Thousands of folks returned to Northeast Alberta Street June 30 to mark the return of Last Thursday, a monthly summer event. Small businesses, galleries, restaurants, and bars come together to celebrate the Alberta Art District community as artists, musicians, and performers lined the street from NE 15th through NE 30th Ave. Last Thursday takes place again Aug. 25. Photos by Isaac Puga-Phillips and Rob Cullivan
Category Archives: Concordia News
Concordia Art Works – Resident created ‘Dream Boy’ to adorn street
What to do when you retire? Sharon Wagner was faced with just that problem seven years ago when she left the U.S. Forest Service and decided to learn to work with clay.
Drawn to the sensual feel and pliability of the material, she focused on hand building rather than using a clay wheel. Although she has created functional wares, she prefers to create sculptural works.
Wagner lives on a bike path, with her house located on the corner of Alberta Court and NE 37th Avenue. Her yard is alive with windsocks and whirligigs, and in the tree near the road is a life size figure of a boy made out of clay.
Using photos of her friend’s twin boys, Wagner made “Dream Boy” in four clay pieces: the head, two halves of the torso plus a leg and a backpack that sits at the foot of the tree. The pieces were created at the Multnomah Art Center and assembled after the last firing.
The work took her a year to finish with months needed to dry the clay before it could go into the kiln to be fired. One bubble left in the clay or even residual moisture could cause the clay to break or even explode when fired.
“One of the biggest challenges of making Dream Boy had to do with the shape of the tree and the shrinkage of the clay,” she said. The clay she used shrinks almost 11% from wet clay after it is fired, making it a real challenge to ensure the work would sit perfectly into the crux of the tree.
Through her big front window, Sharon can watch as people enjoy her artwork. “The public space between our houses and the streets is ours to take care of for the good of everyone. This is my way of taking care of it.”
Michel Reeverts, aka Maquette, holds a master of arts degree in art education and serves Alberta Art Works as director and Alberta Street Gallery as a board member. She is also a practicing artist. Contact her at Maquette@AlbertaArtWorks.org.
Ballmer Institute – UO campus to welcome first classes in 2023
By Mac Larsen | CNews Contributing Writer
The University of Oregon’s Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health will welcome its first group of students to the former Concordia University campus in the summer of 2023. UO representatives spoke at the Concordia Neighborhood Association’s General Meeting June 1 about the status of the university’s purchase and development of the former Concordia University campus, 2811 NE Holman St.
UO Portland Vice Provost Jane Gordon, Assistant Vice President for Community Relations Matt Roberts, and Ballmer Institute Acting Executive Director Randy Kamphaus spoke about the Institute’s goals and reach and answered questions from the CNA Board.
The Concordia property remains in escrow, and the sale is scheduled to go through in July. The new campus will open to students for hybrid, or in-person as well as online, learning in the summer and fall of 2023. The Institute will welcome a prospective class of around 200 students to help meet the rising need for mental healthcare professionals for children and adolescents with behavioral disorders.
The university’s board of trustees approved the purchase agreement March 14. UO officials have said that an ongoing legal dispute between the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, the property’s owner, and HotChalk, a Concordia University education contractor, will have no effect on the pending sale of the campus. HotChalk is suing the LCEF for breach of contract, stating their argument hinges on the “significant value” of the Concordia campus and “LCEF’s continuing pattern of diverting assets to elude bona fide creditors like HotChalk,” according to reporting from the Portland Business Journal.
As for the Institute, officials said its programs will help the nation address a number of employment as well as health care concerns. “The Ballmer Institute is an attempt to help close the workforce gap between adolescents and their behavioral health needs and their access to services,” Kamphaus said.
UO views The Ballmer Institute as an investment in a healthcare sector in desperate need of support and resources, with less than 400,000 children’s mental health professionals working in the United States right now. According to the CDC, almost 20% of children and adolescents under 18 “have a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder.” However, only 20% of children facing these challenges ever receive attention from a trained mental health professional, or diagnosis or treatment. The Institute hopes to lead the nation in educating future doctors, counselors, therapists, and nurses in the field of children’s behavioral health.
“We’ve had school districts express interest in hiring as many of our grads as we can produce,” Kamphaus said, noting he and other institute leaders meet with Portland Public Schools weekly, to plan how the school district can provide opportunities for student healthcare professionals. Roberts said that further community outreach with the Concordia neighborhood will be coordinated by UO and the university’s architects.
“We’ve heard the surrounding communities very much miss having students around,” Kamphaus said. “We couldn’t have a better welcome mat for the Ballmer Institute and for any other UO programs at the downtown campus who may want to move out to that campus as well next year in the coming years.”
Mac Larsen is a graduate student at the University of Oregon, pursuing a master’s degree in journalism. He grew up in Concordia neighborhood and can be found frequently on Alberta Street, complaining about all the construction.
American Legion – Area veterans share stories of military life
By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor
Members of American Legion Post 134 have served in Vietnam, Iraq, Bosnia and Korea, among other places, and shared their experiences of military life and views on patriotism with CNews recently.
Iraq.
Post Commander Barry M. Larrain is a retired Army colonel who served in Vietnam, Okinawa, Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq. Among his duties, he worked as a Vietnamese linguist from 1968–69 and as senior military advisor to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad from 2009–10.
Larrain noted being a veteran has strengthened his commitment to the nation and its principles, and given him experiences that make him realize the impact his service made. For example, he said, he was deployed to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Dec. 1995, just after warring parties in the former Yugoslavia had signed the Dayton Peace Accords.
“My unit was one of the first to arrive in the city, which was badly damaged following years of war between Serbia and Bosnia,” he said. “I was with a few other soldiers moving through the city when a half dozen people saw us and started yelling, ‘USA, USA, USA.’ It was uplifting! During the war 10,000 Sarajevo residents were killed by artillery and mortar rounds, or sniper fire. These people were much more than grateful for our presence.”
With July 4 approaching, he added that it’s a holiday he wishes included reflection, not just celebration.
“I think July 4 should be a time for introspection, taking into account the complex history of the country, our successes and our failures, and a visceral appreciation for ‘There but for fortune, go I.’”
Peenesh Shah, a member of the Post’s executive committee, was an army sergeant who served in Iraq, and is now an assistant attorney general for the Oregon Dept. of Justice.
An aid station and evacuation medic in Baghdad, he had to respond to calls to evacuate casualties and also worked in a hospital emergency room. He said veterans are a diverse lot and he wished people would get to know more of them. Common misconceptions of veterans, he said, are “that we’re all the same, that we all share the same political views, that we’re all damaged in some way.” He noted that his own experience of military life was both uplifting and challenging and even contained moments of humor.
“One time a drill sergeant told me I was so bad at calling cadence that I needed to get a bowl of rhythm next time I was at the cafeteria,” he said.
Post Adjutant Patrick Bardel was a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps, from 1979–85 and served in various locations stateside. Serving has given him a sense of duty fulfilled, he said. “I am proud to have been involved in the defense of our country,” Bardel said. “The Cold War was a risky period of our history, and as we are seeing in Ukraine, there are some leaders that only respect power.”
He noted veterans bring to civilian life various characteristics that are useful to society. “There are many skills we learned in the military that translate well into the civilian world—leadership, organization, honesty—that aren’t recognized by employers who have no contact with vets.”
Bardel said serving in the military has given him a sense that the flag stands for more than one type of politics. “Our country’s government will always be a work in progress,” he said. “If the arc of justice and liberty keeps improving, with everyone’s help we can make this country better every generation. Recognizing and improving problems is a feature of democracy and not a problem.”
Robin Eckstein, E-4, Army, served from 1999–2007 here in the United States, as well as in Germany. She did a tour in Iraq in 2003 as a truck driver delivering supplies around Baghdad. She is now Post 134’s finance officer and said she’s working hard to revive the American Legion locally. “I bring fresh perspectives and want the Legion to change and start meeting the needs and wants of new generations of veterans that no longer just want a bar to sit at,” she said.
The military was a mixed bag of experiences for her, she said, noting she liked the camaraderie but disliked “the sexual harassment and old-boys-club attitude of it.”
Life in a war zone brought the cost of citizenship home to her in a particularly difficult way, she added.
“I saw my friend in the hospital after he had been blown up in a roadside bomb,” she said. “He said it wasn’t worth it. Almost losing his life and he said it wasn’t worth it. I think about that to this day knowing he has to live with disabilities for the rest of his life.”
Eckstein said the American Legion should continue to expand its historic mission to assist veterans like her and those with whom she’s served. “The American Legion has done a lot of important lobbying in Congress for rights and benefits for veterans and that work is extremely important.”
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.
American Legion – Veterans renovate, revive Post 134
By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor
Robin Eckstein, who served in Iraq, summed up why it’s important for her and other military veterans to have a space where they can bond. “You can’t watch ‘Generation Kill’ on HBO and all of sudden know what it’s like to deploy.”
As our nation prepares to celebrate Independence Day, CNews spoke to Eckstein, along with three other veterans, about their lives as well as their meeting space, American Legion Frederick and John Ravin Post 134, 2104 NE Alberta St.
Founded in 1947, the Post has a storied history in Concordia and has even drawn attention from the national press at times for its outreach work, including serving as a warming shelter in the past for the homeless during winter. Since its founding it’s seen everything from potlucks and neighborhood dances to raucous punk rock shows and LGBTQ trivia nights.
Current Post Commander Barry M. Larrain said Post 134 welcomes all veterans of any political affiliation whatsoever. Eckstein said she is a lesbian who has encouraged other LGBTQ veterans to join the American Legion, and Peenesh Shah, a state assistant attorney general and Post member, noted his parents are from India.
“If we live in a community that is diverse, it should be the case that our Post is diverse,” Eckstein said. “The military is a microcosm of the nation. There are people of all different backgrounds, genders, sexualities, races and nationalities.”
Construction costs
commands Post 134, and has been working with others to renovate the building. Photo by Michael French
The Legion members said they’re currently seeking around $25,000 in donations to complete renovating the Post’s Quonset style building and want to encourage younger veterans to join. To that end, the Post—named for two brothers who died while serving in the navy in World War II—is highlighting its building renovation efforts and asking the public to consider funding the construction work. The Post has already installed a new furnace, completed some work on its walls and floors and is looking to upgrade its overall appearance.
But even more important to the Post’s future than its space are the people whom its leaders want to occupy it. Larrain, a retired Army colonel, noted 76 percent of the Post’s 130 members are older than 60, and the Legion wants to expand its membership. The nation’s interest in its military waxes and wanes depending on the news cycle, he and the other leaders mused, but veterans never forget other veterans. Larrain wants the younger generation of veterans to know the American Legion is there for them.
“We have to have a voice,” he said. “We have to have something that represents all veterans, to represent our interests.”
Eckstein, the Post’s finance officer, said the Legion has helped her find other veterans who, like her, have experienced PTSD related to their service, as well as given her a chance to do what all veterans have done, namely serve their communities. On that note, the Post’s Adjutant, Patrick Bardel, a Marine veteran, said the organization gives purpose to his life.
“Our Post 134 is my primary volunteering focus,” he said. “I’m retired, but I never planned to, or will, stop working. The Post is an outlet of my energy to have a place for veterans to get together and put our collective energies out into the community.”
Shah, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq, is a member of the Post’s executive committee and wants the Post to become more integrated into the life of Concordia and the surrounding neighborhoods. He said, for example, the Post can facilitate meetings between school children and American Legion members so they can learn about veterans. He also noted he enjoys the camaraderie the Post provides him. “It’s given me a chance to connect with other veterans of different generations,” he said.
To learn how to donate to American Legion Post 134, visit post134.com and click on “Donate.” To learn more about becoming a member, contact the adjutant at patrickb@portlandrainbarrels. com
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.
Concordia Art Works – Artist raises funds for Ukraine war victims
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Anya Mironets Keyes moved to the United States when she was 16. Her family has lived in Ukraine for 14 generations.
“When I moved to the U.S. I was a junior in high school,” she said. “I didn’t speak English then and to get enough credits to graduate I took as many art classes as possible because I didn’t have to speak. My AP art teacher taught me fundamentals and instilled in me the idea that I could be an artist one day.”
Being a first-generation immigrant, a career in arts was not a reliable choice, so she studied and became a pharmacist. Nonetheless, Keyes continued pursuing her art, creating paintings in oils and watercolors, centered around her Ukrainian identity.
Her experiences as a first-generation immigrant, a foreign-born mother, friend and American citizen are expressed in her atmospheric paintings, the most recent of which feature images of her fellow Ukrainians.
“I enjoy the creativity and solitude that comes with art,” she said. “It’s meditative and restorative. It truly is the best fit for me.”
When the war in Ukraine erupted, she felt helpless watching the senseless devastation of her home country and decided to create a body of work and donate all proceeds to help volunteer groups in Ukraine, especially in underserved areas. Her portraits, mostly of women, are currently available for purchase.
For more information, visit AnyaKeyes.com or visit the Blind Insect Gallery, 2841 NE Alberta St.
Michel Reeverts, aka Maquette, holds a master of arts degree in art education and serves Alberta Art Works as director and Alberta Street Gallery as a board member. She is also a practicing artist. Contact her at Maquette@AlbertaArtWorks.org
Students on lives after lockdowns
By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor
One student called it “the never-ending circus.” Another labeled it “Rona.” Still another called it “Virus 19,” and then added he simplified it sometimes to just “The Virus.” “It’s the only virus I’ve known,” he said.
By now, the readers should have figured out fifth graders at Faubion School, 2930 NE Dekum St., were talking about Covid 19 and how it changed their lives forever over the past two years.
In a group interview, students in Nathaniel Williams’ class spoke with CNews on May 16 about how they dealt with online classes during the lockdowns as well as how they adjusted to full-time in-person learning this year. Here’s what the kids said:
Covid Hits
When Covid 19 triggered government mandated lockdowns in early 2020, the fifth-grade students were all in third grade.
One child noted the lockdowns initially seemed like fun: “I was happy I could spend time with friends and family.”
But most of the students said staying at home quickly turned from a novel situation into one they didn’t like.
“I prefer much more in-person school.”
“It’s hard for me personally because I need one-on-one learning.”
“It was soooo isolating.”
“I feel like I lost my social skills.”
Online Learning
The students had somewhat mixed views regarding online learning – staying at home allowed them more sleep, for example, but a number noted working online didn’t always fully engage them the way being in a classroom does. Some even confessed to misleading their teachers about the level of attention they were paying to a subject.
“I would just pretend my computer was having difficulty.”
“If it got too loud, my mom would tell me to turn down the computer volume.”
“I feel like I didn’t learn anything new, and nothing helped me.”
Socialization
A recurring issue for the children was how the lockdowns affected their ability to socialize when they returned to school. Several said they felt it set back their ability to mature and interact well with others.
“In a classroom you can connect with people … but on a computer you can’t really affect that.”
“It was hard to hang out with my friends because you always had to be (six feet) away from them.”
“We were kind of going insane … we got angrier.”
One student said he did learn how to cook for himself, and others said they did enjoy spending more time with their relatives, including young cousins also unable to attend school in person. One child noted a benefit of learning at home was it made him more of a self-starter, perusing learning sites online without being prompted by a teacher.
When they returned, Williams said the children took a while to adjust to being back at school, and asked far more questions than his fifth graders did in years past.
“What I noticed is they needed a lot of affirmation,” he said. “They were looking around like they’d never been in a classroom.” He and the students chuckled when one child reminded him he had said they “were all acting like a bunch of third graders” at first. “If we had to do online school till college, we’d all still be acting like third graders in college!” one student said.
Final thoughts
No generation of American children until now has ever dealt with an event quite like Covid – even during the influenza that swept the nation from 1918-20. Millions of children like the ones at Faubion lost out on a couple of years of in-person learning, and it’s clear after talking to them that the fifth graders at Williams’ class have been changed forever by the lockdowns.
Kaleb Negash said he most missed seeing his extended family during the lockdowns. “If I have kids, they’re going to see their aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings and grandparents five days a week!”
Adelaide Maddox, 11, said they, too, has learned to cherish their family.“I’m going to try to see my family again and again and to never waste any minutes with them because you never know when you will see them again.”
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.
NE Village PDX volunteer enjoys connections
By Jon Dickman | CNA Media Team
An appreciation of authentic human connection and a love of helping others inspired retired chiropractor and Cully resident Abe Cohen five years ago to volunteer with Northeast Village PDX, 5830 NE Alameda St., serving Concordia and other neighborhoods in central northeast Portland.
For the past five years, the group– volunteer-based, member-led and self-governing–has enabled older people to remain in their homes and enjoy a meaningful quality of life. Services may include transportation, light home maintenance, tech support, social visits, phone check-ins, tax help, yardwork and neighborhood walks. Membership fees help pay for village operating costs.
A driver for the village, Cohen cherishes the one-on-one time he spends when taking a member to a doctor, dentist, or physical therapy appointment or to go shopping, on a park walk or to a hair salon.
“It’s like when I was a chiropractor,” he said. “It’s a meeting of different people from different backgrounds, different personalities, different walks of life. It’s very stimulating.”
John Bear – a writer, former Jeopardy contestant and one of Cohen’s regular passengers – said Cohen was always cheerful. “Abe is one of those people who would rather be 15 minutes early than one minute late. So, I can always count on him for pickups and rides.”
Although the pandemic has limited socializing, some village members use videoconferences for book and movie discussions and arts and crafts. Cooking groups also conduct their meetings via videoconference, as well as speakers who share information of interest to older adults. More in-person cultural, recreational, and social activities are slated to start up again soon.
In February, Northeast Village PDX joined more than 280 similar villages across the country to celebrate the movement’s 20th anniversary. The U.S. House of Representatives marked Feb. 15 as National Village Day.
The milestone was also commemorated by Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, who issued a statement into the Congressional Record of the United States Senate to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of the national movement.
“I see a lot of gratitude,” Cohen said. “It’s nice to do something for people who appreciate what you’re doing – not for ego gratification – but because you’re giving them something.”
Northeast Village PDX holds videoconference information sessions for prospective members and volunteers at 2 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month. Register on the calendar at NEVillagePDX.org, or call 503.895.2750 for more information. Also, you can check out their introductory video on their Northeast Village PDX YouTube channel.
Jon Dickman, enthusiastic volunteer with Portland FolkMusic Society and lover of classical jazz vocals, leads a memoir/ show-and-tell group for NE Village PDX called “It’s All About Us.”
Theatre, pub welcome post-lockdown crowds
By Rob Cullivan | CNews Editor
As Covid lockdowns and masking mandates end, people have come out to slake their live music thirst at two of Concordia’s most popular venues, the Alberta Rose Theatre and T.C. O’Leary’s.
Talent Buyer Adam East of Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta St., says the venue has hosted live performances since last September and is now just about back to its pre-pandemic average of five shows per week.
Upcoming shows include Booker T. Jones of “Green Onions” fame May 1; Portland singer Stephanie Schneiderman and indie rockers Swansea on May 6 as well as a musical tribute to Dolly Parton on June 4 called “Dolly Hoot” featuring local musicians.
Alberta encourages patrons to be vaccinated as well as wear masks, East said, but doesn’t require either. Alberta weathered the Covid storm by being creative.
“We switched to online shows, and presented over 150 livestream shows during lockdown,” East said. “We had a subscription service that kept some of our staff working, and provided some work for musicians in the local scene who had seen all their gigs dry up. We lost a few staff members, but most came back.”
Down the street at Irish music hub T.C. O’Leary’s, 2926 Alberta St., owner Tom O’Leary said he’s hosted performances since the end of the first lockdown, in spring 2020 and whenever regulations permitted after that. However, O’Leary’s did move its performers to an enclosed area outside the pub to decrease the potential for Covid transmission.
“We kept it outside as much as we possibly could depending on the temperature,” he said, noting patrons could enjoy the performances via video screens inside the pub. O’Leary’s doesn’t ask patrons to be masked or show vaccination cards, but the pub owner said his establishment can accommodate those who are concerned about Covid exposure.
“If anyone was feeling nervous to be back in this environment, we have plenty of space outside,” he said, noting the pub has seating room for up to 60 people outside.
O’Leary’s will ask for proof of vaccinations and that patrons be masked when Tom stars in the award-winning Irish American tale “The Smuggler,” which opened April 28 and which runs through to May 22 (see related story page 8). The Dublin born actor says regulations are different for theater as opposed to music, and the pub must abide the rules guiding playhouses for its staging of “The Smuggler.”
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.
Bureau addresses bridges’ issues
By Keith Daellenbach CNA Media Team
Two bridges span Northeast Lombard Street and an adjacent railroad connecting the Concordia neighborhood to Northeast Columbia Boulevard, and both have changes in store as planned by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT).
These bridges are at the northern termini of Northeast 33rd Avenue and Northeast 42nd Avenue. They provide necessary vehicular and bicycle access to Northeast Columbia Boulevard as well as north to Northeast Marine Drive.
The Northeast 33rd Avenue bridge has been partially closed for eight months and, according to PBOT’s website, the bridge could reopen at the earliest in late June (Portland.gov/transportation/pbot-projects/construction/ne-33rd-avenue-bridge). Meanwhile, PBOT plans to replace the Northeast 42nd Avenue bridge.
The Northeast 33rd Avenue bridge was constructed in 1929 and, according to a brass plaque affixed to the bridge, was originally called the “East Thirty-Third Street Viaduct.” According to PBOT, a bridge of this design has a typical life of approximately 50 years. In a 2021 report on infrastructure in the United States, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) reports that 42% of all bridges are at least 50 years old and many need repair (InfrastructureReportCard.org/cat-item/bridges/).
In 2019, the ASCE gave Oregon a “C” grade for its bridge infrastructure and said the state had the lowest percentage of bridges in good condition among western states (InfrastructureReportCard. org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ FullReport-OR_2019.pdf). Funding for Oregon’s bridges, according to the ASCE, is critically low. Now 93 years old, the Northeast 33rd Avenue bridge’s life has been considerably extended due to upgrades and repairs. As recently as a few years ago, it was closed for many months as it was upgraded to include lanes designed to accommodate increased bicycle traffic.
PBOT inspectors found damage to concrete in one of the bridge’s crossbeams at the northern terminus of the bridge. Two of the three ingress/egress lanes were closed in late August 2021. Only the undamaged northbound fly-over section, which transports northbound traffic on Northeast 33rd Avenue to a westbound direction on Northeast Columbia Boulevard, remains open.
On the underside of the bridge, workers erected temporary vertical steel supports and bolted them to new concrete footings which, in turn, support a large steel I-beam that supports a concrete cross beam to hold up the bridge while repair work is completed. The cost of repairing the bridge remains to be determined.
Meanwhile, PBOT notes the Northeast 42nd Avenue bridge sits on a recommended Emergency Transportation Route. However, the bridge is vulnerable to earthquakes (Portland.gov/transportation/pbot-projects/construction/ne-42nd-ave-bridge-over-ne-lombard). A $17 million dollar project will pay for the replacement of this bridge. A new bridge will meet modern seismic code and will provide better access for freight, walking, and biking. Bidding and contracting will happen this summer and construction is expected to start this fall.
Keith Daellenbach is a mechanical engineer and outdoor enthusiast who loves mountain climbing, skiing, biking, canoeing, and beekeeping with wife Amy and son Micah. His home is in Concordia.