Concordia Neighborhood Association | Portland, Oregon

Northeast Village PDX opens membership campaign Aug. 1

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Family, Health and Wellness

Northeast Village PDX, due to begin providing services Oct. 31, begins enrolling members Aug. 1. Enrollment for Full-service and Associate Charter members began July 1 and continues through the end of the year, requiring an additional $500 tax-deductible donation per member and offering a lid on membership fees through 2020.

Part of the group organizing seven villages in the Portland area, Northeast Village PDX is an intergenerational group of residents committed to enabling members to age in place in their homes. In addition to Concordia, the Northeast Village PDX includes the Alameda, Beaumont-Wilshire, Cully, Grant Park, Hollywood, Irvington Lloyd, Madison, Parkrose, Parkrose Heights, Rose City Park, Roseway, Sullivan’s Gulch, Sumner, Sunderland and Woodland Park neighborhoods, and the city of Maywood Park.

An information booth is planned for the Aug. 13 Alberta Street Fair. Additionally, you may visit the Northeast Village PDX website for details, email nevillagepdx@gmail.com or call 503-895-2750.

Full-service members receive assistance with transportation, household chores, minor maintenance and yard work from trained, background-checked volunteers. Those members and associate members additionally have access to lists of professional services companies that have been prescreened, community resources and an array of social and educational offerings.

What’s going on NEXT DOOR?

Posted on by Posted in CNA, Concordia News

By Carrie Wenninger

A new regular feature offering an insight into what’s on the minds of Concordians

Curious about the news du jour right here in Concordia? From lost pets and found wallets to free mulch, hot tubs and kids’ clothing (just to name a few things!), from neighborhood crime and safety warnings to coyote sightings to opinions on the newest urban development projects, NextDoor.com is a free resource offering hyper-local social interaction via its web site and app. From their site: “It’s the easiest way for you and your neighbors to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world.”

This writer has used it personally to quickly raise funds and clothing donations for a family friend’s severely burned young son at Legacy Oregon Burn Center. Within minutes, neighbors began turning up with cash, clothes, offers of homemade lasagna and more, showcasing the power and immediacy of social networking. Here’s a look at last month’s discussions:

May-June 2016 NextDoor.com Hot Topic Round Up

  • Doug the dog is still lost! Surely you’ve seen his sweet mug plastered on telephone poles; this ginger long-haired dachshund is greatly missed by his family. He’s been gone since mid-April, but continues to be spotted about town
  • Orange Splot’s new development project, Camp Cully, highlights the changing Portland home building scene and stirs up all manner of emotions.
  • ‘Tree of Heaven’ labeled invasive species from… the other place, should be pulled up/dug out/girdled immediately, say garden enthusiasts.
  • Dog poop: take it or leave it? Neighbors sound off on how to best dispose of the baggie… in a neighbor’s trash can or by packing it home.
  • Vernon Elementary School gets high marks from effusive parents! Goooooo Vernon!
  • City wildlife is alive and well…another coyote sighting on June 13.

Carrie is a resident of NE 29th Ave. and a freelance writer with a penchant for poetic prose who tries to look for the humor in everyday life. She is also a mom and world traveler and, with her partner, owns a company that restores and repurposes vintage homes. If you see her, please say hello or email her at wurdgurl@gmail.com

Concordia Yard Sale!

Posted on by Posted in Events

Saturday, August 13, 9AM – 4PM

How it works:

YOU place your sale items in your yard or driveway during the designated time.

WE advertise on Craigslist & Nextdoor.com, directing folks to explore Concordia for deals

YOU post your specific info & address on Craigslist & Nextdoor.com (optional but suggested)

YOU sell your stuff!

Sorry, due to inadequate volunteer help, CNA will not be providing maps, signs or post-sale charity donations.

Download details for the Concordia Yard Sale and spread the word!

A simple summer: best for kids and best for you

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Family

By Jennifer Allison, Gnome’s Home

The school year rhythm has wound down, and now we are faced with summer! There are so many choices for you and your family, and it can be overwhelming just thinking about what activities and vacations to do with your children. My mind is boggled as I plan out adventures to embark upon with my three children. While sifting through the various summer options, it feels as though the weeks have already passed by. This is where I get grounded and I remember one of the golden rules of childhood; simplicity.

My summers were filled with days playing in the woods, walking down to the local lake and swimming with the neighbors and basking in the sun. We did the occasional family vacation to the Jersey shore, and I went to a very cool overnight camp near my home in the heart of the Pine Barrens. Mostly, however, my days were spent in the lush landscape of the forest and lakes that surrounded my neighborhood, where I would get lost in nature. I miss those days.

So when I want to be a supermom, and I start fussing with all the things we could be doing, I pause and remember these simple elements I am going to share with you that make childhood the wonderment it is and deserves to be.

• Plan a simple rhythm: What has to happen in your day? Eating, quiet time, a morning outing before the sun scorches you? Put down on paper the basic elements that you and your youngsters have to do, and then let there be space for the unpredicted and unplanned to pull you into adventure. Keep your days and life simple! Summer is a good time to slow down and enjoy the natural elements. Build in a quiet time for you and the kids, even if it is 30 minutes. Everyone can benefit from alone time.

• Do one special thing: Have you made this mistake: In the morning we are picking berries, and then meeting the Jones’s for lunch at the park, followed by friends over for dinner and ice cream at the local shop? Well, I have. This spells disaster for your littlest ones. It is simply TOO much. One of my mottos is, “Too much of a good thing is still too much.” Just doing ONE of any of those things will make your day super special. Try it. It works.

• Let your child get bored: Every moment does not have to be the utmost supreme adventure that invokes every positive feeling your child has ever had. Seeking this goal sets kids up for the instant gratification monster that is always hungry no matter how much you feed it. The developing brain actually needs the down time, and you can tell your kids that something is coming right around the next corner.

Summer is a time of ease and enjoyment, so let your days be simple and fun.

Jennifer Allison is an early childhood educator at Gnome’s Home. Visit www. gnomeshome.org for more information on classes for children and adults.

Alberta Streetcar: A catalyst for change

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, History

By Doug Decker, Historian

Development of the streetcar line changed everything about the landscape that eventually became our neighborhood. It takes lots of imagination to conjure up a picture of what our neighborhood might have looked like 100 years ago. The fields and forests of today’s Alberta district, Vernon, and Concordia were way out in the country, beyond the far edge of Portland. But one key development changed all that: the Alberta Streetcar.

A photo from June 1940 looking north on NE 30th of the Alberta Streetcar at its far northern end, NE 30th and Ainsworth. Only the building on the northeast corner remains. Photo courtesy of City of Portland Archives.
A photo from June 1940 looking north on NE 30th of the Alberta Streetcar at its far northern end, NE 30th and Ainsworth. Only the building on the northeast corner remains. Photo courtesy of City of Portland Archives.

First constructed in 1903, the line left downtown at SW 2nd and Alder, crossed the old Steel Bridge and ran north up Union (today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.), where it turned east on Alberta to NE 25th. A few years later it was extended five blocks east on Alberta to NE 30th, and then a few years later north on NE 30th to Ainsworth, which became the end of the line.

Wherever the streetcar went, so did development. Initially just two rails in the mud through brush and open fields, by the heyday of Portland’s streetcars in the teens and 1920s, the Alberta streetcar had attracted scores of business owners and thousands of residents to this new developing part of the city. Its impact on the shape and feel of the neighborhood can’t be overstated.

The December 28, 1913 edition of The Oregonian reported: “The streetcars are now operated to East Thirtieth street and Ainsworth avenue. The line runs double cars in order to take care of the traffic and even then the cars morning and evening are overcrowded.”

The fact that autos were not the primary mode of transport in those days meant streetcars—and lots of foot traffic—fueled growth of the business district along Alberta. It was a thriving place of activity and commerce, not unlike today. But by the 1940s, with automobiles dominating the transportation picture and Union Avenue no longer the main north-south travel corridor (travel had shifted to Interstate Avenue), the Alberta streetcar became disused and was eventually replaced by a bus. By then, Portland had turned its back on its once robust streetcar system. The last day for the line was August 1, 1948.

As if to silence the era of the Alberta streetcar once and for all, in September 1949 The Oregonian reported that the City of Portland authorized a $75,000 paving contract that took 11 days to erase all evidence of the tracks:

“A total of 110,748 yards of materials went into the project to bury the old Alberta streetcar tracks. Paving tonnage amounted to 8,407 tons of blacktop.”

Today, there aren’t many specific clues other than the hundreds of streetcar-era buildings that would not have developed without the line. When you’re out for a walk along our neighborhood’s path of the old streetcar line (1.8 miles along Alberta between MLK and 30th; then 30th Avenue between Alberta and Ainsworth), see what evidence you can find.

Check out Northeast Portland neighborhood historian Doug Decker’s blog www.alamedahistory.org for more on local lore, including the history of the nearby Broadway Streetcar line.

ASK the Historian: Have a history question that needs to be solved? Drop us a note and we’ll put Doug Decker on it. Email CNewsEditor@ConcordiaPDX.org.

Help available for grandparents, others raising children not their own

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Family

By Kathy Crabtree, CNA Media Team

For many Portlanders, retirement as they planned it has hit the wayside. Not because of poor financial planning, but because the task of raising their grandchildren has fallen unexpectedly on them.

Connie, raising her three school age grandchildren, was at a loss. Her fixed retirement income was stretched thin in an attempt to provide healthy meals for the four of them. One of the children needed extensive dental work; the oldest was struggling with her studies, and the youngest was acting out in ways that were reportedly disrupting her classroom. The school

Jane Mayes, pictured here with her granddaughter, is a Ties that Bind navigator. Through the program Mayes offers support to other grandparents raising their grandchildren. Photo by Patience Tolentino.
Jane Mayes, pictured here with her granddaughter, is a Ties that Bind navigator. Through the program Mayes offers support to other grandparents raising their grandchildren. Photo by Patience Tolentino.

principal appeared understanding, but seemed to expect her to be able to cope with these issues. Fortunately, the principle recommended that Connie contact the Ties That Bind program to get some guidance.

She was hesitant, however, to ask for help – ashamed that her daughter could abandon her own children, and embarrassed because she didn’t have the financial or emotional resources to handle the situation on her own. To protect the subjects’ privacy, the above story is a composite of several local families’ stories. But it could be your story, or that of a neighbor. Approximately 3,000 children in Portland live in multigenerational households without parents; Ties that Bind is working to address the needs of those affected.

“The Ties That Bind support group is a resource for foster grandparents and family members raising grandchildren, and speaks to the quality of life issues our members face,” said Keren Brown Wilson, PhD. She is the president and founder of the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation, established as a non-profit in 1990 with a mission to work in resourceconstrained areas to provide multi-generational support to underserved older adults. The foundation is a sponsoring partner in Ties That Bind with Concordia University and Faubion School.

One way Ties that Bind provides support services is via peer to peer navigators. The navigator, who is also raising children not his or her own, assists by inviting a newcomer to the support group that meets monthly, and can explain how to apply for food stamps, provide medical resource contact information, and recommend resources for dealing with behavioral problems.

“The most valuable help comes from the support of knowing that we’re not alone,” said Pamela Harris. She and her husband, Ike, are peer navigators in Concordia.

“Within the community grandparents of any age are suffering in the same manner and we all find comfort with others through the support group,” Pamela Harris said.

“The peer to peer navigators know stuff; they know where to find the help that new members need,” Wilson said. “Data shows that children being raised by grandparents have a higher risk of chronic mental and physical health issues and learning disabilities. The grandparents report social and emotional problems of their own. Our peer to peer navigators are there to help with the next crisis or conflict.”

Another avenue for support from Ties that Bind are meetings that provide a social outlet, resources, and expert referrals – and even offer child care. Meetings are generally held the third Tuesday of the month during the summer at 2 p.m. at Concordia University in the George White Library Room #120; in the winter months the group meets at Faubion School.

Plans are in the works for a big family picnic at the end of August. Information about that event and additional information related to programs, resources, and peer to peer navigators is available by contacting Brown Wilson by calling (503) 408-4088 or email kwilson@jfrfoundation.org.

JOIN US for our next TIES THAT BIND session!

WHEN: Tuesday, July 19 at 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

WHERE: Concordia University, George White Library, Room 120 Join our support and resource meeting for grandparents, foster grandparents and family members caring for grandchildren. You are not alone! Join a fellowship of grandparents where you can share and participate in conversation important to you!

For additional information contact Keren Brown Wilson (503) 408-4088.

Sponsors: CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY • JESSIE F. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION FAUBION SCHOOL

Concordia University, PPS, Faubion School and Trillium Family Service team up via 3 to PhD

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Schools

By Sarah Sweitzer, Dean, College of Health & Human Services, Concordia University & Karen Morgan, Visiting Assistant Professor of Exercise & Sport Science, Concordia University

Program aims to provide health & wellness for student, community success

Progress is underway on construction of the new Faubion School + Concordia University facility. This collaborative effort – known broadly as “3 to PhD®” – will open in fall 2017. Partners include Concordia University, Portland Public Schools’ Faubion School and Trillium Family Services. The vision is to create safer, healthier, and more educated communities. This article focuses on the “health” part of this vision.

Input from community members, teachers and school leaders identified a strong vision which included the need for health and nutrition education and services. Health and nutrition was deemed so integral to students’ ability to learn and thrive that, in response, the west wing on the first floor of the new building will be dedicated to developing a culture of wellness. 3 to PhD uses the latest research in nursing, social work, psychology, nutrition, and exercise and sports science.

Health and wellness efforts are already underway, including:

Concordia’s College of Health & Human Services and Faubion School created a Youth Advisory Council on health and wellness, thanks to a grant from Kaiser Permanente. This group held a Spirit Week, and advocated for schoolbased health centers at the Oregon State Capitol.

Concordia students worked with Faubion students and held their own version of the Food Network’s series “Chopped” to promote healthy cooking, with help from Pacific Foods of Oregon, a major 3 to PhD collaborator.

Trillium Family Services provides a full time behavioral health specialist at Faubion, through innovative mental health promotion funding through the state of Oregon.

Concordia social work students engaged with local schools and churches to survey community members about health and fitness needs, thanks to a grant from United Way of the ColumbiaWillamette.

A free community seminar series focused on Senior Healthy Aging was launched, thanks to support from The Jackson Foundation, which included foot care, scam prevention, and more.

Concordia students helped facilitate Faubion recess games and fitness awareness and testing.

To address food insecurity, a backpack program, started by nursing students at Concordia and supported by Pacific Foods, has expanded from long weekends to also include holidays and summer.

Ongoing community input and engagement will be integral to continuing and expanding these health and wellness efforts. We want to hear from you! Please share your thoughts at CHHS@cu-portland.edu.

Learn more about 3 to PhD, or visit FaubionBond.pps.net.

Cully Farm Store offers urban farmers convenient option, access to market

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses

By Susan Trabucco, CNA Media Team

Cully resident Ted Snider opened Cully Farm Store on NE 42nd Avenue in June. Store shoppers will find the supplies necessary to tend an urban farm or to feed and care for farm animals, including chickens, goats and rabbits. Photo by Susan Trabucco
Cully resident Ted Snider opened Cully Farm Store on NE 42nd Avenue in June. Store shoppers will find the supplies necessary to tend an urban farm or to feed and care for farm animals, including chickens, goats and rabbits. Photo by Susan Trabucco

Urban farming is alive and well in NE Portland, and Cully resident Ted Snider’s new entrepreneurial pursuit aims to meet the needs of those who dig, plant, weed, feed and fertilize to grow food for their families, or those who grow and harvest to supply fresh produce to local farmers markets.

Snider recently opened Cully Farm Store from a shipping container that shares parking lot space with Roses Ice Cream on NE 42nd Avenue. From that small space, and additional canopied space behind Roses, Snider purveys used but reconditioned garden tools, supplies to satisfy chickens and their tenders; and organic soil amendments. Additionally, farmers from the surrounding neighborhoods provide vegetable starts for sale; Cully Farm Store offers these farmers an expanded market and ideally more sales.

“Cully Farm Store acts as a collaborative neighborhood outlet,” said Snider, who has farmed in Cully for nearly 10 years. Snider was inspired to launch his micro-store out of a desire to help people in their efforts to grow their own food.

“I want to provide the plants, feeds, and other items necessary to support and increase food growth in the neighborhood,” he said.

Snider said the Cully area was historically a food-growing area.

“There used to be two canneries in Cully,” said Snider. People would bring their extra corn or tomatoes to a cannery one day, and pick it up to pack it home the next day.”

As a provider of goods to urban farmers, Snider caters to those who choose not to drive or do not have a vehicle, packaging products in small quantities to allow shoppers on bicycles to carry items home easily.

“I’ve had customer walk their wheelbarrows over here and then wheel their goods back home,” he said.

Snider seems to have found his calling. He attended Reed College for a year out of high school, but found the idea of desk job to be unattractive, so he discontinued his formal education.

“I wanted to work with my hands,” Snider said with a smile.

Find Snider manning his post at the Cully Farm Store at 5011 NE 42nd Ave. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. To enter the shop, walk between Roses and the container that serves as the store, or enter via the Roses parking lot. For more information email cullyfarmstore@gmail.com or call Snider’s personal phone (503) 729-3508. A website, www.cullyfarmstore.com, is in the works.

Ted Snider-Cully Farm Store-2

Cully Farmers Market opens under sunny skies

Posted on by Posted in CNA, Local Businesses

By Susan Trabucco, CNA Media Team

The kick-off of farmers markets around the city heralds in summer for many Portlanders, and the opening day of the Cully Market on Thursday, June 2 was no exception. Warm sunshine and a slight breeze greeted market-goers to this small but growing farmers market that’s been held for the last few years in the parking lot of Roses at 5011 NE 42nd Ave.

On market day, a lively band played music that encouraged dancing by adults and children; the aroma of grilled, smoked sausages by purveyor Southern Specialties beckoned the hungry, and Concordia, Cully and Beaumont Wilshire community members greeted each other with hugs, handshakes and smiles.

Vendors at the opening event offered locally-favored Hood strawberries and plump, sweet obsidian blackberries, Red Sauce Pizza introduced a variety of homemade breads including a flavorful and satisfying jalapeno cheddar cheese loaf; tomato plant starts were proffered,and goat’s milk soap, custom creations from Metalwood Salvage and other locally-made goods were displayed for sale. The market’s website lists an array of vendors throughout the season, including Cully Neighborhood Farms, Kenai Red Fish Company, Heidi Ho Organics and Bare Naked Farms. Check the website for more vendors.

The Cully Market runs every Thursday now through August from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. In September the market runs Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Market organizers are new this year; the event is now under the purview of Our 42nd Avenue, a non-profit, community serving business and employment development organization. Visit www.42ave. org for more information.

New faces in lead media team positions, still seeking ad rep

Posted on by Posted in CNA, Concordia News

By Daniel Greenstadt, CNA Board of Directors

As you may have read in past CNEWS issues, in order to help ensure a bright future for our community newspaper, in May the CNA board voted to fund four paid, part-time contract positions. Three of the positions were filled as of the CNA June 14 board meeting, effective with production of the August issue of Concordia News.

The advertising sales representative position remains unfilled, so please spread the word to your marketing-savvy friends.

It’s the pleasure of the CNA board of directors – and hopefully CNEWS readers as well – to welcome the following individuals to the CNEWS family as we embark on a new era of ever-improving service to our community.

Susan Trabucco was named to the Managing Editor position. A Beaumont-Wilshire resident, Susan has been volunteering as team leader, editor, layout/graphic design and advertising sales for CNEWS since early this year. Susan brings to CNEWS a background that includes 10 years in sales and sales management, 15 years as a freelance public relations and communications professional, and five years as an entrepreneur publisher; in 2006 she launched a monthly regional business and real estate journal established in Astoria, Ore. As the sole owner of the newspaper, she served as editor and publisher to a staff of five. She sold the newspaper in 2011. Susan is currently self-employed as a business communications consultant, providing P.R. and marketing services. She is a graduate of Lewis & Clark College.

Nancy Varekamp, who is new to Concordia News, was named to the Editor position. Nancy brings 43 years of communications experience to CNEWS, all of them editing and writing newspapers and newsletters, and 35 of them additionally advising clients on the strategies and mechanics of communicating with their stakeholders. She spent seven years as a reporter and editor in Tigard, 20 years in public relations and employee communications with Pacific Power, and has served a variety of clients for 16 years as an independent communications consultant. Nancy has lived in nearby Rose City Park for 22 years. She is a Lewis & Clark College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Gordon Riggs was named to the Layout/Graphic Design position. A Concordia resident, Gordon stepped up to volunteer for the recently revitalized CNA media team in January this year, initially assisting with the CNA website; he then volunteered to undertake CNEWS layout for the June issue. He has a long career history as a project manager, engineer and software developer. Gordon transitioned to the field of graphic design around eight years ago, studying at the Pacific NW College of Art. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon, awarded the honor of Phi Beta Kappa.  Gordon is currently self-employed as a graphic and website designer and consultant.