Agenda for July, 2019 CNA LUTC meeting
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Bob Boyer’s career is all about community
By Mischa Webley | Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods
Bob Boyer never thought he’d be here. A former boxer from West Philadelphia, he was 22 years old in 1961 when the U.S. Air Force transferred him to the local airbase vehicle maintenance division.
At the time, Oregon wasn’t a welcoming place for African Americans, having only then begun to finally upend the many segregation laws.
Nonetheless a tight-knit black community had formed in northeast Portland and, after he was discharged, Bob found work in an auto shop on Union Avenue and made himself at home.
At nearly age 80, Bob doesn’t need a resumé. If he did, it would read more like a short novel.
Among titles he’s held are: boxer, airman, auto mechanic, railyard worker, shipyard foreman, first African American elected president of the Inland Boatmen’s Union, community organizer, property manager, car salesman, small business owner, Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) president, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN) chairman, NAACP Northwest Region vice president, and state senator.
It’s the intangibles that matter to him more: husband, father of eight, grandfather of 18; community linchpin, keeper of local history.
He’s grateful for the opportunities he’s been afforded. And he subscribes to the slogan, “When one door closes, another opens,” but added that you have to look for those openings.
When Bob comes in the door, he steps all the way through. But he makes sure to leave it open for those coming behind him. While pounding spikes in the railyards, working the docks as a longshoreman and starting a family in the 1960s, he found time to get his associates degree from Cascade Christian College, which he and others lobbied to rename Portland Community College.
Without missing a day of work, he became the first African American to graduate from Marylhurst University with a degree in business management.
Involvement in his union gave him a taste for politics, which he put to use. In the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, it was hard to get the city government to pay attention to the needs of northeast Portland, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
As a member of the planning board for the mid-1960s Model Cities Initiative, an outgrowth of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, Bob helped organize the first neighborhood associations in northeast Portland. That included CNA.
The community identified a way to speak as one to demand positive change, including renaming Union Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The way Bob sees it, if you want things to be different, you have no choice but to dive right in.
Editor’s note: This story was shortened for space considerations. For the full-length story that appeared in NECN’s Hey Neighbor! newsletter, visit ConcordiaPDX.org/bob-boyer.
Green honors CU, CNA patriarch Art Wahlers
By Nancy Varekamp | CNews Editor
Longtime Concordians may recall Art Wahlers as a university patriarch and neighborhood association co-founder. Students at Concordia University now see his name on the Art Wahlers Green, the wide expanse of lawn, gardens and recreational area in front of the school’s library.
Art died in 2004 at age 91. He had moved to Portland to join the faculty in 1946 when Concordia was an all-male high school, and retired in 1986.
Mark Wahlers, his son, remembers playing soccer, football and baseball on the green as a student.
Joel Schuldheisz, a classmate of the younger Wahlers, recalls being one of several students punished by the senior Wahlers for playing football in a restricted area instead of the green.
When he did engage in sports on the green, Joel remembers baseball right field was close to the house on campus reserved for university presidents. “If you hit the ball hard enough, it went into the president’s patio.”
Now an exercise and sports science instructor at the university, he finds it fitting to name the area for Art.
Living just a block off campus, Art was one of the neighbors to convince the city in the early 1970s to repair outdated sewers that were endangering several houses. That effort also resulted in forming Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA). Art served as the first CNA president.
The university’s involvement with CNA continued for decades, with staff and faculty members serving on the board of directors.
Denny Stoecklin, retired university chief financial officer, was among them. “Art had a knack for bringing people to a common understanding and purpose in a very soft handed way,” he said.
“Art was a collaborator, very good at connecting people, and he was a social activist before the term became popular, but without demonstrations,” Joel agreed. Like Denny, Joel served on the CNA board.
So did George Bruender, who said Art and wife Carol were an institution in the neighborhood. “Fastidious is a great word for Art,” he said. “He had the fanciest yard in the neighborhood.”
What would Art think of being honored?
“Art was a very humble individual, so my guess is that he might be embarrassed by all of the ‘fuss,’” Denny predicted. “But privately he probably would feel a certain sense of pride, knowing the institution carries on the mission and traditions he helped shape, and that he continues to be held in such high regard.”
Nancy Varekamp is semiretired from her career in journalism, public relations and – her favorite work engagement – writing and editing targeted newsletters.
Practicing safety is key on Fourth
By Vanessa Miali | CNA Media Team
What is it about fireworks that brings out the worst in some people? Either it’s an enthusiast – with hours of illegal fireworks blasting throughout the night, shrapnel and burning embers flying onto adjacent lawns and rooftops – or it’s a neighbor – stressed out by the fireworks and making verbal threats.
Tony Reyes, American Legion Post 134 commander compared using an occasional legal firework to celebrating with candles on a birthday cake.
“It’s part of our heritage, a ceremony and a tradition. But Fourth of July fireworks become an issue because people are not educated on safety, and that’s their responsibility.”
According to Portland Fire & Rescue, fireworks season is June 23-July 4. During the past five years, fireworks have caused more than $3 million in property damage.
“Fireworks upset domestic animals and urban wildlife, and they distress the elderly,” said Dianne Foster, a Concordian for the past 21 years. In 2011, she witnessed a rooftop fire on the Fourth of July above a business on Alberta Street.
“It made me aware of our close proximity to one another and the damage that can occur in a moment,” she said. “The potential for destruction is great. People can lose their homes.”
Oregon law bans possession, use or sale of fireworks that fly, explode or travel more than six feet on the ground or 12 inches in the air. Fines are hefty, as much as $1,000 per violation.
An Oregon Public Broadcasting report indicated a legal smoke bomb, thrown by a teenager, may have been responsible in part for the Eagle Creek blaze devastating 10,000 acres of the Columbia Gorge landscape in 2017.
Under Oregon law, parents are liable for fireworks damage caused by their children, including costs to suppress the fire.
“Fireworks in neighborhoods stresses people out,” said April Thibault-Phillips, American Legion member and bartender. “I hear it from our customers who are veterans and I see how it affects them, especially those with PTSD. I’m not opposed to fireworks but I prefer going to the event downtown and think others should too.”
All types of fireworks can cause injuries. In 2017, illegal mortars and legal fountains and sparklers accounted for more than two-thirds of all fireworks-related injuries according to Portland Fire & Rescue.
It recommends using legal fireworks, supervising children, having water nearby and placing fireworks debris in closed metal cans stored away from combustibles and buildings.
Download the Portland Fire and Rescue Fireworks Facts & Safety Sheet
Vanessa Miali has lived in Concordia for 18 years. She is a former public relations professional with two kids who cooks every day and gardens occasionally.
Markers honor pillars of the community
By Karen Lotts | CNA Media Team
Neighbors in the Alberta Arts District have come together to honor pillars of the African American community. They hope this will continue the discussion about gentrification and displacement in the changing neighborhood.
Five informative public art structures called the Alberta Street Black Heritage Markers will tell the stories of nine significant African Americans who helped build, and who strive to maintain the livability and economic viability of the neighborhood.
“These are stories about struggle and accomplishment,” said Ann Griffin, Alberta Main Street (AMS) executive director. The nonprofit is leading the project.
“It’s important to maintain positive relationships with the storytellers as well as the remaining black-owned businesses on Alberta.”
The seven-foot tall, triangular-shaped markers will stand at the corners of 11th, 14th, 17th, 18th and 24th avenues. They will showcase the individuals’ stories through words, pictures and artistic elements.
Discussions began within AMS in 2015. A leadership team was assembled to review submissions from different artists and make the decision about which community members to honor.
The individuals chosen hold community positions that range from basketball coach to small business owners and investors to a union advocate. (See below for names of the storytellers and artists.)
To make the project more interactive, an app will show viewers where to find additional information about the featured individuals. It was designed by Diversa, a company that combines storytelling and technology.
Diversa plans to donate earnings from the app to Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon, a nonprofit that assists small businesses facing the challenges of gentrification.
AMS hosted a neighborhood reception to promote the project at the Cruz Room Annex May 19 and is planning an eventful celebration for the markers’ mid-July installation.
Renee Mitchell, an op-ed writer for The Oregonian, will host the summertime event and DJs from XRAY.FM will provide the musical entertainment. AMS has invited students from St. Andrew Nativity School to introduce the storytellers, read poetry or speak about what the neighborhood means to them.
The project is intended to be forwardlooking, according to Ann. The hope is for the markers to foster a dialogue about inclusivity for those previously displaced from the neighborhood.
The markers are part of the broader goal to support the community’s African American and low-income neighbors, and to inspire the next generation.
And most important, Ann pointed out, the project is about encouraging those displaced to return to the neighborhood churches, parks and community events, and to feel welcome again.
Alberta marker participants
Storytellers whose words are due on five Alberta Street Black Heritage Markers are: Sam Brooks, Angelette Hamilton, Donna Hammond, Rosalyn Hill, Mitchell S. Jackson, Paul Knauls Sr., Marnella Mosley, Benita Presley and Pat Strickland.
The local artists chosen for the task to capture those stories visually are Kayin Talton Davis and Cleo Davis. Fabricating the markers is Jesse Pierson, owner of SOLID and a Pacific Northwest Sculptors board member.
Karen Lotts is a local freelance writer who helps local small businesses and nonprofits connect with their audiences through copywriting. She can be reached at KarenLotts.com.
LUTC Update – Oil rolls on tracks bordering Concordia
By Garlynn Woodsong | CNA Board Member, SW1, CNA LUTC Chair
In the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota, among other locations, new engineering innovations have allowed the use of shale fracking for greater oil and natural gas extraction efficiencies.
All that oil has to find its way to an ocean to get to market, so it’s coming by rail to the oil-to-ship facilities right here in Portland and nearby Columbia River ports.
The exact contents of any given rail car or train is considered classified information for national security reasons, or something along those lines. However, we do know if the more than a dozen oil-by-rail projects currently planned are permitted, they could add a capacity of 858,800 barrels per day – more than the Keystone XL pipeline!
All of this crude oil would move in rail cars on the tracks that run just north of Concordia neighborhood.
There is one, in particular, that is real, that is happening now, and it’s within city limits.
Zenith Energy is performing work, under permits issued in 2014, to expand its capability to transfer oil from trains to boats by expanding its rail car unloading station’s capacity to unload from 12 to 42 cars at once.
According to The Oregonian, federal export data show that Zenith Energy singlehandedly established Oregon’s crude oil export market over the span of the past year. Now it wants to bring Canadian oil through Portland.
This oil train expansion in northwest Portland is an example of how our existing fossil fuel infrastructure can be ramped up without much oversight. It will move higher and higher volumes of volatile petrochemicals on tracks that are within a blast-radius distance of our homes.
Oil won’t be the only fossil fuel on the tracks if other proposed projects are completed. As much as 100 million tons of coal have been proposed to pass through at least six new terminals for export annually.
Even without explosions, pressurized train cars full of mixed petrochemicals are prone to leaking, as they roll mostly unsupervised down the tracks. These leaks can emit noxious liquid, gases and fumes that can travel into adjacent neighborhoods.
Qualitatively, it’s a sure thing that they’re not good for your health. Citizen input could be helpful to city officials deliberating about how far the city should go to regulate the petrochemical export industry within its borders.
Write to your city commissioners if you’re concerned about this issue. Address your letters to 1221 S.W. 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97204. For email addresses, visit PortlandOregon.gov/article/224450.
Let us know – at LandUse@ConcordiaPDX.org – if you’re interested in helping CNA to act on this and related issues.
Garlynn Woodsong lives on 29th Avenue, serves on the CNA board and is an avid bicyclist. He also is a dad who is passionate about the city his son will inherit. He is the planning + development partner with Cascadia Partners LLC, a local urban planning firm. Contact him at LandUse@ConcordiaPDX.org.
Concordia home to two of busiest buses
By Dan Werle | CNA Media Team
At the intersection of Killingsworth Street and 42nd Avenue lies a treasure trove of opportunity, including restaurants, a nearby park and Portland Community College’s Portland Metropolitan Workforce Training Center.
It’s also where two of the most frequent and high ridership TriMet lines intersect.
Line 72 offers service every 15 minutes or sooner. It travels back and forth from Swan Island to Clackamas Town Center. Last autumn the 72 experienced 87,920 weekly boarding rides – TriMet’s most among bus lines.
Line 75 runs between north Portland’s Pier Park and Milwaukie. Last autumn it experienced TriMet buses’ fourth-most boarding rides, behind the 72, 20-Burnside/Stark, and 2-Division lines.
Clay Thompson, TriMet outreach services coordinator, explained the crossing of the 72 and 75 lines is a great benefit to riders.
“Having frequent north, south, east and west buses is the kind of service seen at transit centers, downtown and just a few other locations throughout the city.”
One of the challenging intersections 72 drivers navigate is at 30th Avenue and Killingsworth Street. There, buses turn from westbound Killingsworth to southbound 30th Avenue and from northbound 30th to eastbound Killingsworth.
Vehicle parking near the intersection is limited. The southwest corner of the intersection on 30th has several feet of space unavailable for vehicle parking; however, it remains an area frequently used for illegally parked vehicles.
Because the 72 is a frequent service line, its buses are 40 feet long to accommodate large numbers of passengers. Buses traveling in both directions of the route often meet at that intersection.
When they do, and vehicles are parked illegally, the buses turning south cannot do so safely. Under those circumstances, both bus operators negotiate with the familiar back-and-forth exchanges to ensure safe passage.
According to Clay, there are rare circumstances when bus operators believe they cannot navigate safely, so they notify their dispatcher. Then buses may be detoured and miss stops where riders may be waiting.
That’s when a towing service is notified to remove illegally parked vehicles.
TriMet encourages drivers at that intersection to use caution, keep an eye out for people boarding and disembarking buses, and to consider walking, biking or riding the bus instead of driving.
For help on trip planning and safe travel options in the region, TriMet customer service is available weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. by calling or texting 503.238.RIDE (7433).
Information is available 24/7 on TriMet.org and Twitter @TrimetHelp.
Dan Werle lives in Concordia with his wife, Anna, and their dogs.
Community Builder – Wheels turn at cycling center for 25 years
By Vanessa Miali | CNA Media Team
Cycle, spin, roll or glide to the Community Cycling Center, 1700 N.E. Alberta St., and help celebrate its 25th anniversary this month.
Community Cycling Center’s decades of success was built on the vision of broadening access to bicycling and the benefits bicycling offers all people.
The nonprofit was founded by experienced bike mechanic and Concordian Brian Lacy. He wanted to teach children how to fix their own bikes to empower them and help them to teach others.
“Bicycling, recycling and volunteerism is a magical combination that has helped us earn 25 years of the public’s support,” said Kasandra Griffin, executive director. “We see bikes as a vehicle for empowerment and a tool for change.”
“We have been working and evolving to make biking more welcoming and affordable to diverse audiences,” she said. “We’re one of the longest standing businesses on Alberta Street.”
The center now receives more than 1,000 bike donations per year, has 500-plus volunteers repairing and recycling bicycles, and it hosts a yearly holiday bike drive.
Individuals and government supporters provide scholarships for eligible students in the cycling center’s summer bike camps.
Other programs include after-school bike clubs, bike safety training, and mechanics classes in science technology engineering and math – known as STEM in academic circles. Since 2012, the center also operates the HUB in north Portland, a free bike repair service open twice per week May-September.
The first Tuesday of every month a volunteer orientation is offered at the Alberta shop. No prior experience is necessary. Volunteers learn how to clean and refurbish children’s bikes to donate to families with low incomes.
“We have a great team of volunteers trained to assess the bikes for repair, and we recycle what can’t be used,” Kasandra said.
Each year the nonprofit recycles nearly 30,000 pounds of metal and 7,000 pounds of rubber while putting hundreds of useable bicycles back on the road.
In recent years, the center has focused on asking how it can serve the communities, according to Kasandra.
“What we found was that some people wanted help organizing self-directed groups, rides and activism while other community members wanted affordable bike repair and safe bike storage outside of their apartments. “We have tried to help with all of those things.”
June 22 the Community Cycling Center will celebrate its anniversary with a Quarter Century Bike Ride that ends in a park with a celebration and barbecue.
Stay tuned for event details at CommunityCyclingCenter.org/events.
Vanessa Miali has lived in Concordia for 18 years. She is a former public relations professional with two kids who cooks every day and gardens occasionally.
Concordian doctors pets, both on and off the job
By Tamara Anne Fowler | CNA Media Team
neighborhood, caring for animals at the Oregon Humane Society, and especially for those that belong to the homeless and impoverished. Photo by Lloyd Kimeldorf.
The fear is that the day may come when only the wealthy can afford pets. With the rising cost of pet deposits and rents, as well as veterinary care, that time might not be far off.
Enter Portland Animal Welfare (PAW) Team. PAW Team provides free veterinary care to the animals of people experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty. PAW Team offer vaccinations, some surgeries as well as spay and neuter services, and has been a part of the Portland community for the past 10 years.
In the recent past, there were no overnight shelter options for people who had pets – causing many to have no other option than to spend their nights on the street. Now, recognizing how important this is, some shelters are starting to allow pets.
Concordian Margaret Wixson volunteers for PAW Team.
Landing her first job out of the University of California, Davis veterinary program, Margaret works at the Oregon Humane Society (OHS). She spends her weekdays working as a shelter veterinarian there.
During her off hours, she serves on the board of PAW Team. She has been doing so for the past year.
Margaret volunteers at drop-in clinics and provides phone and email consultations when she can’t be there during the week. “We have a team of amazing vets who see patients during the week,” she pointed out.
By the time a diagnosis reaches Margaret, the pet has been seen by the PAW medical team and comes with a plan of action.
PAW Team uses donated surgery spaces to conduct the spay and neuter clinic a few times a year. Those days are labor-intensive, including identifying volunteers to help some clients who don’t have transport.
So PAW Team relies on volunteers to caravan them.
Concordia is Margaret’s favorite neighborhood. She loves the linear arboretum on Ainsworth, and she appreciates how close she is to 42nd Avenue, and Dekum and Killingsworth streets.
She also finds it a dog-friendly neighborhood and enjoys the dog parks. “I know my neighbors by their dogs,” Margaret admitted. “I know the dogs’ names, not the names of their owners.”
Being bike accessible is another amenity that impresses Margaret. But, even more, she is thrilled being a part of PAW Team. “Nobody should ever have to make the decision between their meds and their dog’s meds.”
Tamara Anne Fowler is Edit Kitten, a writer with 20-plus years of experience offering a sof ter, gentler approach to editing and coaching. Her personal editors — Armani, Max Factor and Spicey’D — are also her cats. Visit her at EditKitten.com or contact her at Tamara@EditKitten. com.
He assembles items to represent his worldview
By Joel Dippold | CNA Media Team
A thought slowly comes over you as you stand in a room full of Dan Pillers’ exquisite works of art: “The inside of this guy’s studio must be pretty amazing.”
Dan practices bricolage, assembling found objects into elaborate representations of his worldview, and his identity. His perspective is one of a gay man born in the Eisenhower administration who survived the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco and has lived a quiet life in Concordia for the past dozen years.
The basement studio of his Ainsworth bungalow is crammed with cabinets full of artifacts and curiosities, the building blocks of his art. The artifacts and woodwork come from thrift shops, yard sale free boxes and sometimes gifts left on his porch by mysterious benefactors.
His art is a mix of memoir, history, politics and popular culture. His pieces often take the shape of a glass case with elaborate woodwork – sometimes Victorian, sometimes mid-century modern. Etched onto the glass are ornamental designs or provocative bits of text.
And in the center of this space, often suspended in midair, is a central object of contemplation – some small thing of singular beauty, of wonderment, evocative of lost time or an emotion you can’t quite pin down.
Dan’s training as an artist includes a bachelor of fine arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute, residencies in France, and gallery shows up and down the West Coast.
But, as he excitedly shows a visitor some of the truly singular artifacts he’s collected, he repeatedly mentions his residency with a Metro program called “Glean.” Each year it gives a handful of local artists unlimited access to the local dump.
Next up for Dan is a joint show in June at the Guardino Gallery, 2939 N.E. Alberta St. There, you can see nearly a dozen of his pieces. In addition to the show through June 25, he is booked for an opening reception Thursday, May 30, 6-9 p.m., and an artist talk Saturday, June 15, 2 p.m.
Before you go, visit DanPillers.com or watch a three-minute video portrait at Vimeo.com/51840518.
Joel Dippold is a freelance writer and editor who has lived in Concordia since 2000.