We’re Going Home… Back to Orting, Washington

Many times during the last thirty years, while I’ve been involved in genealogy-related businesses, I have made the statement that I could do what I do for a living almost any place, as long as it was within the United States of America.

Why would I say that? Well, most likely because as the old saying goes, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” During the last three decades Patty and I have lived and owned property in Washington State, Utah, and South Dakota. For nearly seven years we weren’t sure where we lived, as a motor coach was home and it kept moving every few days. We seriously considered moving to Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Missouri – the first for the history, Tennessee and Missouri for their central United States location and the country music roots (mixing business with pleasure).

Patty and I are moving back home. They say you can never go home again, and sure enough, we can’t get the 50-acre farm back. But we can come close. We are moving back to Orting, Washington. That’s where our roots are. We started Heritage Quest there, and in fact, we are moving Family Roots Publishing back into the Heritage Quest Press building on Bridge Street in Orting. Dale, Tara and the grandchildren are going with us. The first truckload of household goods rolls Tuesday morning and we plan to be fully moved by mid-August – possibly much sooner. We haven’t been residents of Washington State for exactly 20 years, although we did own property there until 2000. We’re really looking forward to getting home, where we still have family and friends today.

So – not only are two full households moving back to Orting, But we are moving the entire Family Roots Publishing operation to western Washington also. It’s about an 850-900 mile move, dependent on which pass we take over the Cascade range. The major hurdle to be overcome in the move is the weight issue of transporting tens of thousands of books. Books are heavy, and there is a limit on how much weight we can move per load. To alleviate some of that weight, starting today, we are running Internet with Credit Card Only sales on books in stock so we won’t have to haul quite as much.