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By Rob Cullivan | CNA Editor

When most people walk up 42nd Avenue toward Killingsworth Street next to the track and field that graces Fernhill Park, they see an empty grassy lot where both John Adams High School, then Whitaker Middle School, once stood.

When Clarence Larkins, however, looks at that lot, he envisions a vibrant community center that creates dozens of new jobs and where recreation and education can be offered.

Someday, Larkins wants to see P.O. Black Family Village on the site of the lot, and notes the “P.O.” stands for Portland, Oregon. He adds that “Black” in the village title doesn’t mean it exists solely to serve the African American community, but rather to honor Portland’s Black residents, many of whom have historically called Northeast Portland home.

“It’s for everyone,” he says of the proposed center, adding the name highlights the fact both the former schools and the Cully/Concordia area itself was— and still is—home to a large number of Black residents, even after many were displaced by gentrification in recent decades. “I just want African Americans to be represented in a way that we haven’t been,” Larkins said.

The empty lot has been considered for other purposes since the WhitakerAdams site was demolished, including a safe rest village for houseless people that eventually was rejected. Larkins believes in the wake of heightened social consciousness created by the Black Lives Matter movement, now is the time to seek both private and public funding for the village.

On Jan. 18, Larkins said he and other project leaders got good news when Prosper Portland, an economic and urban development agency, indicated it was interested in P.O. Black Family Village. Larkins added that he also has to discuss any plans for the site with the Portland Public School District, its owner. He welcomes any community support for the project, and urged possible donors to learn more about the proposal at StraightPathInc.org/po-black-familyvillage.

Abundant activities

As Larkins sees it, P.O. Black Family Village would serve the Concordia and Cully neighborhoods and particularly serve the area’s growing population of younger people. He noted, for example, that Las Adelitas, a 142-multi-family affordable housing structure, opened last fall in Cully, and he wants its residents, as well as other Cully and Concordia families, to have options for their growing children.

“Our people need some place where the kids can be off the streets,” he said. “Already I’m seeing them gather on the streets with no place to land.”

Among the amenities at the center would be a trade school—possibly operating in conjunction with alreadyestablished construction education programs—a recreation/community center, a performing arts center, a library and retail outlets.

“Every building in our plan is named after local African Americans who have made significant contributions to the livability of the Portland community,” the site plan states.

Long time coming

Larkins is a longtime Portland resident and former president of the 42nd Avenue Business Association. His office is located right across from Fernhill Park, next door to MeRae’s, a hair salon operated by his wife, Marie.

Since 2009, Larkins has directed Straight Path, Inc., an organization that works with businesses and other service providers to offer ex-offenders and other marginalized adults job placement, ongoing training and support, and career advancement.

Straight Path holds job fairs and offers support not just to folks with criminal records but also to people experiencing homelessness and looking to stabilize their lives, people undergoing or who have completed drug rehabilitation, at-risk high school juniors and seniors, and underserved veterans.

As Larkins sees it, P.O. Black Family Village is simply expanding on his overall vision of a Cully/Concordia community that looks after its residents.

“The work that we do is about love of families and a positive future for our children,” he says.

CNews Editor Rob Cullivan is a veteran journalist, publicist and grant writer who has written about everything from rock ‘n’ roll to religion. He possesses a deep affection for writers and photographers who hit deadline.

By Kieran Lee, CNA Chair

Hey Concordians! I’ve had the opportunity to meet a few of you during our holiday party in December, as well as at board meetings and other events over the past year. My name is Kieran Lee [keer-ahn], and I am your Concordia Neighborhood Association Board Chair for 2023. My pronouns are he/him/his. We’ll get to know each other better throughout the year, but nice to meet you in our community’s two-dimensional space.

In my first column entry, I’d like to start by thanking Peter Keller for leading CNA over the past two years as chair. Under his leadership, we worked through the pandemic, started our relationship with the new University of Oregon Portland campus, and achieved internal approval for the Concordia Community Partner agreement, to name a few accomplishments. Thank you, Peter!

I’ll do my best to carry an open mind and open ears into 2023. In the past year while on the board, I’ve observed engagement that is motivating. We have a community of passionate neighbors, and I encourage you to continue to use the CNA as a forum to initiate important discussions impacting our neighborhood. Personally, I have set my primary goal as chair in these first months: to establish a 2023 budget and use it as an opportunity to discuss where CNA can expand its impact over the next years.

As always, feel free to send me a direct message via email if there is an opportunity for the CNA Board to be your megaphone. Our volunteer-based group is here to serve the neighborhood, and we start with listening.

Meeting notes

The 2023 CNA Board met in January with a few fresh faces to get our year started. We began by running our yearly officer elections, which are voted on by the board after nomination and majority approval. I’d like to congratulate the following board members and also thank them for taking on these additional duties!

• Vice Chair – Brittany van der Salm
• Treasurer – Heather Pashley
• Secretary – Matt Roberts

We also had a vacancy on the CNA Board for our At-Large 5 position, for which we held an election. With out-of-sequence vacancies, the CNA Board may nominate any person that meets the CNA bylaws guidelines. I am happy to announce that Michelle Fitzgerald was nominated and approved by unanimous vote to fill this position. Welcome to the team, Michelle!

Lastly, CNA Board “freshman” Rich Burton was appointed Land Use & Transportation Committee chair—thank you for stepping into the role, Rich! Rich wants to hear your concerns for land use and transportation within Concordia and will begin holding regular monthly meetings soon.

Kieran Lee works as an automotive engineer and has volunteered in youth development. He particularly enjoys living in Concordia for a variety of reasons, including its diversity, accessibility, and local business community.

Contributed by Vernon School PTA

The Seventh Annual Vernon School Maker Fair takes place from 1–5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Vernon Elementary School, 2044 NE Killingsworth St. The fair is a winter craft event open to the public, where Vernon students, staff, family members and alumni sell their creative wares.

The fair is a great learning experience for children, according to Janet Strong, the fair’s chair and a member of the parent-teacher association.

“The event inspires invention, creativity, curiosity and hands-on learning,” Strong said. “Many of the kids independently create their products and sell them. For other kids and their families, it’s a wonderful opportunity for the whole family to come together and work on a project and enjoy some great family time in the process.”

Vernon’s Maker Fair is special because outside professional vendors are not invited to sell at the fair, Strong said, noting Vernon’s students make up half of the vendors.

“The quality and variety of the products that the community and kids make is stunning,” she said. “This is an excellent opportunity for the extended community to do some great hyperlocal shopping for the holidays, see what their neighborhood school is up to all while having a great time and contributing money to Vernon School.”

Items for sale include jams and pickles, jewelry, natural cleaning products, pottery, art, clothing, greeting cards and stationery; woven, knit and crocheted gifts; ornaments, natural beauty products, candles, tote bags, table linens, decor accessories, toys, emergency kits, baked goods, pet toys and treats, natural bath and body products and much more.

“Bring your friends, bring your family, bring your appetite for the wonderful concessions stand and prepare to be delighted,” Strong said.

Cash and credit card payments are accepted and personal shopping bags are much appreciated, she added.

With fall sun streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, about 60 neighbors nibbled on duck-shaped sugar cookies, as they learned Oct. 12 about what’s next for the 19-acre campus at the north end of Concordia neighborhood.

In June, the University of Oregon acquired the former Concordia University campus, which had been shuttered since 2020. The recent public meeting took place in the library of the new UO campus. At the gathering, community members mingled with a dozen UO staff and listened to remarks from Interim President Patrick Phillips about the University’s intentions.

The Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health is seeking to train more professionals in emotional wellness and will occupy the top floor of the library building, he said.

The institute will offer a new degree for undergraduates and aims to ready 200 graduates per year for jobs in schools and healthcare settings. Students participating in that program will occupy two of the campus’ residence halls starting in Fall 2023.

Some UO officials have already started moving into Concordia campus offices and Phillips said that they are keen to get the library building’s first-floor coffee shop up and running.

In order to create a “campus feel,” Phillips said UO has decided to move all of its Portland programs, currently housed in Old Town’s White Stag building, to the new campus. Those programs include graduate level offerings in business administration, architecture, historical preservation, journalism and law.

The “Innovation Space,” a research and maker lab used by several UO Portland graduate programs, is slated to take over what was Luther Hall, the large brick building and adjoining chapel on Holman Street and NE 28th Avenue.

UO Portland Provost Jane Gordon said the university wants to turn the former Concordia University chapel into a commons, an open space for exhibits and gatherings. The building will require significant renovations, and the university is in the process of selecting an architect to assist in the design phase, she said.

Gordon said she is most excited about the on-campus housing UO will now be able to offer UO Portland students, something it can’t in its Old Town site. She said UO intends to use 400 of the 500 current on-campus beds for students.

Gordon said neighbors will be welcome to use the campus in a variety of ways. “We want to be a community-centered campus,” Gordon said. “We will do events that people will be invited to, whether they’re a lecture, conference, music or things the community puts on. We’re open to various ideas.”

Ideas being considered include a weekly farmer’s market, concerts on the lawn and a food cart pod. Gordon says she wants to collaborate with Concordia residents on how to use the campus.

To share your ideas, contact UO by emailing pdxinfo@uoregon.edu.

For more information, visit pdx.uoregon.edu/northeast-pdx-campus

Readers Write! Tell us how you think the Concordia community should interact with, as well as utilize, the University of Oregon’s new campus. We’ll publish your thoughts in an upcoming issue. Email CNews Editor Rob Cullivan at CNewsEditor@ConcordiaPDX.org.

St. Charles Catholic Church, 5310 NE 42nd Ave., welcomed a new Pastoral Administrator, Father Tony Galati, this summer.

Galati officially took his position in July and is no stranger to the Concordia neighborhood. He grew up in the Piedmont neighborhood and attended Holy Redeemer Grade School, Central Catholic High School and the University of Portland.

When he was a child, his family would occasionally attend Mass at St. Charles, something he remembers fondly as well as the friendships he made with St. Charles parishioners through the years.

Following graduation from college, he began a 28-year career in international shipping and then served as executive director of Portland’s Catholic Radio station, KBVM, now Mater Dei Radio. Galati noted he became interested in the radio station during his commutes. “I would time my drive so I could pick up certain programs during my workday,” he said.

He eventually joined the station’s board in 2002 and was hired as director in 2005, a position he held till 2014. During his tenure at KBVM, he helped to solidify its financial support and expanded its reach in Oregon, extending the station’s broadcast reach by purchasing two transmitters in the Eugene area.

Previously married, Father Galati has two grown sons and three grandchildren. His marriage was annulled, a Catholic process by which a marriage is considered invalid because it lacks at least one essential element to make it a binding union. Because of this, Galati was able to become an ordained minister in the church.

About a decade ago, he said he felt God’s call to the priesthood and was encouraged by others, including a priest friend, to consider joining the clergy.

“It took me a while to discern, and I did, and I haven’t looked back since,” he said. Galati decided to enter Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict and was accepted in 2016 and ordained in 2021.

Now at age 65, he is new to the priesthood but grateful for his life experiences, which he feels will help him to better do the things a priest is consecrated to do. He noted his age and life story enabled him to give spiritual counsel grounded in the practical challenges all people face.

“Had I not been married and had kids, I could not do this job,” he said. “I come with an instinctive desire to be a spiritual father to people.”

His priorities will be administering the sacraments, serving as celebrant for weekend and daily Masses, visiting the sick and homebound and presiding at funerals and weddings.

“I love it all,” he said when asked what he enjoys about being a priest. “Whether it’s celebrating Mass or anointing the sick or hearing confession or baptisms, for me it’s been wonderful. I feel duty-bound in being generous in offering the sacraments.”

In his first Sunday homily, he told the congregation: “It’s a privilege and blessing for me to be here with you. May God bless you and let’s pray for each other that we may be Christ to one another.”

This story contains additional reporting by Rob Cullivan.