News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
"A perfect day for my birthday!" Gerry Jimerson proclaimed on Saturday, August 17, as she stood next to Sam, who had just taken her on a nine-mile trail ride out of Sisters Cow Camp.
A day in the saddle and an afternoon relaxing with friends at Sisters Cow Camp is as fitting a celebration of a 91st birthday as it is possible to have for a woman who has spent her life in the saddle - and decades maintaining trails and camps in Sisters Country.
Gerry Jimerson with Sam, celebrating her 91st birthday with a trail ride out of Sisters Cow Camp.
Jimerson has taken the lead on maintaining Sisters Cow Camp southwest of Sisters off Forest Road 15 for 35 years. She's a three-decade star volunteer with the local chapter of Oregon Equestrian Trails (OET). A trail addition established out of the camp in 2012 was named Jimerson Loop in honor of all the work she and her late husband Don put in on the trails and at the camp.
The work isn't exactly glamorous. In addition to helping friends restore corrals, Gerry steps up seven days or so to clean up the "potty house."
"Somebody had to do it," she said with a grin. "I just fell into it."
That kind of see-a-need-fill-a-need ethic comes directly out of her upbringing on a ranch in Huasna Valley, California.
"My dad (was) a rancher," Jimerson recalled. "My first horse was named Fanny. I had her before I was born. I did boy things, because I was a girl and my dad had me."
Hard work and time in the saddle have been the hallmarks of Jimerson's long life ever since. She attributes her longevity and spry good health to those elements.
"I don't smoke. I never drank," she said. "I worked hard all my life. So I guess that's it. I can still get on a pony."
While living in Norco, California, she took up horse training. As with her work at Sisters Cow Camp, she "just fell into" that as well. A woman saw her working with her own horse.
"A lady saw me and followed me home, and said, 'Would you ride my little horse?' and I said, 'Yeah.' Raised two kids and loved every minute of it."
When Gerry and Don moved to Oregon, they drove truck for Pozzi Windows for a decade while living on 40 acres in the area of Whychus Canyon Estates, where Gerry still lives.
Horses remained at the center of her life. And mules. She got into mules in about 2000 - and she wants it known that she's currently looking for another.
She says she doesn't necessarily prefer mules, but she likes them.
"I don't suppose I like them better than horses, but they ride more comfortably for me," she said.
In 2005, Jimerson trekked the entire Oregon segment of the Pacific Crest Trail, riding a mule named Buck and leading a pack mule named Oscar. She recalls that the trek took five weeks and two days.
On Sunday, she was riding Sam, a horse that belongs to her good friends Lee and Peggie Fischer. Everything went well with one minor hitch.
"Sam fell down with me out there today, so I just sat there 'til he got up," she said. "I could have fallen off, but it hurts to hit the ground, so it's best to just stay on."
Jimerson is not one to slow down any more than she absolutely has to.
"I live every day to the fullest," she said. "I ride with my friends every chance I get."
Upkeep of her mules and work on her property and with OET keeps her strong. When she's not riding or working, she's always loved to read. Her tastes run to romance.
Gerry Jimerson relaxed with friends at Sisters Cow Camp after an afternoon in the saddle on August 17. Left-right: Pat Marquis; Rhonda Marquis; Gerry Jimerson; Peggie Fischer; Lee Fischer; and Larry Holliday.
"Love stories, I guess," she said. "I like Westerns, but I don't like all the shootin' and killing. I like happy endings."
Sitting in a camp chair at Sisters Cow Camp, the dust of the trail on her boots, and good friends around to share stories, she expressed deep satisfaction as she contemplated turning 91.
"I have a wonderful life," she said. "I really have. I'd do it just the same way I did it again."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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