About Rollie
Rollie Gordon Storbakken born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, 1954. Stayed there two years then California for three, then moved back to North Dakota to Langdon where he went to school thru fourth grade. His parents bought him a Shetland pony and raised him up a an American Cowboy. He has two younger sisters and a brother.
The family moved to Conway WA. in the spring of 1964 to a 40 acre farm with two houses. His Grandparents on his Dad’s side had bought the farm in the Skagit Valley. We raised horses, cows and pigs. a big barn, orchard and a creek running thru the property. Rollie attended Conway grade school where he and his class mates, Leo De Leon and Adam Ruiz formed a band to play the grade school dances.
Rollie graduated from Mt. Vernon High School where he played football making “The All Northwest Team” halfback award his Junior and Senior years running the ball over One Hundred yards in 17 out of 18 games. In the two years of his starting halfback position, his team lost only one game to the states champions. Rollie was offered a full ride scholarship to The University to play football for “The Montana Grizzlies” where he started at fullback his Sophomore year running the Wishbone offense in 1973 under Coach Jack Swarthout. At that time Rollie was the smallest fullback to start for Montana in over 30 years. That being said, Rollie wrote a song ” On My Way To Montana” that was played at a Half Time intermission “Big Sky” league game.
Alcohol ended his football scholarship at Montana. After a brief job as a janitor- EMT hospital worker he flew to “The Prince of Wales Island” in Alaska to work a floating logging camp where he set chokers and the was transferred to the water to drill boom sticks and secure the log rafts. Relatives working the railroad yard in Seattle got him on so he left the logging camp and started cleaning rail passenger cars for Burlington Northern Railways. Alcohol ended that opportunity. Another University, Western Washington gave him a one year job at the post office as part of a two year football scholarship. The only thing that came out of that was another one of his songs for a girl named “Laurie” During this time Rollie met up with a couple of fiddle players who taught him Old Time Fiddle Tunes, they needed a rhythm guitar player. This started a 10 year relationship with Phil De Pee and Jack Hansen. His Dad, Cowboy Curt, got Rollie on with Local Union “505” Ironworkers. Local 86 in Seattle WA. absorbed 505 where Rollie worked and paid his dues for 35 years and retired at 54, “with all his fingers and toes.