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House of Umoja

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Black Educational Center Building and Murals Demolished to Make Way for New Albina Headstart School 

By Leo Newman | Contributing Writer

The Fattahs started the original House of Umoja program in Philadelphia. Photo from the Oregonian.

The recently abandoned LifeWorks Umoja Center on the corner of NE 17th and Alberta Street, which bore a well-loved mural of Malcolm X was quietly demolished in May during the week of the Civil Rights icon’s 100th birthday. This marks the second time this year that a historic brick building on NE Alberta was demolished for safety concerns, (the first being the Cowley building on 28th Ave., which was demolished in January.) Since the 1970s, LifeWorks Umoja Center has been a nexus point in specialized education and community outreach for Portland’s African American youth. 

 In the 1970’s, the Albina Mural Project produced several murals depicting scenes from African American history across NE Portland. Artist Lewis Harris and students of the Black Educational Center painted two such murals on exterior walls of their school in 1984. The murals depicted Civil Rights leaders; one of Malcolm X and one of Marcus Garvey. Also painted on its walls were murals of Harriet Tubman and images of a few bygone neighborhood institutions like the Cotton Club and the Alberta Streetcar. At the time of its demolition, the piece, officially titled “Black Pride,” was the second-oldest surviving mural in Portland.

The Black Educational Center

The Black Educational Center School (BEC) opened in May of 1970 as a full time summer program under the direction of veteran Portland educator and activist Ron Herndon.

Born in Kansas, Herndon moved to Portland in 1968 to attend Reed College, where he successfully pressured the faculty to create a Black Studies program after organizing 30 others to occupy the college’s financial office shortly before Christmas. 

Shortly after graduating, Herndon set out to design a school tailored to the needs of Black children. Majority Black schools in North Portland, like Jefferson High, suffered low test scores and faced threats of closure. In efforts to desegregate, the district kept a tight cap on the number of Black teachers in majority Black schools and bused a growing percentage of Black students into SW and SE to attend majority white schools. Early education programs and the neighborhood’s only middle school were both desegregated in this way. 

The district pressured parents who volunteered their children for the busing program to sign forms pledging that they wouldn’t return their students to local high schools like Jefferson or Grant. Black students were purposefully scattered across the district. The strict bus schedules to and from school prevented them from getting involved in afterschool programs at their new schools and estranged them from their neighborhood friends.  Former board member Lolenzo Poe says this left them isolated and defenseless against cruel classmates and teachers. 

“The whole notion that somehow you were going to learn more sitting next to White kids than Black kids is almost humorous,” says Poe. “We are still suffering from the tragedy that was busing and integration… it broke up our community.”

Operated out of the historic Vernon Library building on NE 17th (just south of the recently demolished structure), the BEC emphasized academic excellence, self-confidence, and a thorough awareness of Afro-American history and culture. In the Fall of 1973, the BEC welcomed its first class of full-time grade school students. 

“Black parents trusted us enough to work with their children that first summer,” Herndon remembers. “Parents had to pay tuition, because we weren’t getting funding from anybody. It just strikes me, the confidence Black parents had to allow us to work with their kids.”

At the same time, Herndon expanded the BEC’s operations in several directions. The organization obtained the adjacent brick building on the corner of Alberta as well as the building directly west for use as an administrative building. In 1971, the Black Educational Center Bookstore (later the Talking Drum) opened on N Williams Avenue.

Herndon took Public Portland Schools to task for busing and test scores but the Black Educational Center soon outperformed the district. The 70’s and 80’s were an era of worsening economic and social turbulence for Portland’s Black community. Most other community outreach organizations that cropped up around the same time withered away, but the BEC weathered the ensuing decades through the 1990s. 

“The Black Male: An Endangered Species?”

Portland’s violent crime rates peaked in the early 1980s as more of its male youth became entrenched in a growing gang culture. Oregonians generally viewed gang violence as a California problem that creeped up the Willamette valley. Local law enforcement posited that  L.A.-based gangs, particularly the Crips, expanded from Southern California’s saturated drug market into the Pacific Northwest to sell crack cocaine, where they would make double or triple the profit. 

In 1988, state troopers were assigned to ride TriMet buses and trains to “curb gang violence.” The next year, Gov. Neil Goldschmidt sent three dozen National Guard troops to help police “crack down on Portland’s ‘drug-driven’ street gangs.” The Black community was rattled by a series of police killings of Black men. Most prominent among them was the killing of ex-marine and father of five, Tony Stevenson, who was choked to death by a Portland police officer. ‘The Black male: an endangered species’ became a catchphrase among columnists, professors and social outreach workers to describe the deepening crisis of gang violence. 

Inspiration from the East 

In January 1989, educator and advocate Lolenzo Poe attended the Hope For Youth Conference in Downtown Portland, where he saw Philadelphia journalist and activist Falaka Fattah deliver a speech on nonviolence and gang outreach. Fattah had founded a gang outreach program with her husband, David in 1968 after they learned one of their six sons had joined a gang. After working with their son, they worked to rehabilitate the members of his gang. The Fattahs created a safehouse in West Philadelphia called House of Umoja, Swahili for ‘unity,’ where they encouraged rival youth gangs to arbitrate disputes through direct communication. 

The Fattahs aimed to provide “culturally-specific intervention services” for gang-affected youth. Drawing on the values of Kwanzaa, the Fattahs sought to replicate the structure of a tight-knit extended family. Fattah served as its matriarch and was eventually known as the Queen Mother. The Umoja program emphasized family and community principles, self-worth, hard work and education. “We utilized our culture, our African heritage,” Fattah said. “We showed them that they had a greater heritage than the legacy of slavery.” 

The Fattahs did not make their residents give up their gang affiliations, conscious to not deprive local youth of their strongest social bonds. This allowed them to gain the trust of members of several rival street gangs and earned them the credibility needed to arbitrate disputes between them. 

By 1970, House of Umoja was a fully functioning residential treatment program for gang-affected youth, several of whom had nowhere else to go. The Philadelphia courts were soon sentencing boys to at Umoja’s residential center, which paved the way for government funding and expansion. 

In 1974, David Fattah, a veteran Philadelphia educator, authored the fabled Imani Peace Pact, a gang truce signed by over 400 gang members representing 30 different groups. The pact was credited for dropping Philadelphia homicide rate from a record high to a record low in the space of four years.

House of Umoja in Portland

Learning at the Black Educational Center. Photo by Richard J. Brown.

When the Fattahs agreed to help Poe establish the Portland House of Umoja, corporate and city leadership were quick to cosign. In March 1990, Nike, the City of Portland, the Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division,  and the Oregon State Drug and Alcohol Office pledged a combined $199,000 to support the project. Washington Federal Savings and Loan donated two properties amounting to a similar value. In May, the Fattahs were welcomed back to Portland with a press conference attended by mayor Bud Clark, Ron Herndon and others. 

However, businesses around the neighborhood were not all supportive of the project. “If I had known that 16 former gang members were going to be my next door neighbors,” Jeff Parks, owner of the Royal Esquire Club across the street, said, “I would still be at City Hall today, possibly as a resident.”  

House of Umoja Inc., with Poe as its chairman, obtained the building from the Black Education Center. Like most Streetcar Era buildings along our stretch of Alberta, the two story brick building was built to accommodate commercial spaces on the street level and apartments above them. Poe poised to renovate the space to accommodate eight to ten youth and two live-in staff. 

While a funding shortage delayed the renovation of the Umoja building, Poe sent Portland’s first House of Umoja cohort to stay at the Fattahs’ residential facility in West Philadelphia, where they and their sons also lived. “They came so they could experience it themselves and take it back and be antibodies,” Fattah says. 

By mid-1991, the residential program was in full swing. Some of its residents were mandated by the court to stay there, while others came in off the street seeking respite from gang life and a safe place to sleep. 

“The only family they had was the gangs,” former House of Umoja intern Charles Hannah says, “so, we had to change that.” Hannah, who now operates Third Eye Books on SE Division, came to Portland in 1992 after studying law enforcement administration at Western Illinois University. “I did not want to be the police, but I knew I wanted to work with my community,” Hannah said.  

Walking down Alberta one Summer day, Hannah ran into Johnny A. Gage, known as ‘Biggie’, playing basketball with some neighborhood boys. In need of an internship to complete his degree, Gage began working at House of Umoja that Fall. Gage eventually became the Executive Director, lived upstairs and adopted the role of house parent. 

Hannah found that the space gave its residents a family atmosphere that most did not have. According to Hannah, the residents generally moved as a unit, eating home-cooked family meals together and doing most other things as a community. “The space itself was conducive to conversations,” Hannah says. 

Hannah frequently helped supervise Midnight Basketball, an effort between multiple youth outreach programs to keep the youth off of the street on Friday nights. “We get them into the gym, we turn the lights on and we start talking,” Hannah said. “And we talk for 5 to 10 minutes and then we play basketball.” 

One night, Midnight Basketball came to a screeching halt when police cars surrounded the gym and two teenage boys were arrested in connection with a murder that took place the night before. Hannah remembered how the boys seemed quieter than normal as they accompanied him on his errands earlier that day. “That’s the memory I have; two young men who were ready to do good things,” Hannah said, “But earlier that evening, they took a fateful car ride and somebody died.” 

The moral of this story, in his own words is, “everyone needs a place to go.” 

Loss of Funding and Closure 

A declining juvenile delinquency rate in the late 1990s as well as a 1997 county report alleging a high gang-recidivism rate of Umoja’s residents led the organization to cut its residential program and pivot to job training and outreach. Poe was dismayed by the change but hoped the program would return. 

But Umoja faced another logistical problem: even though gang violence was back on the rise by the mid 2000s, especially affecting young Black males, gentrification had significantly pushed its clientele of gang-affected youth out of the burgeoning ‘Alberta Arts District,’ prompting it to expand its focus to east Portland and east Multnomah County. 

 In the early 2000s, the program struggled to maintain programs and funding sources until its administrative functions were taken over by Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, which collapsed in 2008. In 2009, Umoja merged with LifeWorks NW,  a mental health and addiction services program with several other locations around Portland.

The House of Umoja was forced to close in September 2011 after funding for the program was cut entirely. When Multnomah County moved to direct its new $4.5 million grant towards intervention-based outreach programs, supporters of House of Umoja wondered why they had been passed over. 

“We have gone from prevention to intervention, and there needs to be both,” says Tina Glover, a former program director at House of Umoja. 

New Albina Head Start Center 

In February 2012, LifeWorks purchased the building from Umoja Inc. It operated as the LifeWorks Umoja Center until 2020, when the chapter moved into an office on Alberta and M.L.K., leaving the building vacant. 

In a full circle moment for Herndon, Head Start took ownership of the historic brick building in August 2022, with plans for a facility equipped with classrooms and offices. However, the cost of retrofitting the building’s unreinforced masonry proved costlier than constructing a new building. 

A New Building 

After receiving a grant from Nike CEO Phil Knight-backed 1803 Fund for $25 million in April of this year, Head Start got the greenlight from the city to demolish the building.  “It shows corporate responsibility,” Fattah said about Knight’s contribution.

The new facility, the McKinley Burt Center, honors African American inventor and author McKinley Burt Jr., who once lived in an apartment on the second floor of the now-demolished building. Herndon has stated that Head Start took high-resolution images of both remaining murals and plans to incorporate them into the design of the new center. 

Reflecting on the new center, Hannah says, “hopefully it is going to be something the community can be proud of.”  Fattah feels that Herndon’s new project is excellent. “As Malcom X said, ‘education is the passport to the future.”

From the Board – Celebrating 50 Years of History

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News

By Kepper Petzing | Contributing Writer

We are excited to celebrate 50 years of building a strong neighborhood community and invite everyone to join us for a family-friendly celebration on August 7th at 6 pm! A jazz ensemble from the University of Oregon (U of O) will perform. Bring your lawn chair or blanket and spread out on the grass. Fun activities will include face painting, cornhole, crafts, and more. CNA tees and other merch will be for sale. There’s no party without food. Check out the food trucks or bring a picnic from home.

From the Winter Party to the egg hunts at Easter to yard sales in the summer, the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) has become a part of the rhythm of life in Concordia. But it wasn’t always that way. CNA was founded in 1975 as part of a city-wide effort to have more input in how our city develops.

CNA has seen many changes in 50 years. Alberta and Killingsworth streets have a complicated history of being vibrant cultural spaces for businesses, art and music yet also have seen periods of exclusion and gentrification. We have witnessed the popping up of little free libraries and the razing of Whitaker Middle School (but not before Gus Van Sant turned it into a movie set). This summer our new project, the Concordia Commons at NE 30th and Killingsworth, has free live music every Sunday from 4-6 pm and game night every Thursday from 5-7 pm.

As we celebrate 50 years, we welcome the new without leaving the past behind. CNA continues to have a print newspaper, still delivered free to all residents each month and also available online. We have active Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Kennedy Elementary School opened in 1914 and closed in 1975, but its history lives on as a McMenamins hotel where you can find photographs, murals, and other items linking the past to today. Did you know that NE 33rd used to be a cattle-herding road? Can you find the Martha Jordan room and learn her story? In addition to celebrating our history, McMenamins Kennedy School helps CNA thrive by providing a community room for meeting space and rental income.

Sometimes the old becomes new again. Concordia University, the namesake of our neighborhood, was founded in 1905 and closed in 2020. The University of Oregon purchased the campus in 2022. Come to the party and see for yourself the transformative renovations U of O has made and learn about its programs for the upcoming year.

And now the U of O Portland campus is the new home of an old favorite, summer concerts in the park. For over a decade, in collaboration with Portland’s Parks & Recreation (PP&R) free summer concerts were held at Fernhill Park. They were cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. Changes in priorities at PP&R have meant that these concerts have not returned. As we mourned their loss, Uof O stepped up to partner with CNA to continue this tradition on the first Thursday in August, Neighbors Night Out. Now we’ll enjoy live music and community conviviality at the U of O Portland outdoor amphitheater. Hopefully, it will be the first annual event. We hope to see you there!

Kepper Petzing has lived in Concordia for 42 years. They are nonbinary. They love community and the public spaces where we can be together

Faces of Concordia – Creating Community in a Little Irish Pub

Posted on by Posted in CNA, Local Businesses
T.C. O Leary’s pub owner Thomas O’Leary says the pub is “a place of community development.” Photo submitted by Thomas O’Leary.

A Conversation with Thomas O’Leary

By David Corby | Contributing Writer

On the wall of T.C. O’Leary’s hang black and white photos that represent the history behind the establishment. The framed photos honor previous generations of friends and family members who have invested, supported, and celebrated the existence of NE Alberta’s “Little Irish Pub.” In this way, you’re surrounded by community from the moment you walk through the pub’s doors. For owner Thomas O’Leary, that connection is deeply intentional.

“A pub can be a lot of different things,” he shares with me. “It’s a room that you can tell stories in. A room that you can have music in.” He looks around the room thoughtfully, breathing in the history of the space. “What it’s really become is a place of community development.”

In 2009, O’Leary moved to the United States after a lifetime spent in Ireland. He and his wife Siobhan spent time living in New York and Los Angeles before ultimately landing in Portland. An actor by trade, O’Leary spent part of his time during those years working in the bar scene, and he gradually began to fall in love with the setting. When the owner of the Branch Whiskey Bar decided that it was time to pour its last drink in 2016, Thomas took the risky leap to transition from bar manager to bar owner. Thus, T.C. O’Leary’s was born.

Like many great suggestions, the name was Siobhan’s idea. “She said you can’t go wrong with putting your own name over the bar, because you can’t limit that. It can be anything you want it to be inside the door.” Nearly nine years later, what it’s become is a true place of community and connection. A small escape to Ireland under the familiar grey skies of Portland. “An Irish pub is somewhere you go to let everything else go,” he says. “Somewhere to just escape and have fun. We have literary groups, music, sports—generally all these people will get to know each other and help each other. That’s the feeling around the pub.”

The power of that sentiment was most apparent during the early days of the pandemic, when T.C. O’Leary’s was forced to close its doors while the global restaurant industry faced an uncertain future. During that time, community members would come by and implore the pub to stay open, emphasizing how important the space was to the neighborhood. Thinking back on those years, O’Leary’s expression is quietly reflective. “That’s always been the value of what this place is to me,” he says.

Through the efforts of his staff and the collaboration of the community, T.C. O’Leary’s adapted its business model to prioritize takeout orders and expand outdoor seating. “We were constantly trying to innovate and give an opportunity to come out,” he explains. “The first time that someone played live music here again, it was quite emotional. You forget how important that is.”

In the alleyway next to T.C. O’Leary’s is a chalk calendar that lists all of the events happening in the pub throughout each week. Live music, watch parties, reading groups—the list goes on. The calendar serves as an open opportunity for engagement. An invitation to step inside a warm Irish pub and escape the world outside. Sometimes, we forget how important that is.

David Corby is a poet, essayist, and professional overcommunicator. When he’s not out exploring the neighborhood with his wife and dog, chances are high that you can find him wrapping thoughts in words at your favorite local coffee shop.

New Trees Find their Way to Fernhill Park

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Trees

By Jim Gersbach |Concordia Tree Team

Fernhill Park has an excellent and varied collection of trees. Most of them, however, were planted three quarters of a century ago, so losses due to age and storms are slowly thinning the canopy.

The last big tree planting at the park had been the Douglas-fir trees on the southeast side of the off-leash dog area several years ago. More recently, a katsura tree was planted on the north side of the park next to Holman Street to replace a multi-trunked Oregon white oak that predated creation of the park but split apart during an ice storm.

Last winter, Portland Parks and Recreation made a concerted effort to add to Fernhill’s treescape. Most notable was the planting of five bald cypress trees just south of the tennis courts.

Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) are cone-bearing trees with the unusual distinction of being deciduous (hence the name “bald” referring to the needles falling each autumn). In fall, their soft needles will turn a russet-orange.

Bald cypresses are native to SE Virginia along the Atlantic coastal plain and can be found all the way across the South to eastern Texas, and as far north as southern Illinois. Well adapted to living in swamps, they instantly conjure images of the bayous of Louisiana, and indeed are the official tree of that state. They also grow well outside of swamps, although they require summer watering to make it through Oregon’s increasingly dry summers. If watered until well established, bald cypresses can live several centuries. They are the first ones planted at Fernhill, and represent a new genus and family of trees, adding to the park’s diversity.

In addition, new incense cedars were planted. Fernhill already had some mature ones, but at least one was added north of the tennis courts. Also added on the north end of the park along NE Holman were two coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens and the selection S. sempervirens ‘Aptos Blue’). Two giant sequoias were added west of the running track near a declining Bigleaf maple.

Incense cedars (Calocedrus decurrens) are evergreen conifer trees native to southern Oregon and northern California. Drought tolerant, they are proving to be more climate resilient than western redcedar, making them a safer choice since average temperatures are expected to rise to levels not seen in millions of years.

Also added to Fernhill were three Oregon white oaks (Quercus garryana) on the southern slope facing the off-leash dog area. This is a perfect spot for these sun-loving deciduous trees. Capable of living for two to four centuries or longer, Oregon white oaks are Portland natives, and so are perfectly adapted to our dry summers and wet winters. Their natural range extends well into California, demonstrating their ability to survive more intense heat and drought than Portland currently experiences but which may soon become more common here. Visit Fernhill Park to spot the new trees.

A native Oregonian, Jim Gersbach has lived in the Concordia neighborhood since 2002. He founded the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum back in 2005 and was involved in helping create the CullyConcordia International Grove and the Concordia Learning Landscape Arboretum.

Pedalpalooza To Host NE Portland History Tour on July 19th

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Events
Bikers can participate in a variety of themed Pedalpalooza events all summer. Photo by
John Tudisco

By John Tudisco | Contributing Writer

Hello Concordia! I’m writing to you from your next door neighborhood of Woodlawn. Last year, the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association and I decided to host a communal bike ride to showcase the rich history of our part of Portland, and introduce some new people to the restaurants, shops, and everything else we have to offer. The ride was offered through a program called Pedalpalooza, and I’d like to invite you to this year’s event.

For those of you that don’t know, Pedalpalooza (also known as Bike Summer) is an annual, summer-long bike festival organized by community members that encourages Portlanders to get out and cycle in whatever ways they find enjoyable. There are many bike rides to take part in all over the greater Portland area. Over the years, I’ve had an awesome time at bike rides from a range of themes including cribbage, cider, and garden tours. The wide reach of the Pedalpalooza calendar led to an excellent turnout at last year’s history ride, so we’ve decided to bring it back for a second year.

At the event last year, we started in the Boise Neighborhood to highlight a few historic locations along N Mississippi Avenue, then, we headed north to listen to a history talk from the Friends of Peninsula Park Rose Garden. We concluded the ride in Woodlawn, where Anjala Ehebele (author of Images of America: Portland’s Woodlawn Neighborhood) engaged us all with her dramatic storytelling. By hosting our ride through Pedalpalooza, we reached a wide range of people from different parts of Portland.

This year we’ll take a slightly different route and learn about history provided by the Piedmont, Woodlawn, and Concordia Neighborhood Associations. This stretch of North and Northeast Portland boasts a particularly interesting collection of historic locations. The ride begins at Peninsula Park and ends at the Woodlawn Farmers Market, where Ehebele will join us once again. We will stop at historic sites you likely know, some you likely don’t know, and some that you’ve seen but didn’t realize had a rich history.

The ride will take place on Saturday, July 19th from 10 am to noon. We’ll meet under the gazebo at Peninsula Park. All ages and biking abilities are welcome, so please join me in what will be an exciting and informative event. To find up-to-date information on this bike ride and many others, visit the calendar at shift2bikes.org.

John Tudisco is a Civil Engineer and resident of the Woodlawn neighborhood. Originally from New York, John has lived in Portland for the last 6 years.

‘Neighbors’ Jazz Trio in Arts District Recording and Rehearsing for Tour

Posted on by Posted in Arts & Culture, Concordia News

By Joshua Lickteig | Contributing Writer

The Neighbors, a Concordia-based jazz / rock band, rehearse in the studio. Photo by Joshua Lickteig.

Once a month on Alberta in an upper f loor recording studio, a freshly formed jazz ensemble lays down the equivalent of an album’s length of new tracks. In May on a Thursday I joined a session midday and spoke with the band, called Neighbors, about their music.

Each of Neighbors’ bandmates live nearby. Machado Mijiga (drummer and producer) greeted me brightly at the building’s south-side entrance near NE 19th Street. The multi-unit commercial property has served various community and cultural purposes over the years, including a ballroom, and today is home to Alberta Street Gallery (an artist collective of 30 local professional artists), Psychic Sister, Altared Energy Reiki & Remedies, Dynamic Acupuncture, and AI Robot Spa. The recording studio is called The Center for Sound, Light and Color.

“We’re gearing up for a busy summer, both as a band, and separately with all of our other acts,” explains Mijiga, who used to play saxophone and keys with Portugal. The Man. Beyond the top of the stairs and a couple small turns down the hallway we enter a cozy main loft space full of gear, with high ceilings, long mossgreen curtains and a mezzanine balcony.

Garrett Baxter (bass guitar, upright bass, prominent student of composer Chuck Israels) and Mike Gamble (guitarist, recording engineer, instructor at Reed College and OSU with close ties to the music scene in NYC, New Orleans, and San Francisco) wrap up discussing a take’s playback and the band warmly welcomes me into their circle. In a flash, Gamble appears with an iconic hand-shaped chair, borrowed from an adjoining room partitioned by glass, where Ryan Oxford (studio owner, songwriter, Y La Bamba tour musician, and for whom the space serves as home base) is working with another local musician.

It’s a space bustling with creative energy, known also as Color Therapy Records, reputable for its indie music production in Portland. “This place is like our garage,” the Neighbors seem to chime in at once. They resume work on a contemplative surf tune that soon morphs into a bright mysterium.

“It would be cool to have some kind of riff and harmony that outlines the solo sections,” says Mijiga from behind the piano, preceding a swift move to the drum-kit. The sound is creative jazz / experimental rock that also likes to space out and embrace mistakes, a keen balance of exactness, wonder, and ephemerality.

“Okay, that’s a new form now,” Gamble says, referring to a quick improvisational take, as Garrett jots notes on emerging structures in the soundscape.

“We all write really fast,” says Baxter. “Individual relations overlap often, though it’s not an abstraction. There’s a serious passion and space where ideas are constantly taking shape.”

“We have the spirit of a bigger band with lots of individualistic contributions,” Gamble adds.

Mijiga says, “Portland has an impressively diverse and talented pool of musicians for a city so small– I learned from MusicPortland last year that our city has the most venues per capita of any major US city, scaled to population and size, but it seems to spread disproportionately to the jazz community, because I constantly hear complaints from fellow musicians about how scarce the gig economy is for a jazz musician. A town that once boasted dozens of jazz clubs realistically now has one or two dedicated venues. I think the Neighbors’ sum-of-all-parts formlessness allows us to fill the quantum space between Portland musicians’ various social strata.”

In April, Neighbors was ranked one of Portland’s “Best New Bands” by Willamette Week. Bandcamp is the direct way to support Neighbors as a whole, where you may find about a dozen EPs from the band’s jam sessions for free, while they finish compiling their first official album, for their one-year anniversary in fall. This summer they will tour a few dates in the PNW and perhaps California.

Joshua Lickteig is an artist and engineer. He was born near the other Milwaukee and has been in Portland since 2018. His latest book of poems is called Half Moon Day Sun.

Tree Care Questions Answered

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Trees

By Jim Gersbach and Jordana Leeb | Contributing Writers

Do you have questions about trees? The Concordia Tree Team wishes to share some basic tree care facts and information with the neighborhood.

What are the basics of tree care?

Planting

There is very detailed information with pictures about how to plant trees properly on the Friends of Trees website. Friends of Trees is a local non-profit that offers free tree planting services and support for growing healthy trees.

Watering

Watering is an important part of tree care. Watering best practices vary for new versus more established trees. It is suggested to water regularly (once a week) during a tree’s first three to five summers and after that during prolonged dry spells. Drought tolerance varies by species. Some native trees, such as the Oregon White Oak, are better able to cope without summer watering but many non-native trees will benefit from at least a deep soak once a month in the dry months of July and August.

One technique is to use 10-15 gallons of water and water slowly to allow saturation of the soil. Another is to use a 5-gallon bucket of water with small holes drilled in the bottom to allow the water to slowly seep out. More established trees (after about 3 to 5 years) can be watered once a month in summer or dry spells. Mulching (in the next section) is an important tool in helping to hold the water for a new tree. A video with additional tips on watering can also be found on the Friend of Trees website.

Mulching

Mulching reduces evaporation (especially in excessive heat), delivers organic nutrients and helps prevent weeds from growing. Friends of Trees recommends the 3-3-3 rule, “3 inches away from the trunk of the tree, 3 inches deep, in about a 2-3-foot radius.” Organic matter such as composted leaves or wood chips are suggested mulch. There are many different options for purchasing or getting mulch free around town, such as with ChipDrop: getchipdrop.com.

Pruning

For non-fruit trees, during the first few years after planting a new tree, no pruning (except for dead or damaged branches) is advised. After the tree is established (3-5 years) pruning is recommended as needed. Trained Concordia Tree Team volunteers each year do free pruning of young street trees under a permit agreement with the City of Portland Urban Forestry program. Look for canvassers in the spring and fall going door to door in parts of the neighborhood.

What is never recommended is “topping” a tree – removal of a tree’s upper branches to stubs – this results in stress, decay and sunburn for the tree. For more information about pruning, check out the guidelines here.

What should I do in case of an extreme weather event this summer?
 Climate change and extreme heat conditions take a toll on trees. It is recommended to double your normal watering routine (see above) during excessive heat events, which is anything above about 90 degrees.

The best time to water is early in the morning or when the sun sets to minimize evaporation of water. It is important that water gets deep into the roots.

Friends of Trees says, “If you poke a pencil 4-5 inches down, does it come out dry & dusty? If so, water!”

Where can I get free trees?
 You can get a free tree from Friends of trees in three easy steps here. You can also learn more about free yard trees on the City of Portland Urban Forestry website.

What is the tree code and what should I know about it?
Portland’s laws protect street trees and in some cases larger trees on private property. Street trees provide public benefits, such as shading our streets and sidewalks to lower temperatures, so they enjoy a higher level of protection. A city-issued permit is required before removing a street tree or pruning one, although suckers may be removed from around a street tree at any time without a permit.

The permit ensures a tree is selected from an approved list so that it will be the right size for the width of the space, or the right mature height to not conflict with any overhead powerlines. Find out more about tree permits here.

Who should I contact if I need help caring for my trees?
 You can reach out to an International Society of Arboriculture-certified arborist to get tree advice or pruning support. More information can be found here.

How can I get more information about the Concordia Tree Team and sign up to volunteer?
We’d love your help! Sign up for a variety of fun tree-related activities at ainsworthlineararboretum.org/getinvolved.

A native Oregonian, Jim Gersbach has lived in the Concordia neighborhood since 2002. He founded the Ainsworth Linear Arboretum back in 2005 and was involved in helping create the Cully Concordia International Grove and the Concordia Learning Landscape Arboretum.

Jordana Leeb is a longtime Concordia resident who i s passionate about the neighborhood, its residents and trees. She lives with her partner and dog on a street she calls home. You can see a film about her street and Concordia at TinyURL.com/Diaryofastreet.

Special Spaces – Just Bob Cafe Remembers Drugstore History

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, History, Local Businesses

By Leo Newman | Contributing Writer

Just Bob, the eclectic unicorn laden cafe is the latest business to operate out of the historic Alberta Pharmacy building on NE Alberta and 24th Ave, easily recognized by its seafoam exterior and iconic neon ‘Alberta Rexall Drugs’ sign. When Bob and Fayren Chang took over the cafe in 2014, they inherited a community of artists, performers and regulars with it.

A Convenient Doctor’s Office and Pharmacy

The Colonial Revival building was constructed at the eastern end of the Alberta Streetcar line in 1909. The first floor was designed for commercial use and the second story contained three apartments and some offices. Portland permit records show that E. R. Durst, one of the Alberta Pharmacy’s oldest traceable owners, began renovating the property in April, 1912. His wife led the Alberta Women’s Club, which met at 1030 East Twenty-Fourth Street North, now 4904 NE 24th Ave. In October, 1914, an elevator operator was found guilty of stealing the pharmacist’s bicycle and sentenced to “100 days on the rockpile.”

Just across Alberta was the office of Dr. Brown, who ran a family medical practice with a Dr. Chick. Though the doctor’s office would change hands a number of times, they maintained a close relationship with each other. For over half a century, getting your prescription filled was “as easy as crossing Alberta”, according to local residents. After the Second World War, Dr. Duncan Dickenson took over for the retiring Dr. Brown.

Paul Schimpf, 89, has lived across the street since the late thirties and has regularly eaten breakfast at the cafe with his friend Peter for nearly two decades. Schimpf remembers Chris Sorenson, the pharmacist that served Alberta from 1940 until his retirement in 1969. A Portland native, Sorenson was raised on NE Gantenbein Ave. and attended Jefferson High School and later the Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) in Corvallis.

Rexall Drugs, A Neighborhood Hangout

Shortly after purchasing the Alberta Pharmacy, Sorenson, along with thousands of independent pharmacists across the country, franchised the popular Rexall brand and installed the now iconic ‘Alberta Rexall Drugs’ sign off the second story. The Rexall Drug Company initially manufactured branded pharmaceutical goods for sale in retail stores. Rexall would contract with only one retailer in any given market. Its products could be found on the shelves of the Owl Drug Company in Downtown Portland, located across the street from its bitter rival, Meyer and Frank. By the late fifties, Rexall was the largest drugstore franchise in the U.S. with 11,158 stores, which is just shy of the number of McDonald’s in the country today.

“When I grew up, this is where you got your Rexall,” says Schimpf. “As you waited to get your prescription filled, you got a soda or a coffee at the bar.” The soda fountain bar ran down the right side of the store, as did the pharmacy counter. Along the right wall on the left were newspapers and magazines. Home goods, like diapers, could be found in the back of the store. Neighbors came to pay their bills, cash money orders and chat with friends around the soda fountain.

In the late 1970’s, the Rexall model of independent pharmacies began to lose out to larger competitors like Thrifty Drug and CVS Pharmacy. The workingclass neighborhood of Alberta also struggled to hold its own, accumulating boarded up buildings and enduring a record crime rate.

28 year-old Andy Kostechka, Alberta’s last pharmacist, threw in the towel in September 1981, one week after being held at gunpoint Alberta’s last pharmacist for the third time. An Oregonian article on the robbery described the pharmacy as “the last neighborhood gathering place that isn’t a tavern” and “a meeting place for adults at midday, and everybody’s kids after school.” At a final gathering in the pharmacy, neighbors shared Lorraine Schimpf’s carrot cake and drank coffee poured by Terry Olbekson, who tended the soda fountain for 21 years. When the store closed, many thought its defining neon sign would be shut off for good.

Bohemian Cafes with Creative Atmosphere

Still, the community continued to gather around its times-old meeting place. In 1993, Magnus Johannesson, a prominent figure in the Alberta Arts real estate scene, bought the property and rented the commercial space to a series of bohemian cafes; including The Rexall Rose and the Star E. Rose. Johannesson opened some of the upstairs lofts to veterans that had been on the streets since they had returned from Vietnam. The coffee houses hosted musicians and open mics and frequently advertised in alternative periodicals like Just Out. Johannesson maintained the property at a loss and when his bills went into default, the building changed hands.

By the time Bob and Fayren Chang arrived in 2014, the property was an Anna Bannanas cafe and its owners were looking to retire. The couple, fresh to Portland after running an English school in Taiwan, loved the building for its old bones, high ceiling and its creative atmosphere that most other coffee shops had lost.

Last December, Just Bob, along with building owner Eric Payne led the charge to relight the Rexall sign. Funded by a grant from the now defunct Alberta Main Street Association, the community gathered on New Year’s Eve 2025 to cheer the light being relit for the first time in over 30 years. Now the Changs keep the sign lit 24/7. “It’s a beacon of hope and optimism,” Fayren says, “especially on a dark foggy morning, casting its red glow down Alberta Street.”

Just Bob continues to host local artists and host various musicians and performers. Mary Rose and her string band have batted out folk standards and protest songs every Sunday for the last 30 odd years. Newcomers have also arrived to the scene, such as the cafe’s very own Gabe Holmes, who hosts a comedy open mic the last two Saturdays of each month. You can still find Paul Schimpf eating breakfast by the window. If you do, say hello.

Leo Newman is a paralegal and aspiring writer based in NE Portland. Trained as a historian, he enjoys exploring the history of Portland and the Pacific Northwest.

NE Farmers Markets Kick Off Neighborhood Food Sharing Partnership

Posted on by Posted in CNA

By Joshua Lickteig  Contributing Writer

This year’s summer season will see a joint effort by the farmers markets of Cully, Woodlawn, and Rocky Butte to bring a new food sharing program called pahtl o’-pekwan, which means “full basket” in Chinuk Wawa, the native trade language of the Pacific Northwest. The goal of the program is to ensure communities in the NE quadrant are closely working together to disperse locally grown food and also showcase the need for access to fresh, healthy options. Each market will allot $50 in tokens (that can be either spent or combined at any of the three participating markets), for those in need, or through a “one time hardship application”, with priority given to minority group members and seniors over the age of 65.

“Grassroots efforts are the catalyst to change,” says S.A. Lawrence-Welch, manager of Cully Farmers Market (CFM) for the past two seasons. “Let’s advocate together for safe community spaces, push for access to fresh produce and other things people need. Let’s make sure the neighborhood is fed, taken care of and nurtured,” she adds with a smile.

Eligible food includes produce (root vegetables, greens, mushrooms, legumes, berries, fruits and some dried products like freeze dried unprocessed vegetables with no additives), meat (including fresh fish, canned fish with no additives \ seasonings or salt, eggs, beef, pork, chicken, and rabbit), and some additional products, such as honey.

CFM is “an Indigenous led and community-focused market”, funded by Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA). Wapas Nah Neģe Shaku is the name of the NAYA garden that provides ten boxes of produce to CFM to distribute to community members each week .

“It’s scary to ask for help sometimes, but if you are met with a friendly face, it’s easier to receive that help. And when you’re safe you’re more able to make positive change and be a part of others’ lives,” Lawrence-Welch says. In addition to pahtl o’-pe-kwan, the Cully Token Program offers $20 to patrons who are receiving government assistance; a form is submitted for each request. The program started on May 24th and interested attendees can apply in person at the market.

“The community is everybody. All have unique experiences, but have the same goals, ” Lawrence-Welch expresses with heartfelt positivity. Look for more formal announcements and informational pamphlets once the project is closer to rollout in the coming season.

“Between Woodlawn, Rocky [Butte] and Cully we are going to make magic happen.”

More informationIf you currently qualify for any one of the following programs, you are eligible for farmers market subsidies. Visit the link below to learn more.

  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) / Oregon Trail
  • Double Up Food Bucks
  • Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
  • Rental Assistance
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
  • Temporary Assistance for Domestic Violence Survivors (TA-DVS)
  • Employment Related Day Care (ERDC)
  • Oregon Low-Income Dis- count Program (LID) • Oregon Lifeline • Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP)
  • Public Housing
  • Housing Stabilization Program (HSP)
  • Multnomah Stability Initiative (MSI)
  • Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • The Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
  • Medicaid
  • Children’s Health Insurance Program

cullyfarmersmarket.com/pahtl-ope-kwan
Open Thursdays June- August 4 – 8 pm and September 4 -7 pm

Joshua Lickteig is an artist and engineer. He was born near the other Milwaukee and has been in Portland since 2018. His latest book of poems is called Half Moon Day Sun.

From the Board – Meet Me at the Commons this Summer!

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Events

By John McSherry

S ummer is a time to get outside, enjoy the sun, walk around, and meet with neighbors. When you are out exploring this June, a great spot to venture to is Concordia Commons. Concordia Commons is a City of Portland public street plaza maintained by the Bureau of Transportation in partnership with the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA). It is located at NE 30th and Killingsworth. Through CNA’s Friends of the Commons committee, we plan, sponsor and promote free fun activities and events all summer long. Here’s what’s on tap this month:

Live Music Sundays at the Commons
From 4 – 6pm through August
Bookings are still in progress. Scheduled at this time are: June 1st – Steve Cheseborough – acoustic country blues of the 1920s and ’30s, June 15th – Julie and the Astronauts – Alt- Americana originals mixed with rare musical treasures soaked in hot country licks and June 22nd – The Lawrence Jazz Duo – Instrumental jazz, pop, bossa nova, and swing.

Game Night at Concordia Commons
Every Thursday from 5 – 7 pm through August
We have over 50 games for a wide range of ages and abilities including Scrabble, strategy games, cooperative games, and others. Come have fun with your neighbors.

Vivid Memories: A Slide Film Showcase
 Saturday, June 14th from 8 – 10 pm.
Mia Rose of forage films will be presenting a projected art show featuring five Portland photographers in celebration of color reversal film. While you are there, check out the Slide-o-matic mystery slide vending machine.

Everything in the Commons is always free. Check our website for updates on what is happening.

In addition, we love it when other people hold events at Concordia Commons. It is free to use but the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) must approve your application. Learn how to apply.

Another free ongoing event is Loose Threads, a drop-in workshop every Friday from 2 – 5 pm in the Community Room at Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd Ave.) Bring your knitting or crochet projects from home to work on, or make a felt project such as a plant pick, eyeglass case, pansy boutonniere, or tiny, whimsical brooch. Materials provided; one project per participant. For more information, contact CNA Stitching Coach Caprice Lawless at (720) 939-3094.

Save the date for Concordia Neighbors Night Out at University of Oregon (2800 NE Liberty St.) on Thursday, August 7th from 6 – 8 pm. It will be be our 50th Anniversary celebration of the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) and also our first annual family friendly concert on the lawn amphitheater. Family friendly activities will include face painting and lawn games. Additionally, U of O will have a Community Open House with information and tours of buildings. Come, bring a picnic, a blanket or lawn chairs, and join our neighborhood night out.

Also, consider signing up to help host our Thursday game nights or Sunday Fun in the Commons by contacting Kepper Petzing at karenpetzing@gmail.com.

I hope to see you there!
John McSherry, Vice Chair

John McSherry lives on 29th Avenue and serves on the CNA board and media team. When not spending time with his family, John loves playing music, recreating on the water, and volunteering. He can be reached at AL3@concordiapdx.org.