Mt. Hood Dads

By Amber Ford, The Mountain Times

Life in The Mt. Hood Villages is different for every family residing within the vast wilderness that is the national forest. From work, school, sports, dance lessons, and fitting in family time, dads raising kids in The Mt. Hood Villages share one common bond: showing unconditional love, protection, and teaching their kiddos what it means to be a true mountain resident. Although there are more dedicated fathers on this mountain than there are allotted pages for this paper, here are just a few of the standout and standup dads in our community. 

Ryan Barnes

Long time Mt. Hood Villages resident Ryan Barnes is the ultimate “girl dad” raising his daughters among the trees, hikes, and ski resorts near Government Camp. A registered nurse, Barnes understands the challenges and rewards.“I feel like I have two best friends for life,” Barnes said. “My daughters are absolutely everything to me and they make me laugh more than anybody else. I just really enjoy seeing them growing, learning, and experiencing things together,” Barnes added.

Barnes’ kids have the best of both worlds with time spent in the city with their mom and life up here with their dad. “My girls have so much room to just run outside in the fresh air and be close and connected to nature,” Barnes said. “This is a really great place to teach kids outdoor sports and let them find their love for nature,” Barnes added.

Like many parents raising children in a remote location, Barnes cites the distinct differences from raising kids in the city. “When my kids were of daycare age that was very difficult to find,” Barnes said. “The constant power outages are also super challenging as a parent,” Barnes added. Although Barnes finds it sometimes difficult to navigate fatherhood on the mountain, the rewards outweigh the challenges. “Parenthood is the hardest thing, but I can’t imagine my life without my kids,” Barnes said. “Once you have kids there’s just so much love,” Barnes added.

Dan Johanesen

Mt. Hood Villages resident and father, Dan Johanesen, has set the bar high while achieving ultimate dad status. Father of 13 year old son Alex, Johanesen can’t believe how fast the journey has gone. “I have loved watching my son grow and change, but he didn’t stay little for very long,” Johanesen said. “It went too fast,” he added. 

A resident of The Mt. Hood Villages for over 20 years, Johanesen and his wife decided the mountain would be the best and most financially effective place to raise a family. Although fertility was a challenge at first, Johanesen fondly recalls the moment they found out they were expecting their son. “We tried to get pregnant for 11 years,” Johanesen said. “We had less than a 20% chance of having a child, so my wife’s doctor took her off of the meds after months and told her unless we did in-vitro that we should come to grips with the fact that we would never have children. Shortly after that she found out that she was pregnant,” Johanesen added. 

Johansen cites some of his best moments as a dad have been teaching his son the basic but most important lessons. “I’m trying to make sure I’m a good role model for my son and working to raise a good human,” Johanesen said. Though the mountain can be a challenging area to raise a family, Johanesen acknowledges that the tight knit community has been very important, becoming friends with other families and relying on one another as they grow as parents.

Jim Callantine

While this may come as a surprise to Jim Callantine, showcasing him under the Father’s Day piece just seemed right as his pseudo mountain daughter. A father of adult children living off the mountain, Callantine quickly adopted this coffee shop-owning journalist during one of the hardest, most challenging of times. A skilled and educated business man with years of business ownership under his belt, an amazing glass artist, and a master at always forgetting his hearing aides, Callantine’s presence is, at times, larger than life [especially if you’re Ms. Kaye].

A world traveler and part time Mexico snowbird (anyone that knows Callantine knows he’s never without a tan, so swift exits from Oregon in the fall are a must), Callantine served in the US military and spent time abroad while active in the Navy. Although Callantine and I have many differences (I am well trained at knowing how not to aggravate Ms. Kaye – he has yet to master that skill), our commonalities and our connection have been years in the making. Both avid readers, swapping books and giving recommendations, both fairly obsessed with the magical lyrics of Leonard Cohen, and in a constant summer race to see who can get the best tan, Callantine has not only become my dear friend, but a father figure in so many ways. From fixing wobbly tables at my coffee shop to allowing me to use his home while he was in Mexico, I will forever be grateful to the mountain’s most colorful of dads. 

Thank you, Jim.