Mountain Profile: Julie Frederick-Todd

Name: Julie Frederick-Todd

Place of birth: Scobey, Montana

How long on the Mountain: 1990 - short break from 1995 to 1997, then back again.

If you were not brought here as a child, what brought you to the Mountain: My sister brought me to the mountain. Back in the late 70s we went to Parkrose and skied as teenagers. She was on the ski team and ended up coaching at Cooper Spur and working at Timberline Lodge for 20 years. Everyone who skied the mountain knew Camille for her snow phone. She even did an MTV Thrill Cam run down Palmer during a Rock Block. She is my famous sister. We are tight, so I would stay with her quite a bit and I fell in love with the Mountain. In 1990 I took a position in Human Resources at The Resort at The Mountain where I worked for five years and developed many friendships. In 1997 I met my husband who had a home just past the Ivy Bear where we live today.

Profession: Teacher for Oregon Trail for 15 years. It isn’t a job. It is my passion. When students walk into my class, they know they are in a safe place where learning can be an amazing experience and that my metaphorical “door” is always open.

Other professions: human resources, marketing, broadcasting, Mountain Times journalist and graphic design artist! I loved working at the Mountain Times with Thomas Teven, Marie Kennedy, Peggy Wallace, Steve Wilent, and then Roxanne Korda back in the early 2000s. I also have experience as a banquet server, cocktail waitress and bartender.

Favorites:

Movie/and or Musical: Three way tie: White Christmas, Mama Mia, and Mama Mia, Here We Go Again.

Actress and Actor: Meryl Streep. She is a class act! Chris Hemingway.

TV show: Ted Lasso – I had students tell me I am a female version of his character. They know me so well!

Book: The Hobbit

Type of music: Classic Rock and Elvis

Food: Squash with lots of butter and salt!

Hobbies: Hiking (Salmon River Trail is my favorite), performing in variety shows for fundraisers in my hometown of Scobey, Montana, or through Gateway/Gresham and Milwaukie/Portland Elks. All shows are fundraisers for various meaningful charities.

If offered a dream vacation, where would you go, and why: Ireland, Norway and Iceland. If I’m over in the Eastern Hemisphere, I might as well drop back down to England, Germany, Italy, and Greece! I’m a history buff who is honored to teach it. My husband and I both have ancestry that originates in County Cork, Ireland. I also want to see the Fisherman’s Friend perform. Norway for the Northern Lights and both Norway and Iceland for the use of energy from geologic features to power their population. It fascinates this self-proclaimed nerd.

Best lesson learned as a child: Mom always said, “If you aren’t having fun, do something about it.” When I was a teenager it morphed into, “If you aren’t having fun, check your attitude, find out what makes you happy and pursue it.” As an adult, “You have the power to make your own happiness.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used this logic in some way or another with a student who is having a rough time of it. We can’t control fate, or what may come our way, but we can choose how we tackle it.

Defining moment in your life or your greatest accomplishment: Every day is a defining moment. My actions have a direct impact on every person I come in contact with in life. My greatest accomplishments? They happen every time I can elevate someone to do better or be their best. A specific defining effort is raising my son to be a kind human being who values his friends for who they are and the gifts they bring as individuals to our world.

A memorable dinner: While on the train going back to Montana, I was seated with Dr. James Lowen, a professor of sociology and history who challenged the textbook industry on content and the way history was taught in the late 1970s. Before I knew this was the famous Dr. James Lowen, he asked what I did for work followed by” tell me about some of your lesson plans.” His response was, “Well, it sounds like you must have read my books.” It was amazing listening to his stories of taking on the status quo. Most people my age and older remember history as the class with “THE TEXTBOOK.” Everyday it was a lecture or reading from a chapter and answering questions. Lowen made history come to life, the good, the bad and the ugly! What an honor it was to share a meal and have the conversation about his life’s journey!

A funny moment from your life that you can share: So many. A person has to be able to laugh at themselves. The old Human Resource office at The Resort was on the east side of the property by Housekeeping. I had gone to the bathroom in a hurry and somehow or another got my skirt tucked into the back of my control top pantyhose. After leaving the bathroom, I stopped to speak with a job applicant in the lobby and went back to my office. I wandered back to accounting and fortunately, Curt Ott had the honor of telling me I might want to pull my skirt out of my panty hose. Curt offered to go get the job applicant. We laughed! That applicant must have been mortified!

If you could invite anyone (past or present) to dinner, who would it be, and why: My mom. I miss her terribly and I know she would have the answers from the great beyond that we used to ponder over our dinners, including “Did aliens help build the pyramids?”

Describe yourself in one word: Energetic

When you're not reading The Mountain Times, what book/author/magazine/other do you read: Anything that has to do with history or science intrigues me.

If your life were made into a play or movie, what would the title be: Go Get ‘Em Tiger!

Pet peeve: Litter bugs

Bad habit you’d like to break: Getting rid of clothes I don’t wear anymore, but might!

Famous person(s) you have met, and the circumstances: Bruce Willis. I literally ran into him on the way to the bathroom in Las Vegas. It was the night he married Demi. The news hadn’t hit. He was wearing blue jeans, a blue shirt and a blue baseball hat. I said, “I am so sorry,” looked up, realized who it was, and for the first, and only time in my life (which can be verified by anyone who knows me), I was speechless. Another lady was there and said, “You are Bruce Willis. What are you doing here?” He told us he had just married Demi! Nobody believed me that night, until the news broke.

Favorite quote: “Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.” Optimus Prime

Favorite part of The Mountain Times: Anything that has to do with history, or when I see one of my students has submitted an article. Love submissions from Gary Randall, Steve Wilent, Peggy Wallace, and recently Marie Kennedy. Oh, the whole thing.