rather than homeless.”

When John started his trip on March 23 he “knew there were some places and people I wanted to see, but other than that I had no itinerary,” he said.

In a Nevada restaurant, while he had breakfast, he decided plan each day the night before. Find “someplace about 200-300 miles away and drive there. Get on the road about 9-10 a.m. and try and be off the road by 4-6 p.m.,” he said.

While in Nevada he drove south to Arizona. In Arizona he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Mexico for a quick visit. There he saw immigrants legally crossing the border and construction of some of the border wall.

When he departed Oregon on his trip he wasn’t planning to visit 48 states and 8 Canadian provinces.

The decision about 48 states was made in April while he was in Mississippi. There he counted the number of states (10) he had visited to that point. Then he looked at a map to see how he could travel to the other 38 states. It could be done and he was going to do it. 

Adding 8 Canada provinces happened because Newfoundland in Canada was on his bucket list of places to see. 

“But, I had no idea that it was going to be a 3,000 mile, two week trip to get to Newfoundland and back from Maine. That included ferry rides of 12 and 16 hours,” he said.

Newfoundland was his favorite of all the Canadian provinces he visited because of the variety of landscapes, icebergs and the historically important airport in Gander.” 

When it opened in 1936 it was the largest airport in the world. During World War II the Gander, Newfoundland, Airport was the main staging point for the movement of Allied aircraft to Europe during World War II.

Gander played host to thousands of airline passengers stranded at its airport when American airspace was closed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Expectations before making the trip? John had none. 

“I let it unfold. Every day was something unexpected. I didn’t always follow the route I had planned the night before,” he said.

His frustration during the trip was usually directed at his smartphone. “I relied on it to find RV parks, cheap gas prices and roads. When the phone wouldn’t do what I wanted it to, I would be frustrated, “John said.

Unexpected happenings during the trip included:

--On July 3 while visiting Niagara Falls, New York, he was overcome with heat exhaustion and dehydration in the 95 degree heat. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital where he spent five hours being rehydrated.

--In Wyoming his van engine blew up. He coasted the van five miles to a garage in Riverton, Wyo. There he learned mechanics doing van air conditioning work earlier in the trip in Delaware didn’t install the two bolts holding the air conditioning bracket to the van firewall. He spent 18 days in Riverton, “a very friendly town of 12,000 people” — until his van was repaired. 

John said, “It was a truly remarkable trip, beyond my wildest imagination. I encourage everyone to explore the U.S.I proved there are ways to do it without it costing an arm and a leg.”

The beauty and diversity of the country and of the National Parks constantly amazed John. “We truly are the breadbasket of the world with our vast farmlands. The 300 year old history of the East gave me an understanding of what ‘Old Money and Privilege’ mean. We are blessed with over 3,000 miles of white sand beached from South Padre Islands around the Gulf of Mexico and up the East coast into New Jersey. There is history everywhere in the country.”

Would he take such a trip again? “Yes, parts of the country I would like to see again. However, “I would like to travel with a partner. I got tired of making all the mistakes!,” he said.

POSTSCRIPTS --

--Currently he’s at home in his van in Quilcene, on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsulas. He’s encamped on five acres with 200 feet frontage on a bay.

-- Welches is where John’s Linfield classmate, Dick (Class of 1970) and Kathy Bushnell, live. During his trip he enjoyed visiting Joe (Class of 1969) and Suzy Robillard in Edmonds, Oklahoma. 

--John visited nine cousins from Texas to North Carolina during the trip. He also saw friends from Alaska who now live in other states.

--A major expense during the trip was gas for the van. It probably averaged around $2.70 a gallon. A spot in a RV park ranged from $9 (Arkansas) to $110 (Florida), $30-$50 was the average. A Good Sam (RV club) or other travel memberships saves money. A U.S. National Park Service Senior Pass is a must, said John.

LINFIELD FOOTBALL TEAM BLACK JERSEYS

Black jerseys are what Linfield’s football team wore during its Homecoming football game on Maxwell Field in McMinnville on 10/12/2019.  

The jerseys have “LINFIELD” above numerals on front, "WILDCATS” above numerals on back and an “L” and  representation of Wildcat face on each sleeve.

Wildcatville photos: