On April 24, 2021 Michael & Beverlee Laird will celebrate 50 years of marriage. They met in 1970 when Beverlee was working at First National Bank of Ontario & Michael (employed with Southern Counties Gas) came in to buy U.S. Savings Bonds for his two young children. One year later at the young age of 21, they married and blended their two families. In 1974, looking to get out of the L.A. County smog & ready for an adventure, they moved north to Sonoma County living in Healdsburg for over 22 years. In 1997 they settled in Cloverdale and fell in love with the small-town charm, great restaurants, art, music, & theatre and wonderful people.
Being a real estate agent, Michael previews properties for clients and happened to take Beverlee along up to Preston Heights. They fell in love with the park-like feel of the single level home on over an acre & headed back to the country for one more adventure 3 ½ years ago! Their seven chickens, cat Moa, deer, resident squirrels, flocks of turkeys, and the occasional fox or coyote have kept them entertained during Covid-19. The large garden provided the opportunity for more home-canning and plenty of “COVID cooking”. Their mutual love of gardening has created a tropical oasis (behind the deer fencing!) with an outdoor tiki-bar overlooking the pond. Having daughter Charlene, son-in-law Lee, and grandson Shane in Cloverdale allowed for the occasional masked, distance visit. They all hope that a family celebration planned by son Sam & his husband Marc can happen next year, possibly in Hawaii, when travel can be done more safely.
