My Journey From Germany to Bend, Oregon
How family history, curiosity, and a Bend childhood shaped my path.
I may have been born on a U.S. military base in Müenchweiler, Germany, but I only spent about three months there before my family moved to the United States. So while my birthplace often surprises people, I've always considered myself a Pacific Northwesterner through and through.
My family's surname was originally spelled Jünger in Germany. Before migrating to the United States, my ancestors updated the spelling to Juenger, making it a little easier for Americans to pronounce, spell, and remember. The name changed slightly, but the family story behind it remained the same.
I grew up in Bend, Oregon, alongside my mother and my sibling, during a time when Bend was still very much a small Central Oregon town. Looking back, I was a curious kid who always seemed to be exploring something, asking questions, or finding my way into new adventures. Whether it was the outdoors, sports, people, or simply understanding how things worked, I was rarely content to sit still for long.
Todd Juenger featured in The Bulletin
In fact, my curiosity managed to earn me a little local fame.
I was featured a few times in The Bulletin newspaper. One article, published in 1973, highlighted a local project led by the Bend district art director as part of a national study, back when I was a fifth grader at Bear Creek Elementary School. Another article, published in the late 1970s and memorably titled “A Real Squeeze", captured a very different kind of classroom adventure: students interacting with Millie the cow during an educational visit from the Future Farmers of America. While I certainly didn't know it at the time, those newspaper photos would become fun family keepsakes and reminders of a childhood spent exploring, learning, and growing up in a community that helped shape who I would become.
Growing up in Bend gave me an appreciation for many of the things that still bring me joy today. Surrounded by rivers, lakes, mountains, and wide-open spaces, I developed a love for the outdoors at an early age. It was a place where community mattered, neighbors knew each other, and adventure was often just outside the front door.
Those early experiences helped shape the values that continue to guide me today: curiosity, hard work, service to others, appreciation for nature, and the belief that some of life's greatest lessons are learned through experience.
Looking back, I realize that many of the passions that would define my adult life—travel, outdoor recreation, community involvement, and lifelong learning—were already beginning to take root during those years in Bend.
