At the age of 91, veteran well driller Albion Olsen of A. O. Olsen Well Drilling knows the lay of the land around East Portland and Gresham better than most. He also knows the importance of family and looking toward the future.
Well drilling is a family affair for the Olsens. Albion’s father started out drilling wells in the 1920s, later taking a break to return to Norway with his young family. Albion started his own well drilling business in the 1940s assisted by his wife, Berna, who kept meticulous books for the company. Albion and Berna are now retired, enjoying their family and the beauty of Mt. Hood from their home on Wildcat Mountain.
The Olsens have made good use of their mountain retreat. Albion explains, “Our son has also been busy planting seedlings for timber on our place.” The seedlings will replace the mature timber that was recently harvested from the Olsen farm.
That recent logging of Olsen timber created an opportunity for Albion to give back to causes of great importance to him by establishing a charitable gift annuity.
The gift annuity will pay a guaranteed lifetime income based on Albion’s age. Half of the remainder value of the gift annuity is designated to support the Elks Children’s Eye Clinic at the Casey Eye Institute at OHSU. Albion is a longtime member of the Oregon Elks through the Gresham Elks Lodge. Oregon Elks have supported the clinic since 1949.
The other half of the remainder value of Albion’s gift annuity is dedicated to the OHSU Department of Neurology to help fund research on Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that has affected so many people.
Albion summarized his feelings, saying, “I like the gift annuity because I get a good stream of income, I get a tax deduction, and we also get to help the kids through the Elks and also Alzheimer’s research.”
