Shelly Contos
July 2009::
Hey guys, This is Rochelle ( Shelly ) Contos
Wow..I have just been reading everyone's bios and like others I don't know where to start after 30 years. I moved away from Duluth when I was just 19 with K. C. I cannot remember her last name (or anything else for that matter:) )red hair, class of 80. Her family was moving to the big boomtown of Gillette WY. where I got a job as a waitress ( cocktails of course ) and then became a bartender. I basically lived there for 3 years, moving back home in the middle for about 3 months. I met someone in construction ( every male in Gillette was in construction ) and moved around to various coal towns. Rangley CO, Victorville CA, Palestine TX....etc.etc. Tired after 3 yrs.of following someone around that had no commitment in mind, me and a friend decided to move to Livermore Calf. where my mom had moved.
Once there, I took a job managing my Uncle's bar, the Oak Door, a nice little "Cheers" sort of place. I met my soul mate one year later. Ron is the love of my life, 14 yrs. older than me, and much wiser!! He had a ranch outside of town and I loved it there. Anyone who knew much about me knew that I love animals. We raised a little bit of everything, and at one point we had not only dogs and cats as pets, but a pet doe and a pet pig and a pet calf, and a pet turkey!! It was a blast. I kept working at the bar part time, and Ron and I would do all of the cooking for all occasions...big or small. Ron had been married and already had 5 kids, and even though we talked about having our own, the timing was just never right. ( Hence all the pets!! )
After 10 yrs. we decided to change things up a little, so we sold our ranch and took to the road. That was a two year adventure, and a blast. We built a travel trailer and that got our interest up in solar power. We did a lot of homework and went into the solar business!! At first we were still on the road serving the 11 Western States, but it did not take long to want to plant our feet somewhere and get more serious.
While we were in CA. we would come to Page AZ. and Lake Powell for vacation, so we figured it would be a great place to sell solar....after all it's one of the sunniest states there is!! Plus we are surrounded by the Navajo Indian Res. and they, for the most part, do not have energy lines. But we mostly specialize in houseboat systems. We have just recently purchased a small piece of property where both our office and our home are located. We are working our way into selling only wholesale....our website is www.rrsolarwind.com and my email is sunwoman@aztrail.com
SORRY ABOUT THE BOOK...BUT HOW DO YOU CONDENSE 30 YEARS?!!
I HAVE NOT MADE ONE REUNION YET, BUT I AM ON MY WAY IN A WEEK AND A HALF!!!
HEY JOHN LAPLANTE.......HI CUZ!!
HERE ARE SOME PICS.........................
(click on any picture to enlarge)
Ron's 60th
Part of our solar array
Shelly and Ellie
Part of the view from our yard
SEE YOU ALL SOON!!!!!!!!!
Shelly