During the holidays, Elyssa Jackson turns to her native roots when it comes to cooking.
Jackson, 25, is a third-generation Californian who has lived in Iola a little more than a year. She came here by way of a position with the Allen County Historical Society, which she has since lost. Now, she works a combination of three jobs, including as interim director of the Christian education program with First Presbyterian Church, as a barista at Around the Corner coffee shop, and as an instructor with SAFE BASE, the Iola school district’s after-school program.
“I like all three jobs” she said, “but my goal is to use my degree.”
Jackson has a degree in art history from the University of California at Santa Barbara and is working toward her master’s in museum studies through San Francisco State.
“I have yet to write my thesis,” she said, adding she has a couple of years before it must be completed.
As for her undergraduate degree, Jackson said art history is “a way to be involved with art without having to have talent.”
Jackson has ties to Iola. She is the niece of Steve and Jeannie Weide, and as a child her family occasionally came this way to attend family reunions.
“The last time we came was in July 2012. It had been 17 years since I’d been to Iola,” she said. “I liked it.”
This fall, her longtime boyfriend, Chris Stevens, joined Elyssa. He works in customer service for Sonic Equipment. Stevens is also a native of California, and recently graduated from with a degree in business administration.
Jackson said he, too, finds Iola a good place to live.
Jackson was raised in Lancaster, Calif., about 70 miles north of Los Angeles out in the Mojave Desert.
“We occasionally had snow,” she of the climate there. “But if there was enough to stick to the ground they canceled school. The main concern of any kind of noticeable precipitation is that it would cause flooding.”
Her father had a career in the military and the family moved frequently. They lived in Fort Riley from 1991 to 1995. Today he serves as a counselor for the Veterans Affairs in Oregon, working with soldiers who suffer post traumatic stress disorder. Her mother is a paraprofessional in the local school district in Oregon.
As a child growing up, Jackson said cooking was a family affair. Elyssa and her two siblings, a brother and sister, learned how to cook basic food — fried chicken and meatloaf — from their dad. Mexican food was also typical fare. “Our town had a big Hispanic population,” she said.
For Jackson, cooking is relaxing.
“It comforts me,” she said.
