ANA news11-09 - AlamedaPDX.net

A L-
Alameda Neighborhood Association
Ridge home / Letter from London
Doug Decker -new series
David Knott
Gail Jiedy / Blythe Knott
Alameda Celendar /
Hollywood on the Willamette
Gardening - Figs &Herbs
November-December 2009
Volume 21, Number 5
Salute the Season!
The pictures salute a season saturated
with all manner of holiday traditions,
festive foods, faith celebrations, visits,
travel, cherished memories, relatives,
reunions and exhilirating excursions.
Alameda Neighborhood Association
3118 NE 32nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97212
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PAID
PORTLAND, OR
PERMIT 4675
Consider putting your pictures and
thoughts on the new Facebook page:
AlamedaPDX Neighbors.
ALL PHOTOS BY G.I.SMITH
Backpack Lunch Program Grows |
Each Friday during the school year,
the Backpack Lunch Program puts lunch
items for two meals in the backpacks of 40
children at Woodlawn Elementary School.
These are children who are at risk of hunger
on weekends when the federally-sponsored
school lunch isn’t available. After just one
year, the program has expanded from serving
10 children to serving 40 children each week.
The Backpack Lunch Program was
started by Marilyn Mauch at Fremont United
Methodist Church. Mauch had two goals in
mind when she launched the program. The
first goal was to serve children in need. As
a child, she participated in a school lunch
program, and knows that it helped her stay in
school. Her family was hungry on weekends
when the lunch program was not available.
She strongly believes that children have a
greater chance of success in life if they stay
in school, and that making sure students have
enough to eat improves their attendance, their
focus, and their attitude about school.
Mauch’s second goal was to have several
churches join together to participate in a
mission that they could not accomplish
individually. The four participating churches
are Fremont, Woodlawn, and Hughes
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by Michele Lee Bernstein
Memorial United Methodist Churches, and
Wilshire UMC/Native American Fellowship,
working with community friends and donors.
The churches collect food and money to
purchase food for the program. They pack the
lunches and deliver them to Woodlawn School
on a monthly basis. Their goal is to serve 100
children each week; it costs $100 to supply a
school-year of weekend lunches The program
is an all volunteer program -- there are no paid
staff.
The Backpack Lunch Program makes a
difference in the lives and futures of children
in need. Donations are welcome in the form of
food, money, or volunteer time. To learn more
about the program, contact Marilyn Mauch at
503/287-3014 or Fremont United Methodist
Church at 503/284-4647.
Food items to donate:
cans of chili, soup, ravioli in meat sauce
cans/boxes of mac n’ cheese
small juice boxes—100% juice only, no foil
containers
individual-size fruit cups
small packages of crackers w/cheese
raisins or fruit snacks
granola bars (no peanuts)
Page 2
AlamedA
George Ivan Smith
Editor
In the November 2007 newsletter I was
very pleased to announce that at last the
Alameda Neighborhood Association had its
own website: www.AlamedaPDX.org .
With able aid from neighbor Damien Frye,
I got the header up, a few stories, some
great dog photos by Sharon Ackerman, and
I leaned back waiting for the flood of great
material.
I was Vladimir waiting for Godot. From
time to time I fed the site a fresh news
item. But an active website is voracious.
Visitors expect to see something new
each visit or they don’t come back. So the
site has mostly hibernated for two years,
awaiting a webmaster with the ability of a
Rumpelstiltskin.
Happily a savvy young friend suggested an
obvious answer. Why not set up a Group on
Facebook? It’s wildly popular and familiar. It
lets people communicate directly and easily.
Nobody is compelled to join the fun.
So on October 15th I set up AlamedaPDX
Neighbors on Facebook as a Group page.
I used a photo of my front garden simply
because it was available. Soon we can
replace it with something more “Alameda.”
How now? Will you give it a try?
AlamedaPDX Neighbors
on Facebook
Staff Position Available
Advertising Manager of this newsletter
Voluntary position involves reviewing about
twenty ads each issue, and contacting those
with new or monthly ads to assure that all
ads are available by the layout deadline. The
manager responds to inquiries from potential
advertisers, and contacts some former advertisers about renewing. Manager confirms
with ANA Treasurer invoices the Treasurer
sends. It’s an excellent opportunity to get
documented real-world business experience
and improve presentation skills with clients.
In the past the Manager has dealt only with
ads for this tabloid newsletter. When we get
the website going properly we want to offer
advertising on our website also--more room,
more flexibility, and color!
Contact the editor: 503-284-9829 or
georgeivansmith@gmail.com
Three Years Abuilding
by G. I. Smith
hen Alameda neighbor Alan Pruder and
his wife bought a grand old ridge home
where NE 28th Avenue intersects NE Alameda
Street, they planned to do some improvements
but hardly expected the process to take three
years. A former professional bicycle racer, Mr.
Pruder is not in love with the slow lane.
W
“Oh,” they said.
He began with a set of architectural plans
approved at some cost by the city. As work
began he found that the building’s footing
on a slope from the ridge was shallow and
insecure. There was serious risk that with a
slight earthquake or long heavy rain the house
might slide down the hill. Then a basement
fire caused enough damage to require more
extensive rebuilding.
Gradually the house took shape. It sits
comfortably on its new foundation. The tiny
garage houses a Mini Cooper. Throughout,
from basement to second floor, Mr. Pruder’s
attention to the movement of people and to
details honoring the period of the original
home shows clearly. Passersby on the street
may suppose the home got a new coat of
paint. Visitors on the inside see the ecological
touches—a heat exchange system in the
basement for cooling and warming with
virtually no “carbon footprint,” sharing the
house with a re-used vintage claw-foot bathtub.
Mr. Pruder had to negotiate with the city to
pour fewer but stronger footings. Finally
he had to remove the small amount of wall
remaining—which changed the project to
an uncertain permits situation. Was it now a
remodel, or a new building?
But he still had to bargain for a reduced pitch
of the roof to gain a foot of headroom in the
front of the house. Looking at the house from
the street, it is unclear what legitimate concern
the city had about a slight change in the pitch
of a roof. The pitch is plenty steep for drainage.
As he sits in the living room of his recently
finished home, he says, “I don’t know how
people can build a house that’s right without
going through at least a complete year. You
need time to find and fix the hairline cracks that
cause slow leaks.”
At one point the city was ready to require
payment of $12,000 more to review plans “to
make sure you are getting the right house.”
An exception to code had allowed a slight
expansion toward the sidewalk of a second
floor wall of the original house, but now
the city officials were refusing to allow the
variance on the new building. Mr. Pruder
pointed out that Oregon law provides that the
exception follows the land, not the building.
While the house took three years and
considerably more money than expected, he
and his family plan to live in Alameda for years
to come. “We love it here,” he says.
Letter to the Editor
Letters of agreement or disagreement on any topic are invited.
Hello Alameda – Greetings from the
Rogers in London!
We are now living in this big city for a year
because our Dad’s job moved us here. At first
we were kind of sad to go because it meant that
we would leave our friends and school. We all
go to Alameda Elementary, and 2 of us (Milena
and Lilly) were SUPPOSED to go to our final
year 5th grade. Nick was supposed to go to
3rd Grade. At first we didn’t feel like going to
London at all.
Now we’ve been here for a month and
½, and our new school is called Southbank
International School. We have to be honest,
at first we were not sure we would like it that
much, but now we really do.
Southbank is international, educational
and fun!! The students are from all over the
world with a total of 65 different cultures
and languages! But classes are still taught in
English. It is in a 4 story old brick building
and there isn’t a lot of playground space like
at Alameda. This is probably because there
isn’t a lot of space in London . It can get really
crowded here, especially on the tube [subway].
JOSÉ MESA AUTO WHOLESALE, LLC
“The mobile auto dealer who is always in your neighborhood.”
YOUR DISCOUNT AUTO RETAILER SINCE 1992!
503-789-0438
Toll Free 877-789-0438 Fax 503-284-2292
sales@josemesa.com www.josemesa.com
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Now?
November-December 2009
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But we walk to school, which is OK when
it’s not raining. But coming from Portland,
London weather is not all that different.
Besides the normal subjects we also have
Music, Art and something that is called Unit
of Inquiry. 5th grade is now finishing up
Renewable Energy (Portland is still very
green!) and 3rd grade is doing Nutrition. Then
we will move on to learning about Antiquities.
We’ll cover ancient London and artifacts. We
get to go to the banks of the river Thames and
look for old artifacts in the mud. Last year
a genuine chunk of a Roman tiled floor was
found and now it’s in our classroom.
We have made some good friends here,
but we really miss our friends back home.
Southbank and Alameda are similar and
different in good ways. Both schools have great
teachers, fantastic students and interesting
subjects. Southbank says that it is a school
without walls, and this is good, because it
means that it tries to be very open.
We will be back next year!
From Nicholas, Milena and Lilly Rogers
p.s. At Southbank we do not have to wear
uniforms, hurray!
November-December 2009
by Doug Decker
AlamedA
Page 3
The Builders | Profiles of Historic Alameda Neighborhood Homebuilders
This is the first in a series
of articles by neighborhood
historian Doug Decker
about the people who built
the Alameda neighborhood
we know today. Thousands
of hands have shaped our
homes and surroundings here
in the neighborhoods of Northeast Portland:
designing, digging, building, crafting, selling. The men and women who imagined and then
built our neighborhood in the early 1900s are
gone now, and mostly unremembered. But their
work is durable enough that today we take
it for granted. Do many of us wonder about
how the bones of our houses came together, or
the people behind the construction? Probably
not. But learning about them and saluting the
builders adds context that enriches our own
residency here.
Frank A. Read | Homebuilder
Born in Portland, Oregon on October 5,
1885, Frank Read lived here all his life. He
had an eye for Tudor and colonial-influenced
architecture. Of the 18 homes he built in
Alameda Park, all but his first (a bungalow)
trace their design roots to those styles. His
earliest known work, built in 1923 when he
was 38, is a bungalow style home at 3630 NE
22nd Avenue.
A cluster of nearby homes built in the late
1930s and 1940s near the Alameda Ridge
have colonial roots. Others are from the
Tudor revival style, complete with exterior
faux beams. In addition to being the general
contractor, Read was also likely the primary
designer of these homes, a common practice
during this period. His colonial-influenced homes are distinctive
for their use of a garrison style overhang
between the first and second floor, and pendant
“drops” at the corners. He was also fond
of plunging rooflines from the roof peak to
just above the entry, tracing a link to early
17th Century New England homes. Regardless
of design reference, Frank Read homes used
many of the same building materials. In addition to his strong sense for design,
Read clearly had good business sense for
real estate development and for construction
economies of scale. His above-the-ridge homes
are all located within 100 yards of each other,
and in this portion of the neighborhood Read
built several other homes. The places where
he chose to build were a quick walk from a
stop on the Broadway streetcar which ran to
29th and Mason.
Read had a good eye for developing the
best of the remaining lots in the neighborhood
that had not been built on until the 1930s. He
undoubtedly built and worked on homes in
neighborhoods throughout the city. Permits
for the Alameda Park, Olmsted, Homedale,
Irvington and George Place additions
(component parts of today’s Alameda
Neighborhood) show 16 other homes that Read
built.
The 1920 Federal Census shows Frank and
Mae Read renting a home on NE 67th Avenue.
The 1930 Federal Census shows them living
Friends of Trees Schedules Orders for Plantings in Alameda
with January 11 Deadline for the March 13 Planting
This year Friends of Trees will plant twice
the number of street and yard trees it planted
last year to help Portland meet its five-year
Grey to Green Initiative goal of adding 83,000
trees to city streets in five years. The Grey to
Green partnership enables Friends of Trees to
offer 8- to 12-foot tall nursery trees for only
$15 to $75, a cost that includes the wholesale
price of the tree, its delivery, hole digging,
assistance in planting, stakes, mulch, and
follow-up maintenance checks. An added
benefit is the neighborhood potluck that
follows the community tree planting.
To order the discounted trees, homeowners
need to create an online account at “Order
Street & Yard Trees” at www.FriendsofTrees.
org by the deadlines listed below, which will
allow time for the permitting process required
before a street tree can be planted. Portland
Bureau of Environmental Services canvassers
working with Friends of Trees and volunteer
neighborhood coordinators are assisting
homeowners in ordering trees and processing
the permits.
The following are deadlines for N-NE
Portland plantings:
·
Nov. 30 deadline for the Jan. 30
planting in Arbor Lodge and Overlook
·
Dec. 7 deadline for the Feb. 6 planting
in Kenton, Portsmouth and St. Johns and
University Park
·
Dec. 14 deadline for the Feb. 13
planting in Boise, Eliot, Humboldt and King
·
Dec 21 deadline for the Feb. 20 planting
in Piedmont and Woodlawn
·
Jan. 11 deadline for the March 13
planting in Alameda, Irvington and Sabin
·
Jan. 18 deadline for the March 20
planting in Beaumont-Wilshire, Cully, Madison
South, Rose City Park and Roseway
·
Jan. 25 deadline for the March 27
planting in Concordia and Vernon
To fulfill its mission of building community
and increasing tree canopy, Friends of Trees
provides trees at less than half the actual cost
for trees and native plants to increase the metro
in Laurelhurst at 3469 NE Oregon. And Polk
city directories verify they were living in that
home in 1950. Frank Reed died at age 64 on
June 20, 1950, survived by his wife, Mae, and
three brothers. Mae, seven years his junior,
died less than a month later on July 17, 1950.
A brief three-paragraph obituary ran in The
Oregon Journal on June 24, 1950, describing
Reed as a builder and contractor for 40 years.
Homes built by Frank A. Reed
2244 NE Alameda
04/03/1936 $8,700
2645 NE Alameda
01/07/1936 $8,700
2705 NE Alameda
07/02/1935 $8,500
3100 NE Alameda
03/10/1938 $9,000
3141 NE Alameda
05/07/1941 $12,000
3265 NE Alameda
09/15/1934 $10,000
3015 NE Dunckley 01/05/1939 $9,000
3025 NE Dunckley 12/30/1899 $10,000
3055 NE Dunckley 11/17/1938 $8,000
3129 NE Bryce
09/30/1939 $7,800
3137 NE Bryce
11/16/1939 $8,500
2105 NE Klickitat
04/21/1905 -3630 NE 22nd Ave. 06/22/1923 $5,800
3733 NE 28th Ave. 12/30/1899 $9,000
4213 NE 28thAve.
12/30/1899 $5,700
th
3838 NE 29 Ave. 06/23/1939 $7,800
4040 NE 29th Ave. 02/21/1940 $6,000
4050 NE 29th Ave. 02/21/1940 $6,000
Additional information about this builder and
others is available at
www.alamedahistory.org
-Doug Decker doug@alamedahistory.org
Wondering about the style of your home?
Send us a photo! Include whatever history
you might know about the house. We’ll
respond with an assessment of house style,
the year your house was built, and your old
street address (if your house was built before
1931). We might also consider featuring
your photo in future issues of the house style
column. Send to doug@alamedahistory.org
beneficial tree cover. To learn more and join
us, visit www.FriendsofTrees.org.
CONTACT: Whitney Dorer, 503-282-8846
ext. 21; Cain Allen, 503-282-8846 ext. 13
GRANT HIGH SCHOOL BOOK FAIR
This year’s annual Book Fair will be two days,
Mon. Nov. 23rdfrom 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
and Tues Nov. 24th from 8:15 AM – 6:00 PM.
Thousands of books will be on sale for $1each
in the Grant High Gym. 100% of the proceeds
will go to the Grant High library. There are
cookbooks, classics, gardening, mysteries…you
name it, we have it.
We will gladly accept donations up to the
sale. Just drop off your books in the main hall
at Grant, or call Laurene, 503-288-1431 and we
will pick them up.
John Sulahian
Tel. (503) 288-5376
Alameda Art Glass
Traditional & Contemporary
Windows and Lighting
Private and Commercial Commisions
Since 1976
Page 4
AlamedA
November-December 2009
Vomit & a BB Gun War
By David Knott
This is a lesson on how to ruin
a parent’s nap and make your
kid throw up. On one of those
nice autumn days at the end of
September we called up my son’s
friend, Carson, to have him over
for a BB gun fight.
“Carson, it’s David and Charlie. Do you
want to come over for a BB gun fight?” I
asked.
“Yeah! Let me go ask my dad. He’s
napping. Hang on….” he said.
“Wait!” I said.
But it was too late and now I had to live
with having woken a parent from a nap. He
came back on the phone and it was a go. We
got into my Volvo, which, by the way, has
2-wheel, rear-wheel drive. Its new addition is
throw-up in the back seat. That’s why, when
Charlie gets in, his new thing is to ask if he
should sit on the throw-up side.
Just a quick story on how that happened.
Charlie and I were on my father’s boat
in Puget Sound a few weekends prior.
For breakfast on the last day, my father
microwaved three mini pizzas, which was a
culinary stretch since 1950s men know less
about cooking than the indigenous Quechuan
people of the Amazon know about walruses.
When I was cutting up Charlie’s I noticed it
was exaggeratedly gooey.
“I don’t think this is working, Dad,” I said.
It turns out, they were non-microwavable
pizzas. Sure enough, when I bit into it, it was
cold. Nevertheless, I served it to Charlie and
he ate it. Give a kid well-prepared lemon
chicken and couscous and he’ll push it away.
Give him doughy cold pizza and he’ll eat it
without pause. I served it to him anyway
because I was thinking how I’m always
griping about preservatives – well, why not
put them to use? Technically speaking, my
son should be able to eat a raw pizza and not
get sick.
We got off the boat in Seattle a few hours
later and were five minutes into our drive
home when he started complaining that his
tummy hurt.
“All right, let’s just give it about 10 more
minutes and we’ll see what happens,” I said.
Eight minutes later he threw up all over the
floor of the car. It was a gusher. I let him
out of the car and he finished throwing up on
someone’s lawn while I scrubbed the carpet,
and cleaned little bits out of the joints of his
action figures.
We repeated the process in Tacoma. My
wife later theorized that it was the expanding
dough that caused the problem. Who
would’ve thought? So, that is why we now
have a throw-up and non-throw-up side of the
car.
Anyway, we arrived at Carson’s and walked
in to find him watching TV and his two-yearold brother, Teagan, standing amidst a sea of
what looked like beans that had scattered all
over the dining room floor.
“What happened here?” I asked.
“Teagan spilled the trail mix,” said Carson.
The three most ambulatory of us went to
the basement to gather the guns. Soon after, I
heard Teagan descending the steps.
“Can Teagan walk down these steps?” I
asked.
“Yeah, but he’s not allowed to see the guns,”
said Carson.
I took Teagan back upstairs and attempted to
make him laugh using karate moves. Young
kids cannot resist karate moves. My standard
routine is three quick throat jabs, and then a
kick to the solar plexus. But since I’m not
very limber it’s more like a bent knee kick to
the shins. Then I finish it off with a sweeping
round house kick. It was a success. I had him
laughing heartily, which was lucky because if
that didn’t work I was going to have to do a
cartwheel.
The boys announced they were ready and
leaving by the basement door. I said goodbye
to Teagan and, closing the front door behind
me, left him standing there in the living room,
which looked awkward.
I circled around the outside of the house
and met up with the boys. Just as they were
shutting the door we heard a thumpity bump.
Running into the basement, we found Teagan
on the basement stairs landing, having just
fallen down three steps. He was coming down
in search of his brother – probably to show
him his karate moves.
Luckily, it was a short fall. Still, he wasn’t
happy. He had that lull-before-the-storm
face when they’ve turned red from the lack
of oxygen and intensifying pain; and they’re
suspended in an agape-mouthed inhalation
that is about to express itself as a massive wail
of discontent. The inhale was long enough for
Carson to turn to us and say, “oh, crap, he’s
about to let out a really loud noise.”
We gave him a minute to bawl it out. I
spent that time thinking about how I already
woke up his dad with a phone call, and now
I had to wake him up again to deliver his
youngest, crying son to him, who just tumbled
down the stairs. I would have sent Teagan up
2401 NE Fremont
503-287-3655
Your neighborhood grocery store.
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OPEN
Tuesday - Thursday
4pm - 9pm
Friday 4pm - 10pm
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ADVISORY TO READERS: Please read
the WHOLE story before contacting
the editor. Thank you.
alone, but he had already proven his difficulty
with stairs; plus he likely couldn’t see very
well with a pool of tears in his eyes.
“Carson, can you carry your brother to your
dad?” I said.
Carson grabbed him in the Heimlich
position, and hoisted him up the stairs. He
had to drop Teagan every three steps to
rest and adjust his grasp. Shortly after
disappearing from sight, Carson returned and
I walked them to the car thinking, “that went
smoothly.”
Once in the car, Charlie and I had a plan to
say in unison, “How does it smell in here?”
Before we could say anything Carson said, “It
smells like chlorine in here.” Chlorine? So,
now I need to go to a pool to see if chlorine
smells like vomit.
Back at our house we prepared for battle.
Carson put on his goggles and was ready in
seconds. Never having done this, and scared
to try, Charlie and I took longer. We outfitted
ourselves with pants, jackets, scarves, hats,
gloves and snorkeling masks. Carson looked
like he was going to the beach. We looked
like we were going snorkeling on Mt. Hood.
We set up our fortresses in the back yard
– them against me. At first I was cowering
behind an Adirondack chair with my shooting
hand over the top. I had no idea of my hit
rate, but I imagine it was low.
As it turns out, the BBs are airsoft plastic
BBs, and therefore hurt minimally – just
enough to be a deterrent.
We played three rounds, punctuated by
reloads and stories of how we “totally got
each other.” By the third round I wasn’t even
using my barriers. Instead I tuck and rolled,
and serpentined across the lawn – and I was
fine.
Go out and buy some airsoft BB guns and
try it out. Or, if you want the whole package,
go out and buy non-microwavable pizza, trail
mix, a book on karate moves, and some airsoft
BB guns. Guaranteed good times.
November-December 2009
AlamedA
Picture Windows
Sound Roots Music
By Gail Jeidy
By Blythe Knott
“Fanged frog found in Mekong”
Two-story infill disrupts Stanton Street
“The best basketball shot ever”
Significant hubbub occurred when the new
residents moved into the work/live condo
constructed in an Alameda backyard. The
neighbors’ reception was unanimously welcoming.
The 2-foot by 4-foot dream home is comprised
of wire and wood and now houses two bunnies
(of the dwarf bunny variety). The bunnies’
sex is as yet undetermined but word has it the
(human) adults are keeping fingers crossed and
the apprentice adults are keeping theirs doublecrossed. “We have to wait about six months and
see,” the young owner said, winking.
“Reinventing the McMansion”
“Civility is out!”
The window I’ve been peering into is a flat screen
monitor and, as happens when I’m between
writing projects and my mind wanders like a
honey bee in search of pollen, I light on whatever
lies before my nose, which lately is Internet news.
I wonder what would happen if I pivoted in my
chair and framed the happenings around me with
the same degree of sensation. Let’s see:
Alien crop circle in Alameda
Click for full story.
Upon further inspection, what onlookers mistook
for a crop circle was really the dead grass patch
beneath the swimming pool that was packed up
and put away in September. Two children were
found seated cross-legged in the circle with eyes
closed, hands outstretched and a distinct hum
penetrating the air (not to be mistaken for the
drone of airplanes overhead.) “We are trying to
contact aliens,” the one with an aura explained. A
week later after a rain when asked about the alien
landing, the second child shrugged her shoulders
and said, “It’s a bog now.”
Fluorescent basketball blinds drivers
Click for full story.
The setting sun has been particularly orange,
spherical, and as sensational as it gets this season,
causing a distraction to drivers heading west on
Fremont. Others claim the late day spectacle
is no comparison to the rising sun responsible
for blasting out the retinas of early a.m. drivers
heading east on Fremont, Knott, Sandy, and
Weidler. Sunglasses are little help in the face of
this atmospheric reality. The autumn light has
been magnificent all times of the day, especially in
the a.m. when the sun-kissed morn has the power
to erase a grumpy mood.

2620 NE Fremont Street, 97212
503-284-4647
Wendy Joy Woodworth, Pastor
www.fremontumc.org
9:15 Sunday school 10:30 Sunday Worship
Advent Festival Dec. 6, noon to 3 pm
Christmas Tree Sales Dec. 4-16
Community Carol Sing Dec. 20, 4 pm
Christmas Eve 7 pm Family Pageant
Christmas Eve 11 pm Candlelight Service
At Fremont United Methodist Church,
we embrace diversity
and come together in the unity of the Spirit
to do justice, love kindness and
walk humbly with God.
Click for full story.
Alameda residents no longer ask family
“How was your day?”
The welcome-home phrase has been replaced
with: “Was anyone sick today?” as people of
all ages stay alert to the possibility of colds and
H1N1 flu this fall. Trips to the grocery store are
taking longer as shoppers wipe down shopping
cart handles and load up with extra supplies
of hand sanitizer, moist towelettes, tissue and
Vitamin C. Water bills are expected to skyrocket
as residents repeatedly wash their hands as
long as it takes to sing the Happy Birthday
song (including cha cha cha) in its entirety. The
precautions, however, are worth every penny.
Stay well. Sound Roots Music
--continued from column one
The thing that really attracted me to Sound Roots
is their new “On Site” program. More and more
schools in the Portland area are cutting out their
music programs. Alameda Elementary, where my
kids go, has a full-time music teacher, but I think
his salary is paid mainly through parent donations.
Schools that are at the mercy of district funding
are finding these “extras” disappearing.
So, Sound Roots is working to bring a music
program to these schools. They contract with
schools – from preschool to high school - to
provide music classes. These classes can range
from general music instruction, to “electric
opera,” to a recycled instrument band (where
students create their own instruments and then
play them). Schools book the On Site program
for a minimum of 8 weeks, and pay per week.
It’s a very affordable and administratively simple
option for schools that lack a music program,
and it can often be paid for through fundraising
or the PTA. I think it’s a wonderful idea and I
hope it significantly expands music instruction in
Portland’s schools.
The school is currently located at N. Beech and
MLK but is moving in December to Williams and
Shaver. Sound Roots can be reached at 503-2829999 or www.soundrootsmusic.com.
Great Gifts For Gardeners!
Page 5
I like music, but I have no talent
for playing or creating music. So I
have tremendous respect for people
who can play, and especially for
people who can write and play, and
most especially for those who can
write and play and teach. Every
year when my kids are at Grace Art
Camp I’m blown away by the teachers who can
pick up a guitar and effortlessly play along with
whatever made-up songs the kids happen to sing.
I need more of that in my life than one week per
year, so, that’s what brought me to Sound Roots
School of Music – a relatively new studio (1 year
old in October) where the focus is on enjoying the
process of learning, and on flexibility in what is
learned. If a student wants to focus on Beethoven,
they can learn Beethoven. If they want Pearl Jam
(I just went to their concert – which was great by
the way - so they’ve been on my mind), they can
learn Pearl Jam.
This appeals to me because when I was growing
up I took piano lessons from a German lady who
was about 100 years old. She would only let me
learn works by Czerny. Bored out of my mind,
I would sit there studying her knuckles – which
were huge from years and years of playing – and
wait for the lesson to end. I don’t want that for
my kids – I want them to get a feel for music, but
in a way that engages and excites them.
Anyway, Sound Roots is owned by the husband
and wife team of Fara and Chris Heath. Fara
takes care of the business side of the school,
and Chris is in charge of music. Chris got his
Bachelor’s degree from the Berklee College of
Music in Boston with majors in song writing
and film scoring. He is a lifelong music student
with a wide array of skills, including expertise
in keyboard, guitar, drums, mandolin, and voice.
Chris recently obtained a Master’s in Education
from the University of Portland. Chris teaches
private and group lessons at Sound Roots, and the
school also has 15 other teachers whom Chris and
Fara carefully select and take a great deal of pride
in. They work to fit teacher interest to student
interest so that no one has an experience like I had
as a child.
Sound Roots offers classes from childhood
through adult. For the younger crowd, they have
classes – called Rookie Rock - for kids under five
that are taught with parents present. The focus is
on offering music that both the parents and their
kids will really enjoy. For those over 5, the school
offers group and private lessons on just about any
instrument you can imagine.
A very popular class – one I have heard rave
reviews about from friends – is Sound Roots’Rock
Camp – offered during the summer and during
school breaks. They also offer birthday parties
for kids that can be tailored to any level of music
familiarity. Additionally, following the school’s
philosophy of providing access to music to a wide
range of people, Sound Roots has a Community
Jam session the first Tuesday of every month at
7pm. It’s open to all ages and skill levels – you
can bring an instrument or use one of theirs.
ALAMEDA
Page 6
Alameda Calendar
Portland Farmer’s Market at PSU
Every Saturday, 8:30am-2pm
Comprised of four distinct urban, neighborhoodbased markets, it features more than 200 vendors
from Oregon and Washington – including farmers,
bakeries, nurseries, meat and seafood providers,
cheese makers and specialty food producers. 503241-0032
Hollywood Farmer’s Market
Every Saturday, 9 am - 1 pm in November.
NE Hancock between 44th and 45th Avenues.
Neighbors Discuss The Portland Plan
City invites discussion of the plan that will be
the city’s strategic plan for the next 25 years.
These are the times and locations:
Nov. 17, 6:30 – 9 pm 4043 NE Fremont St.
Beaumont Middle School
Nov. 19, 6:30 – 9 pm 1001 SE 135th Ave.
David Douglas High School
Dec. 1, 6:30 – 9 pm
8427 N Central St.
St. Johns Community Center
Dec. 5, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm 5530 SE 72nd Ave.
Mt. Scott Community Center
Dec. 7, 6:30 – 9 pm
1151 SW Vermont St.
Wilson High School
Dec. 15, [please check time] 722 SW 2nd Ave.
University of Oregon, Old Town
Tierra Educational Center
Tierra Educational Center, a locally owned Spanish and Latin American Cultural Center at 2915
NE MLKing Blvd. helps bridge the communication and cultural gap between the growing Hispanic population and the community at large.
The center offers quality and affordable Spanish
classes for all levels, as well as special courses
in topics specific to Latin American Culture and
History. Tierra also hosts a free Spanish Conversation Club every Friday from 6-8pm, with guided
discussion, guest speakers, and film screenings
pertaining to Latin American issues.
Details:503-213-3677 or www.tierracenter.com.
November-December 2009
Walk Score Your Home
by G. I. Smith
Groundwater 101
Saturday, Nov 14, 8:45am to 1:30pm
The Lake House at Blue Lake Park, 20500
NE Marine Dr, Fairview OR
Interested in learning where Portland’s
drinking water comes from? Join experts from
the Portland Water Bureau for a free workshop
all about groundwater, Portland’s secondary
water supply. Visit a well, test water quality,
and learn about local hydrogeology that
influences the Groundwater Protection
Program. Co-sponsored by the Portland Water
Bureau and the Columbia Slough Watershed
Council: sign up atwww.columbiaslough.
org or by calling 503-281-1132.
Wolverine Tracking Project
Volunteer Training
Wednesday, Nov 4, 7pm to 9 pm
Metro, 600 NE Grand Ave, Portland, OR
97232
Love to snowshoe? Interested in the animals
that live on Mt. Hood? Join the Wolverine
Tracking Project, a volunteer survey program
through Portland-based Cascadia Wild.
Develop animal tracking skills, enjoy group
trips in a winter wonderland, and walk in the
path of cougars. Season cost is $50; family
discounts and work trade are available. Learn
more at www.cascadiawild.org or 503-2359533. Training sessions begin on Nov 4th.
Would you be surprised to know that
Portland ranks 10th in walkability after San
Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago,
Philadelphia, Seattle, Wash. DC, Long Beach,
and Los Angeles? A fairly new measure of
real estate value in homes is “walkability.”
Proud of Alameda’s “liveability,” I was
thinking of pleasant walks, not easy access by
foot. www.Walkscore.com lets you type in an
address and get a general assessment of the
“walkability” of your home’s location.
Tallying the distance to essential services—
grocery, school, library, food shops, hardware,
clothing, post office, entertainment, health
care, etc., the program gives more points for
less distance, then adds them for your “walk
score,” with worst being 0 and best being 100.
I was shocked to see that my home’s score
is 65. I expected much higher. Our dearth of
business is part of a notion that seems more
suited to the middle of the last century when
business was severely separated, often by
zoning fiat, from the “residential area.” The
ascendency of the car led to the decline of
walking and an increase in obesity. Maybe we
should rethink things.
30 WORD TWIT
Renewable Energy
Thursday, Dec. 3rd, from 7:00 to 8:00
pm at the REI in the Pearl District, 1405
NW Johnson, Portland 97209. Diane Zipper
will present a program on clean, renewable
energy. Ms. Zipper is with the Renewable
Northwest Project (www.RNP.org). RNP
is a regional non-profit, advocating for
renewable energy resources such as wind,
solar and geothermal power. She will give
an overview of what renewable energy is, an
update on projects in Oregon, and discuss
the environmental and economic benefits
clean power brings to our state and region.
She will also review tax credits, incentives,
and the local green power programs, giving
people the tools to help support this growing
industry.
Alameda Neighborhood Association Contact List
Chair
Ken Bailey
503-287-1685
klctbailey@gmail.com
Vice chair
Secretary
Treasurer
Gene Avery
503-284-1314
eugeneavery@Q.com
Transportation
Scott Rider
503-528-9651
srider@finacorp.com
Land Use
Cleanup
Shelly Peck
503-493-9294
misterpony@earthlink.net
Tree Planting
Melissa Barber
503-863-7004
alamedatrees@gmail.com
Tree Planting
Reed Hall
503-284-1332
clanhall@yahoo.com
NECN Rep 1
Christine Hall
503-284-1332
clanhall@yahoo.com
NECN Rep 2
Gene Avery
503-284-1314
eugeneavery@Q.com
Alameda Historian
Doug Decker
503-281-7694
doug@alamedahistory.org
Newsletter/Website Editor
George Ivan Smith
503-284-9829
georgeivansmith@gmail.com
Writer
Margot Moore-Wilson
503-282-7139
moorwil@msn.com
Writer
David Knott
503-544-5664
dhknott@gmail.com
Writer
Steve Powers
503-945-9009
powers_steven@yahoo.com
Writer
Blythe Knott
503-544-5664
blytheknott@gmail.com
Writer
Catherine Johnson
503-223-3092
catherinej30@yahoo.com
Writer
Gail Jeidy
503-284-2812
gjeidy@soclever.com
Photographer
Sharon Ackerman
503-282-2986
sharon100@mac.com
Advertising Manager
-position open503-284-5080
(temporarily - contact editor)
Board usually meets 4th Monday each month* at Fremont United Methodist Church, Portland, OR 97212
(*except December)
Newsletter: ALAMEDA – Published Feb-Mar, Apr-May, Jun-Jul, Sep-Oct, Nov-Dec for 2200 residents.
Who is a Member of the ANA?
All persons of voting age who reside, own property, work, or operate a business or
nonprofit organization in the neighborhood are eligible for membership in the Alameda Neighborhood Association. There are no dues or other requirements which might
prevent all who are eligible from becoming or remaining a member.
November-December 2009
AlamedA
Page 7
HOLLYWOOD on the WILLAMETTE
When Dennis Nyback and I curated the
Oregon Sesquicentennial Film Festival at
Marylhurst in May 2009, we opened up
the definition of “Oregon film” to include
not just films shot in Oregon, but also
films made by Oregonians, films based on
book by Oregonians, and films inspired by
the lives of real Oregonians. Here’s a quick
look at the connection our own peaceful
neighborhood has to three Oregon grown
Hollywood legends.
- Anne Richardson (10-10-09)
These are only three of the many
contributions Oregon made to
Hollywood . If you’d like to read more ,
go to “Oregon Movies, A to Z” at
www.talltalestruetales.wordpress.com.
Ernest Haycox (1899 - 1950)
Lived and worked here.
Mel Blanc. (1908 - 1989)
Worked here.
Jane Powell (1928 - )
Lived here.
The biggest movie star Oregon ever produced
went to Beaumont School, and would have
gone to Grant, if her career hadn’t taken her
away to Hollywood. Jane Powell
(born Suzanne Burce) spent her teen age
years starring in MGM musicals. She often
played a spunky, misunderstood, but highly
musically gifted, teenager in stories which
gave her a chance to show off her voice.
You can see her in A Date With Judy (1948)
where one of her co-stars is her best friend
Elizabeth Taylor, and in Seven Brides For
Seven Brothers (1954) , which was set in
Oregon, but shot in a studio back lot. In her
autobiography, The Girl Next Door, she
expresses her regret that she didn’t get a
chance to go to Grant.
Mel Blanc left Lincoln High School to work
as a musician in the Paramount Theater in
downtown Portland. He loved show business,
and soon was leading the band himself. He
began working as a voice artist on radio
at KGW, on their Hoot Owls program.
Bart King’s wonderful Guide to Portland
Architecture identifies the White House
at 1914 NE 22nd Avenue, now a bed and
breakfast, as a place where some of these
early radio shows were made. Blanc took
the skills he honed to Los Angeles, and the
rest, as they say, is history. Porky Pig, Bugs
Bunny, Daffy Duck, and countless other
cartoon characters were all first voiced by this
extremely gifted man, whose work continues
to inspire voice artists working today.
Why are you in to him? Oh, I see why! I want to see
you before seven P M. I ate, OK? Are you OK for tea?
John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939) launched John
Wayne’s career, transformed the Western
into a serious art form and was nominated
for 7 Oscars. Portlanders who saw it at the
Hollywood Theater were seeing it just blocks
from where the story was first conceived.
When Portland author Ernest Haycox wrote
the short story upon which Stagecoach was
based, he was living in a small house near the
Rose City Golf Course, and walking to work
in a small office nearby on Sandy Boulevard.
Another film based on a Haycox short story
made that same year, Union Pacific (1939),
was selected as the official US entry to the
brand new Cannes Film Festival. Portland
itself appears in the opening scenes of another
film based on Haycox’ work, Canyon Passage
(1946).
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AlamedA
Figs in Alameda | by G.I.Smith
November-December 2009
Try leaves for health | G.I.Smith
Sorrel, a tart, slightly sour spring herb (or
leaf vegetable), has become a large plant in
our garden. We got the start from Garden
Fever! (of course). It is a favorite food of
some butterflies and moths, yet they only
seem to damage the looks, not the use and
taste.
Like figs? I think our Brown Turkey figs
are delicious fresh. My wife likes them sliced
in half with a nice blob of goat cheese or
prosciutto or crisp bacon on top. I like them
even better the way Mrs. Baldwin made them
into jam—whole figs cooked with enough
sugar to candy them.This fall I shared the figs
and still got 18 jars of hyper-sweet candied
whole figs.
I planted a tiny fig tree about 20 years
ago, and now it soars well above our garage
roof, as if trying to gain the respect of the
neighboring fir. That suits the birds but its rate
of growth shoves every branch out another
two feet to provide space for its large leaves.
Each leaf cluster harbors a half-dozen or so
figs that grow slowly then suddenly in the
fall swell to the size of a lime, gradually turn
purple-brown and get soft.
The fig fruit is unique. In most fruit the
edible part is matured ovary tissue, but the fig
is stem tissue.
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The fruit is actually a flower turned in on
itself—known botanically as a syconium.
When mature, the fig contains only remains
of flower structures, including the so-called
seeds, small gritty unfertilized ovaries that
failed to develop, source of the resin-like
flavor associated with figs. The Brown Turkey
variety don’t need pollination.
Two crops of figs are possible in a good
year. The first (“breba”) crop develops in
the spring on last year’s shoot growth, and
is usually small in Portland. The main crop,
usually better, develops on the current year’s
shoot growth and gets ripe in late summer
and early fall before cold weather. One year
recently, when days of cold rain was followed
by frost I lost a large crop. The leaves fell
off and the shriveled figs sat on the naked
branches all winter.
Figs are one of the highest plant sources
of calcium and fiber. They also have many
antioxidants, and have a laxative effect. The
edible fig is one of the first plants humans
cultivated, 9400-9200 BCE, about a thousand
years before wheat, barley and beans. And
here in Alameda, they still grow abundantly.
It’s been cultivated for centuries, but I made
its acquaintance only recently. I discovered
that its leaves add a delightfully piquant
touch to a rich vegetable soup. If you don’t
know sorrel already, you might like to try
it. A recipe for Creamy Potato Sorrel Soup
is available from In Good Taste (located in
the Pearl District of Portland) at http://www.
ingoodtastestore.com/Recipies/Creamy_Potato_Sorrel_
Soup.asp.
As you will notice in the recipe, the sorrel
is added at the end of cooking the leek, celery
and potatoes, and cooked only a minute more
because the leaves are so soft they practically
melt. It’s a wonderful taste addition to
potatoes, and it can be used with lettuce in
salads.
Arugula is a leaf vegetable that has a peppery taste and strong flavor for a leafy green.
It is rich in vitamin C and potassium. Grown
in the Metiterranean area since Roman times,
it was traditionally considered an aphrodisiac.
Also called Italian watercress, it is a member
of the mustard family. It has a tender leaf, a
pungent peppery bite and the scent of pine. It
is generally used in salads,but sometimes is
cooked as a vegetable and served with pasta
or meat. In the last year or so arugula has become a vegetable associated with the cognocenti. I had never heard of it before. The little
round leaves in the new planting above came
from Garden Fever! and grow quickly.
Kale (also from Garden Fever!) grows well
in our garden. Its season runs from late November to March. Kale is a “cabbage that will
not grow up,” remaing flat instead of forming
a head. A member of the Brassica family of
vegetables that include cabbage, collards and
Brussels sprouts, kale provides more earthy
flavor and nutritional value for fewer calories
than nearly any other food. Huge amounts
of vitamin A, calcium and potassium. A light
frost will make its curly leaves especially
sweet. Kale doesn’t store well, so if you grow
it, leave it in the ground and pick it fresh.
Remove the tough center ribs before cooking.