Pam (aka Gates) Johnson

My COVID Story
Island Voices, November 2024

My COVID Story

By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson It got me. After these many months of dodging the COVID bullet, the vaccines, the masks, the keeping my distance … it finally got me. It all started the night before my birthday. I was enjoying a warm, cozy sleep when my nose faucet turned on at warp speed. Wha?…

Getting Old on Vashon 
Island Voices, October 2024

Getting Old on Vashon 

By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson As I’ve said to anyone who will listen, getting old is not fun. Many of those things I used to do with ease are now next to impossible. Things not impossible are now just too darned hard.  Here is an example of the unexpected difficulties I have encountered. A few…

The History of Minnie the Heifer
Island Voices, September 2024

The History of Minnie the Heifer

Editor’s note: Even before coming to Vashon, a calf named Minnie showed off her early escape skills, thereafter aided by her bullock brother Chuck. Minnie’s original owner has written this story to fill in the many blanks in Minnie’s life before she became Leslie the Cowzilla. By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson A bunch of years…

What Brought You To the Island
Arrival Stories, September 2023

What Brought You To the Island

By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson I’d always dreamed of living on a farm, but resigned myself to a life in Portland, just like everyone else in my family. That all changed when I got married. I was 21 years and two weeks old, and had been married for one weekend when we packed up everything…