Velda Arnaud's Biography
I was born in Myrtle Point, Oregon in a small corner room on the second floor of the hospital. My early years were spent in Sitkum, Oregon, which is 26 miles east of Myrtle Point on the old Coos Bay Wagon road. My father died when I was very young, so my grandparents were a large part of my life. They had the only store near the logging camp, and I spent a lot of time in the play pen in the store. I have actually had salesmen who traveled that route remember me.
My brother came after a failed, abusive marriage, and our little family returned back up the valley to Sitkum. Right before I started first grade, we moved closer to town. I attended Maple and Spruce elementary schools in Myrtle Point until third grade. That is when my mother remarried, and we moved to Fairview, nine miles east of Coquille. There I attended a small elementary school. The photo below is me in my fourth grade classroom.
By sixth grade I was going to school "in town" at Lincoln Elementary School in Coquille, and that was followed by Coquille Jr. and Sr. High Schools.
In school I did not really belong to any one group, but I was a good business student (that is what females did in those days). Also I was involved in theatre and the yearbook. During my senior year I was co-editor of the annual with Jody. My counselor in high school refused to waste his time on me to help me figure out college, so I went to a business college in Medford.
After completing an 18-month business certificate in 6 months, I found a job as a secretary to the Finanacial Analyst at the Coos County Courthouse. After 2.5 years there I started attending Southwestern Oregon Community College. From there I transferred to the University of Oregon.
My original major was accounting at SWOCC, but I quickly changed to math, and while at UofO I traveled to Germany and fell in love. The first year I fell in love with the culture and food. Some time between my travels there, I also fell in love with Carl. On my next trip to Germany and Austria, Carl and I were married. After my bachelor's degree (in math and German) and entry back into the workforce, we started a family. (Sounds like no story, huh?)
I worked for Career Information System for 12 years. I started as a temporary receptionist, and when I left I was the Delivery Systems Coordinator. My main project was Career Path Planner, which helped high school students learn about career paths and the courses they could take. I still have great memories of that project.
I spent one year writing books and receiving a lot of rejection through the mail. One day I saw an ad in the newspaper for Keyboarding instructor at Lane Community College. Through an arduous interview, I was hired, but only after I sat in on some classes so that I would know what to do. That's when I knew that I had found my calling! Unfortunately in 2002 I was laid off from my part-time position at Lane. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), I found a position at Pioneer Pacific College. While there I met some great students! Some of whom I still contact today.
In 2004 I came back to Lane, and that is where I am today. There are budget cuts on the horizon, so how long I will be here is unknown, but I'm enjoying each day.
My Ancestry
There are still many things I do not know about my father's side of the family. My father's name was Sydney Arnaud, and his father was John Arnaud.
My father's ancestry on his mother's side goes back to a Native American woman from California, although there is some question about whether she was originally from there. The images below are of my great-great grandparents, Mary and Oliver Wilcox.
