Concordia Art Works – Plaque commemorates memorable neighbor

A lasting piece of street art across the neighborhood border in Cully is the memorial plaque on the grounds of the U.S. Bank on 42nd Avenue at Alberta Street. It honors Eddie “The Weatherman” Morgan, whose murderers still haven’t been identified since the Memorial Day 1994 shooting.

It reads, “Eddie ‘The Weatherman” Morgan – May the Sun Always Shine on You.”

Developmentally challenged, Eddie is reported to have lived with his mother and sister on Alberta Street, not far east of where he died at the spot marked by the plaque.

According to media reports, it was 4 a.m. when neighbors heard gun shots, observed three people making their getaway in a car and found Eddie dead or dying.

Opinions about why Eddie was killed floated through the neighborhood and the Portland media in the days and weeks that followed. None have been substantiated, but the general opinion was that his killers didn’t know Eddie.

The sociable, cheerful 46-year-old man walked the length of 42nd Avenue daily. But first, he would call KGW TV’s weather reporters for a forecast. Eddie shared that with the many people he visited, which accounted for his nickname, “The Weatherman.”

“He was a bright spot in people’s day around there,” the Portland Observer in 2019 quoted Pete Parsons, one of the KGW weathercasters.

More than 10 years after Eddie’s death local artists Elvis Nagel & Smith recorded a song about Eddie, “Who Killed the Weatherman?” It’s available for free listening on Spotify.com.

The first of several verses is:

Eddie was as harmless as a child
Walking was the reason
No matter what the season
He was part of the neighborhood
Just like the school and the bank where he stood
Where you shot him down.
Are you ever going to be found?

Editor’s note: Can you identify who placed the plaque and when – and name the person who adds seasonal décor? Send the info to CNewsEditor@ConcordiaPDX.org for sharing in the next CNews Updates column.

Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters