out of the metamorphosis of the st. johns community, a jazz...
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North Portland’s Community Newspaper - Founded in 1904 - [email protected] or [email protected] - www.stjohnsreview.com - 503-283-5086
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By Jackie Larson
Review Reporter
PHOTO: John “Rotos” Bauchrowitz II
It all started back in 1980 as a neighborhood celebration of the life of an iconic citizen, Howard Galbraith. Over the
years what had begun as a neigh-borhood celebration, was turned over to various individuals to con-tinue the tradition. Four months ago, quite unexpectedly, the in-dividuals in charge of the festival in 2013 decided to forgo their in-volvement. They approached the Jazz Society of Oregon (JSO) who then stepped up to the plate. The Jazz Society began over for-ty-one years ago with the purpose of expanding jazz in Portland through musical events, education, celebrated artists, and a monthly jazz magazine, The JazzScene. Charged with produc-ing the event, JSO organizer and board member Arthur Marx approached St. Johns community organizations with an idea – become part of the festival again after a 20-year hiatus. The St. Johns Neighborhood Association, Friends of Cathedral Park, St. John’s Main Street Coalition, The Central Hotel and other Main Street business-es welcomed the opportunity to come together under one banner to produce this close-to-heart, community event. After having been given the reins this past March, Marx and the committee composed of representatives of the community organizations had to work fast and hard to raise thousands of dol-lars in sponsorships, in record time, to determine if the project had the legs to stand on. “Fabulously, we achieved our goal thanks to Schnitzer Steel, The Tire Factory, WasteXpress Environ-mental, Oregonians Credit Union, Port
of Portland, University of Portland, US Bank, Burgerville, S & H Recy-cling, Tonkin Corp. and many many others”, Marx said. The entire list of supporters and committee organizers can be found at www.cpjazz.com. The next monumental task was to secure the talent for the festival. “There is no dispute that right here in our midst are some of the finest blues and jazz players second to none found anywhere in the world” said Marx. “They’re called ‘world class.’ Any musician that comes to Portland is ea-ger to sit in with this group of artist. These cats know each other so well that to watch and hear them play is like seeing a painter create a masterpiece, every time!” Musician and educator, Mary-Sue Tobin helped make the ar-rangements for nearly 100 players to attend this year’s festival. Under the north end of the St. Johns Bridge in Cathedral Park on July 18, 19 and 20, the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival is proud to present Mel
Brown and his septet, a Waterfront Blues Festival favorite DK Stewart, Michael Quinby (from St. Johns) and his band the Roseland Hunters, cele-brated bassist Tom Wakeling, another St. Johns resident Farnell Newton and the Soul Funk Project as well as two big bands; The Lily Wilde Orchestra and the Art Abrams Swing Machine. After the festival each night The Cen-tral Hotel will be hosting after-hours performances from artists such as the Pete Peterson Quartet, Kerry Politzer, Mitzi Zilka and Stan Bock’s New Tra-dition. Last but not least is the finale on Sunday evening at sunset with the showing of the 1954 hit Jimmy Stew-art movie, “The Glen Miller Story.” For a complete listing and schedule go to www.cpjazz.com. Along with the festival renaissance is a new user-friendly festival layout. To provide more seating room in the amphitheater “bowl,” the food and merchant booths will be situated on Crawford Street at the foot of the park.
This new design allows more room to lay out your blankets and set up a comfortable “camp” for the weekend. There will also be more room under the bridge to toss the Frisbee, play games with the kids, enjoy relaxing meditation to the sound of blues and jazz in the background, or for just catching some sun. To date the following food booths will include The Big Kahuna’s BBQ, Grifter’s Kitchen (pasta and salads), Mextaca, Urban German, Central Ho-tel, a Greek Kiosk, an ice cream ven-dor as well as a local pizza booth. It wouldn’t be a proper festival without Portland’s renowned artesian beers and wine vintners. To this end the festival has secured a variety of local craft beer and cider brewers as well as several excellent wineries to quench your thirst during balmy July afternoons. The beer garden area has been sufficiently increased in size to accommodate plenty of room to gath-er and enjoy the music performances.
The Central Hotel is planning on serv-ing sandwiches, meats, cheeses, and other delectables to fully satisfy your palate in the beer garden. An addition this year (that the com-mittee is excited about) is the inclu-sion and sponsorship by the Chrysler Corporation who will have several new Chrysler 200’s to test drive where patrons will receive a $10 gift card for “taking the drive”. Several decades have passed since the Honorary Mayor of St. Johns, Howard Galbraith, led this friendly city to do something about cleaning up the environment and creating a community park under the St. Johns Bridge. Today thirty-four years later this new group of dedicated commu-nity leaders has taken on his tradition of civic involvement to make the com-munity a better place to live. The festival is free for all to enjoy.
Out of the metamorphosis of the St. Johns community, a jazz festival is re-born
The 34th Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival will be held July 18-20 under the St. Johns Bridge; The longest-running FREE jazz festival west of the Mississippi
The Next Issue of the REVIEW will be the Official PROGRAM edition More issues printed and distributed. Call today to place
your ad in this special issue.503-283-5086 or email: [email protected] [email protected]
Happy Independence Day
Both Pier Park and St. Johns will be in the global spot-light during the week-long
2014 Disc Golf World Champion-ship starting August 9. More than 2,000 professional players from at least 30 countries were invited by the Professional Disc Golf Asso-ciation (PDGA) to register for the competition. Nearly 100 of those invitees are Oregonians. Location. Location. Location With 200-foot tall Douglas firs on almost every hole, Pier Park’s 18-hole course receives an average player rating of 4.32 (out of 5) on www.dgcoursereview.com. The website routinely posts park con-ditions and player reviews. The moderately hilly par-54 course was recently upgraded with the installation of 19 state-of-the-art DGA MachX baskets. Four other favorite disc golf courses in Port-land and SW Washington are also event venues: Blue Lake, Milo
Pier Park will host Disc Golf World ChampionshipsPlayers invited from around the world to play
that connects Pier and Chimney parks to take advantage of one of Portland’s largest enclosed dog parks. WHAT IS DISC GOLF?Instead of a ball and clubs used in
On a Friday in June, father and son team Doug (dark top) and Justice TenEyck (in the distant) of Vancou-ver were scouting Pier Park for a future game with friends. They said they appreciate how this course presents a balance of lush wide open areas that blend into a perfect density of majestic trees. When close to home, they play Leverage Park.(Photos: J. Larson)
McIver Riverbend, Trojan, and McCormick parks. Spectators who travel between venues will have a chance to ex-perience Portland neighborhoods, including some of the reputable local flavor. The PDGA’s event materials feature a local brewpub map, pre-sumably to help visitors, spectators, and compet-itors stay quenched and well-fed throughout the week between various competitions. St. Johns’ own Occidental Brew-ery, which recently ex-panded its taproom into the space next door and opened a much-antic-ipated outdoor seating area, is featured. Pier Park spectators who bring their canine friends can walk or bike over the new pedestrian bridge
Continued on Page 3:
“Disc Golf”
North Portland MeetingsThe following free listings are meetings for North Portland organizations.
Updated information is the responsibility of each organizations. ======================================================================
arbor Lodge neighborhood assn: Meet on the 3rd Thursday each month, 6:30-8pm, Kenton Firehouse, 2209 N. Schofield boy scout troupe 52: Meets Tuesdays from 7-8:30 p.m. at St. Johns Christian Church, 8044 N. Richmond. We welcome boys ages 11-17. For membership info, contact Anthony at 503-913-7085.bridgeton neighborhood association: General Meeting: 3rd Mondays at 8pm, Port Yacht Club, 1241 NE Marine Dr. cub scout pack 52: Meets Mondays at St. Johns Christian Church, 8044 N. Richmond.east coLumbia neighborhood assn: Meets the second Tuesday of each month from 7-8:30pm at the Columbia Rvr RV Park Comm. Rm, 10649 NE 13th.Friends oF cathedraL park neighborhood assn: General Meeting: odd months at BES Water Lab; 7pm. Board Meetings on even months at St Johns McMenamins, 7:30. All meetings on 2nd Tuesdays of the month. Friends oF baLtimore Woods: General meeting: 3rd Tuesdays, 6:30pm at the BES Water Lab, 6543 N. Burlington.Friends oF pier park: meeting: Third Tuesday, 6:30pm at St. Johns Community Ctr., 8427 N Centralhayden isLand neighborhood netWork: Meetings: 2nd Thursday, 7pm, at former HIYC, 12050 N. Jantzen Dr. on Hayden Island.interstate corridor business association: General Meeting: 1st Wed. every 3 mos., 8-9am @ Nite Hawk Restaurant, Rosa Parks Way & Interstate kenton business assn: 1st Thursday of the month, 9am at Kenton Firehouse 2nd fl. 2209 N. Schofieldkenton neighborhood assn: Board Meetings: 2nd Wed., 7pm, Kenton Firehouse, 8105 N. BrandonLinnton neighborhood association: Meetings: 1st Wed. of odd months; 7-9 at Linnton Comm. Ctr., 10614 NW St. Helens Rd. north portLand Land use group: Meets 4th Thursday of the month at Kenton Firehouse, 8105 N Brandon. 7pmoccupy st Johns: Meets Weds. 7:00pm at Anna Bannanas, 8716 N LombardoverLook neighborhood assn.: General Meetings: 3rd Tues of each month except Aug & Dec at Kaiser Town Hall, 7-9pm. Board Meetings: 1st Tues. each month at Overlook Hse, 3839 N. Melrose Dr.peninsuLa optimist cLub: Meets 1st and 3rd Mondays (except holidays) at noon at Christie’s Restaurant, 5507 N. Lombard. General public is welcome to attend meetings to learn about the club. There will be a guest speaker at most meetings. Questions—con-tact Sharon at 503-490-2889.piedmont neighborhood assn.: UnavailableportLand harbor community advisory group Offers a gathering of thoughts on the Superfund. Concerns about the contamination in the Portland Harbor Superfund? Join the community to meet with the agencies in charge. Meetings include Informational presentations; Opportunity to render your opinion. Meet agency leaders in charge of clean up. 2nd Wednesday-Monthly at BES: 6543 N Burlington, beneath the St Johns Bridge 6:00 PM. www.portlandharborcag.infoportsmouth neighborhood assn: Board Meeting: 3rd Tues of ea mo, 6pm, Bridge Meadows, Bridge Community Room, 8502 N. WaylandpubLic saFety action committee: Meets 4th Wed. ea. mo., 7-9pm, Kenton Firehouse, 2209 N. Schofield. Contact: Mark Wells: [email protected]. Johns boosters: General Meetings are 3rd Tues at Central Hotel, 7:30-8:30. Meal provided. Board meetings are 1st Tuesday at 7pm at Central Hotel. st. Johns Lions cLub: Meets 1st & 3rd Tuesdays each month at Patti’s Deli, downtown St. Johnsst. Johns main street: Meets at 8250 N. Lombard. Fore more info go to: stjohnsmainstreet.orgst. Johns neighborhood association: General Meeting is 2nd Mon. at the St. Johns Community Ctr, 8427 N. Central.university park business association: Meets in 2014: 2/25; 4/22; 6/24; 9/23; 11/18 at 7pm at Darcy’s at the corner of Fiske/Lombard from 6-7:30pm. university park neighborhood association: Meets: Jan., Apr., July & Oct on 4th Monday 7pm at the Chiles Center at the UP, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd.. ============================================================================Information in this section is free for non-profits. Send to addresses at the top of the page.
$13/per year
Luv u Kyle
Circulation Manager: Ginger Harris; Assist Circulation Mgr: Roger Meyers.Historical Articles: Jim Speirs. Contributing Writers: Jackie Larson, Barbara Quinn, Jim Moulton, Robin Wright, Chris SeigelPhotos: Jim Moulton, Marshall Snyder, Jackie Larson
Review Publishing box / Organization Meetings / Community News
Page 2 * St. Johns Review * #13 July 4, 2014 * Addresses: PO Box 83068, Port., OR 97283 * [email protected] or [email protected] * 503-283-5086 * web: www.stjohnsreview.com
LETTERS To The Editor
CirculationMgr:
Ginger Harris
Gayla PattonOwner/Ed.
From the Editor
Greetings Readers, It was an honor for the newly formed (and local) Cathedral Park Jazz Festival organizers to ask the Review to once again be the offi-cial program for this historic and important local event for 2014. The Review started being the pro-gram in 1995. It was only last year that it was not. The Review doesn’t make mon-ey from being the program, but pays for the issue’s printing, dis-tribution and design through ad-vertising revenue. To help offset the extra time, work and addi-tional copies printed so more can be distributed before the event as well as during the three-day Fes-tival, please consider highlight-ing your business in the Program Issue by buying some ad space. Go to www.stjohnsreview.com, for ad costs, or send an email to: [email protected] or [email protected], or just give me a call at 503-283-5086. The Program issue will list and highlight each entertainer and their careers, give specific times for their performances, as well as other important Festival infor-mation, and as room permits, will still includes other community news and information. It’s always a special issue. This year’s venue is a terrific one too!! Not only is the music going to be wonderful, but there will be more food vendors, booths and an expanded beer garden. And as al-ways, it’s important to let the Jazz Festival organizers know how much we appreciate their hard work by attending the event, and/or dropping them a note of appre-
Gayla Patton (and Fritz)Review Owner/Editor
ciation. You can send something c/o of the Review. Address and emails at the top of the page. BENSON-CHANEY HOUSE There has been a lot of con-cern over the future of the Ben-son-Chaney House and the land surrounding it. If you have concerns too, a good way to protect the house and the area is to keep giving it attention. If you have information, articles, historic information or pictures, please don’t hesitate to send them to the Review for insertion into an issue.WELCOME I am so thrilled to have new Re-view writer Jackie Larson submit-ting articles. She brings great en-thusiasm, talent, and knowledge to the community newspaper. I look forward to her being a big part of the paper in the future too. That’s all for now, readers. Take care and --- See you at the Jazz Festival, July 18, 19 and 20th. Gayla
Thank you ReviewDear Editor, Thank you for our great local newspaper. I really appreciate all your efforts and hard work on be-half of all of us in St. Johns. Gerry Federico
Thank you Parade CommitteeDear Editor, I am writing to thank the com-mittee of our annual wonderful Parade. Those of us that haven’t worked on such a great event real-ly don’t know all that takes place to organize and plan each Parade. This year’s parade was absolutely great; we all enjoyed it to the end. Thanking you again, Parade Committee, for all your time and responsibility.Longtime St. Johns resident,Bev. Raya
Letters To The Editor:Letters are welcome and encour-aged. They must be legibly written and include a name/signature. Anon-ymous letters will be tossed without being read, so don’t waste your time sending them. Letters are the view/opinion of their author and not that of the editor. They may be edited for grammar, length, or wording. Send them to addresses at the top of this page. The Review is not responsible for letter content.
Glad to have a paperDear Editor, I look forward to getting my pa-per with every issue. The info you include in it keeps me knowing what is happening in our commu-nity since the other papers don’t any more. Glad we still have our own publication in N. Portland.M. J. Ellison
July 18 July 8 (Cath Pd Jazz Fest. Issue)Aug. 1 July 23Aug. 15 Aug. 6Aug. 29 Aug. 20 (Labor Day)Sept. 12 Sept. 3Sept. 26 Sept. 17Oct. 10 Oct. 1Oct. 24 Oct. 14 (Halloween)Nov. 7 Oct. 29 (Veteran’s Day)Nov. 21 Nov. 12 (Thanksgiving)Dec. 5 Nov. 26Dec. 19 Dec. 10 (Christmas & New Year)
UPCOMINGREVIEW ISSUES& DEADLINES
Issue Date Deadline
Deadlines are strict!! Papers go to the printer two days after the deadline.
Seaside June 24 for my birthday.
Addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] * PO Box 83068, Port. OR 97283 * Web: www.stjohnsreview.com * 503-283-5086 * St. Johns Review * #13 July 4, 2014 *Page 3
Community NewsCommunity NewsPage 2 * St. Johns Review * #13 July 4, 2014 * Addresses: PO Box 83068, Port., OR 97283 * [email protected] or [email protected] * 503-283-5086 * web: www.stjohnsreview.com
Local Military News:Air Force Airman 1st Class Nikki Flatt graduated from basic mil-itary training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military disci-pline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force. Flatt is the daughter of Kerin Simmons and Danny Flatt of Port-land. She is a 2014 graduate of Roosevelt High School.
SUMMER EVENTSSummer Youth Art Camps Children ages 5 to 12 are welcome to express their artistic side at Port-land Abbey’s arts camp. Each day they have a different mix of art forms with young artists having op-portunities to make music, dance, sing, write and perform poetry and create visual art. Parent’s can regis-ter their children for a single session ($30), one Monday-Friday weekly camp ($130) or come for the entire two week sessions. The camp will be happening from 10am to 3pm at The Library (The Green building) at 7508 N Hereford Avenue (at Lom-bard) in the north Portland neigh-borhood of Portsmouth. Sign up for this camp online via Vent. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/portland-ab-bey-arts-summer-youth-arts-camps-july-7-11-and-july-14-18-tick-ets-11991459779 Portland Abbey Arts is a nonprofit community development initiative, fostering diverse, vital, rooted, com-passionate and resilient community in north Portland via collaborative arts education, performances, com-munity building and cultural events. In addition to hosting Abbey Arts, The Portland Abbey campus hosts Hereford House (7704 N Hereford Avenue) a community food pantry and social services organization, the Abbey church of St. Andrew and All Souls (an Episcopal church community) and the ‘The Library’ (7508 Hereford Avenue,) a vintage former public library space, hosting a variety of community events and intimate music concerts. For addi-tional information about Portland Abbey visit their website at http://abbeyarts.org*************************Music, Poetry and Art Come to the Portland Round in North Portland on July 8, 2014 for a monthly arts experience featur-ing three singer songwriters, slam poetry and live visual art for a re-laxed evening of collaborative per-formance’ sponsored by Portland Abbey Arts. At this event, three songwriters will share the stage with additional musicians occasionally joining in. During the July Round, musicians Jonathan Roberts, Ciara Carruthers, and Caroline Cotter will join slam poet Alexander Dang to perform rounds of music and poet-ry while a visual artist Layna Lewis paints. The Portland Round is held at the Portland Abbey ‘Undercroft’ (Low-er Level) on 7600 N. Hereford Av-enue. Doors open at 7:15pm with the show starting at 8pm. All ages. $7.00, ticket at the door. For more information log on to their website http://abbeyarts.org/, email [email protected] or call 503-412-8899.
traditional golf, players use a fly-ing disc or Frisbee®. The casual recreational sport became stan-dardized in the 1970s. Just like ball golf, terrain changes and trees pose challenging obstacles and the ultimate goal is to complete each hole with the fewest strokes or throws between the tee and pin. Hucking is the term used by Huk Lab, the disc golf pro shop on Lombard in the historic St. Johns business district. The Huk Lab’s employee collective defines the slang word “huck” as giving it your all. There are plenty of guesses about the first time someone “hucked” a disc on a course. Some claim that a group of British Columbia school kids regularly played what they called Tin Lid Golf on a home-
Disc Golf in Pier Park - Continued from Page 1 - By Jackie Larson
Brief History of Disc GolfIn 1965 George Sappenfeld was a recreation counselor during summer break from college. While playing golf one afternoon, he realized that the kids on his playground could play the golf game with Frisbee discs. He re-membered his idea when in 1968 he finished college and became the Parks and Recreation supervisor for the Thousand Oaks, CA Parks and Recreation Department. George contacted the Wham-O MFG Company about his idea and asked if they could help out with his plan to hold a Frisbee golf contest for his rec-reation program. They sent Frisbees and Hula Hoops to use as targets. The next year, he talked Ed Headrick of Wham-O into including a Frisbee golf event in the big All Comers Frisbee meet that Ed Headrick and Wham-O was planning to hold at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl fields. But that was the last that Frisbee golf was heard of from Wham-O for seven years. Even Goldy Norton’s Official Frisbee Handbook of 1972, in which is listed all the activ-ities and events that could be played with a Frisbee, there is not one iota of information or acknowledgment about disc or Frisbee golf throughout the entire book! It was if the concept didn’t even exist! Apparently disc golf didn’t fit into the promotional plans that Wham-O had for its Frisbee brand flying discs at that time. But the game of disc golf did indeed exist. A small group of people from Rochester, NY who had never heard of the IFA or Goldy Norton’s Handbook of Frisbee had been playing disc golf as a competitive sport on a regular basis; tournaments, league play and all. They had started in August of 1970, and by 1972 had promoted the Second Annual City of Rochester Disc Golf Championship. In 1973, this group of avid disc golfers found out about the IFA newsletter, and was amazed to hear of the Frisbee culture that existed beyond their little sphere of disc golf activity. They decided to make their annual City of Roch-ester Disc Golf Championship a big national tournament to see just how many other people were playing disc golf or would be interested in trying the game. They called the event the American Flying Disc Open and put up a brand new 1974 Automobile to be awarded to the winner so as to attract the attention of the Frisbee community. The same Ed Headrick took another look at disc golf as he assessed the burgeoning interest in the game as it was played at 1974 American Flying Disc Open. After observing the explosive growth in disc golf for about 9 months after that, Ed Headrick hired the winner of that 1974 AFDO, Dan Roddick, to head up Wham-O’s new Sports Promotion Department. Upon Dan Roddick’s urging, and feedback from the fledgling but rapidly growing disc golf community, Ed Headrick decided to include Disc Golf as an event in his upcoming 1975 World Frisbee Championships. Ed became so convinced that disc golf could be big, resigned from his po-sition at the Wham-O MFG Company and start up his Disc Golf Association Company in 1976. One of Dan Roddick’s first moves as director of the IFA Sports Promotion Department of Wham-O was to incorporate disc golf as an event in the na-tional tour of qualifying tournaments for the big World Frisbee Champion-ship event that Wham-O was continuing to sponsor on a yearly basis. This move introduced the concept of disc golf to thousands of Frisbee players all in one fell swoop. It also opened up many big markets for Ed Headrick’s Disc Golf Association to sell disc golf courses all over the country. The popularity of disc golf grew with unparalleled rapidity. Each new course spawned more courses in nearby towns and cities.Many players shared the dream of national tournaments and organized play. They got together and formed the PDGA to help oversee and guide the rapid growth of the sport. The game grew too fast to call it evolution; it was a revolution! The PDGA is now a worldwide force and is growing faster than ever. The sport of disc golf is becoming every bit as professional as its older brother the PGA and its traditional ball and club golf.
made course in 1926. The sport showed up through the decades and grew solid roots in the ‘60s. WHO PLAYS DISC GOLF? Huk Lab welcomes everyone to participate in what it calls a dy-namic culture. Its Flight School hosts a series of instructional ses-sions such as Becoming a Com-plete Putter, The Forehand Throw, and Mastering the Midrange. In this fitness sport, players
match their pace to their capabil-ities and improve on what they want to. Kids, adults, men, wom-en, specially-abled, and disabled all participate. Enthusiasts are of-ten vocal about the equality of the sport or the reason they started: no greens fees, no tee times, inexpen-sive equipment, and a connection to nature. The Professional Disc Golf As-sociation sanctions competitive
events for men and women of every skill level from novice to professional. PDGA has 50,000 official members. This year’s tour-ney director, Todd Andrews, has been playing disc golf since 1980. He’s been president of PDGA and Northwest Disc Golf Promotions. Aside from making the effort to
highlight Portland’s microbrew-ery fame and world class wines, Todd’s PDGA promotional mate-rials also describe many Portland attractions – from incomparable natural beauty and mild summer climate to a model mass transit system, no sales tax, friendly vibe, and a multitude of boroughs like
St. Johns that pos-sess personalities all their own. Get registration info and a spec-tator schedule at: w w w. p d g a . c o m and facebook.com/PDGAProWorlds.
Contact Jackie at:[email protected]
Doug displays several of his discs, which are like golf clubs. Each has a specific use.
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Ed Headrick and Dan Roddick, 1974.
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John Augustus Roebling (June 12, 1806-July 22, 1869) built several prominent suspension bridges in the United States, earning him the esteem of the engineering
community.
Dr. David Steinman, designer of the St. Johns Bridge, Mackinac
Bridge (pictured) and many others, in 1952.
Our Bridge Several weeks ago, I was wan-dering through St. Johns when a couple stopped me on the street. They asked, aren’t you that guy who does the writing? After a few pleasantries, and light discussion, they said they were new to the area, and wanted information on the bridge. I indicated my articles on the bridge were available in my book five of the “Tales” series, but after the talk and their ques-tions, it got me to thinking about the St. Johns Bridge again and all the things it represents to our com-munity. It also made me realize
how much had been left out of my previous writings, so I thought the community would enjoy re-vis-iting the subject, and learning a bit more about this remarkable structure. Even with this insertion, there remains a huge number of stories and accolades surrounding
the bridge. The fading footprint of generations’ gone by makes the connection remote, but St. Johns has a responsibility to embrace as much as possible about this iconic structure; for if we lose the iden-tity, or take it for granted, we will certainly forget who were are. The principle architect of the bridge was David Steinman, and I’ve covered his actions previous-ly. It’s enough to know Steinman was a visionary man who can take credit for the erection of hundreds of bridges, both domestically and abroad. Of all his beautiful cre-ations, he considered the St. Johns Bridge his crowning achievement; the setting one of artistic beauty and awe inspiring wonder. Many local aficionados’ of the bridge know of the Steinman con-nection and have taken note of the historic renaissance which ac-companies the bridge. However, there are few people who know of or understand the connection between the St. Johns Bridge and other more famous bridges. The St. Johns Bridge has a distinct association with other suspension bridges, notably the Brooklyn Bridge, Mackinac Bridge, Wil-liamsburg Bridge and the Hudson River Bridge. The common thread that unites all of these bridges is the signature design and develop-ment of the “Roebling Cables.” By the mid-nineteenth century, the Niagara Bridge became the talk of the engineering world, as the use of wire cable helped to ad-vance the prospect of connecting land mass through bridge design. At the time, a brilliant man named
John Roebling saw the future; he was the quintessential American entrepreneur and visionary genius. Roebling had an idea and a design that would change the mechanical engineering world forever, but his concepts were to take a twisted path to completion. John Roebling advanced the idea of a bridge between New York and Long Island, which was initially met with skepticism and criticism. Some said it was impossible, es-pecially if the cabled suspension bridge concept were employed. Many said a bridge of the weight imagined would simply collapse of its own design. However, after months of design and research, Roebling submitted his proposal to engineers in the United States War Department, and it was approved enthusiastically, as it was becom-ing apparent the East River ferry was quickly becoming obsolete, and something had to be done. Roebling’s idea was made possible by his demonstrating the strength and durability of manufacturing wire cable by twisting strands of wire together in bundled packag-es that could support enormous weight. While planning the location for the Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling was involved in an accident which killed him. His son, Colonel Wash-ington Roebling picked up where his father had left off, but he too was to meet an odd fate. The cais-sons (foundations) of the bridge took as long to complete as the ac-
tual “above ground” portion of the bridge. (This is also true of the St. Johns Bridge.) While in the depths of the cais-son, Washington Roebling was struck with a condition known as “the bends” which left him partial-ly paralyzed and unable to speak. After that he was able to supervise the construction from a distance, using theories, principles and practices never before considered. He became progressively bed-rid-den and his health deteriorated quickly. Progress was slowed, but the idea and resolve never faltered. It was 1876 before the first wire was strung across the span and it was over seven years later before the bridge was complete. Here’s a quick glance at the “Roebling Cables” both on the Brooklyn Bridge and the St. Johns Bridge. It’s vitally important that we in North Portland understand the connection, for it gives us a whole new appreciation of the “marriage” of our bridge to other famous structures. The Brooklyn Bridge is support-ed by four parallel wire cables, each cable being just over 15 inch-es in diameter. There are nineteen strands of 282 wires that make a total of 5,358 wires per cable. Wrapped in tight bundles, these cables are capable of tremendous strength. Each cable is approxi-mately 3580 feet long and weigh-ing 925 tons. If laid end to end, the wire would stretch 14, 530 miles! The St. Johns Bridge uses two cables, each cable between 16 and 17 inches in diameter, 2,720 feet in length and weighs 500 tons apiece. The cables are wrapped in nine-ty-one strands making a total of 4641 wires in each cable. The ca-bles in the Brooklyn Bridge have a total strength of 45,000 tons where the St. Johns Bridge has an aggre-gate strength of 27,000 tons. As mentioned, nearly half the time building the bridges was spent on the foundations. It took thirteen years to complete the Brooklyn Bridge and only two years to finish the St. Johns Bridge. In part, the time difference is due to the size of each project, but the primary variance is due to technological advances gleaned between the two projects. Other bridges using Roe-bling galvanized wires were built in the intervening years, and ex-pertise moved quickly. There’s a curious story attached to the St. Johns Bridge. It’s said that during the pouring of the massive foundations of the bridge, a work-er slipped and fell into the cement mixture being tipped into the cais-son. He immediately disappeared into the hundreds of tons of wet cement and there was no chance of workers even attempting a res-cue him. Certainly, workers on the bridge didn’t have the safety items of today’s crews (recent pictures in the Review from 1930 clear-ly depicts construction workers wearing no safety harnesses or hard hats,) so it’s very possible the death occurred. There would have been reasons to cover up the fatality also. Al-though the world of 1930 was not nearly the litigious environment of today, there still may have been motivation to hide the event. As the story goes, a plaque honoring the man was mounted on the St. Johns side of the bridge founda-tions at the time of completion. Through the years, different peo-ple would climb the huge cement blocks to pay homage to the fallen
ByJimSpeirs
Historical
Page 4 * St. Johns Review * #13 July 4, 2014 * Addresses: PO Box 83068, Port., OR 97283 * [email protected] or [email protected] * 503-283-5086 * web: www.stjohnsreview.com
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Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
worker. This presented a real dan-ger, as access to the foundations is perilous and fraught with unneces-sary risks. In order to prevent this activity, the plate was removed in the 1950’s. This accomplished two things; it removed any trace of the name, hence denying any laws suit from a family member, and it kept curious locals from getting any ideas about scaling the cement wall. Because of the time period and lack of records, it’s impossible to either confirm or reject the allegation of the death. However, what the story does do is add to the creepy mystique of the Cathedral Park area; Thelma Taylor walking the ground, cry-ing for help, and an entombed worker calling from the bowels of the bridge. It’s a tale as old as the bridge, and one that needs to be recognized and preserved; the story needs to be carried on, for the generation that knew of it first hand is fading fast. The Williamsburg Bridge was completed in 1903, using four cables of 19 inches in diameter that would stretch 17,432 miles if put end-to-end. The Manhat-tan Bridge was finished in 1909 and uses four cables of nearly 21 inches in diameter and would span 23,170 miles if extended individ-ually. The Hudson River Bridge was completed about the same time as our bridge. The Hudson
About the Author: Jim Speirs is a lifelong resident of N. Portland, 4th generation. He is a published author and enjoys writ-ing about North Portland’s history. He was a teacher of Political Sci-ence at PCC and Chemeketa Com-munity College and taught the poli-tics of WWII, Viet Nam, and Korea at both colleges. He still lives and works in North Portland. Jim has seven published books: Death In Spades; Flood of Change, and Tales of North Portland: Volumes I, II, III, IV, and V. All are from his many articles in the St. Johns Review newspaper throughout his years as Historical Editor. The Tales series are available for pur-chase in several locations in North Portland. Contact Jim @[email protected] to find out where. Sto-ries that appear in the St Johns Re-view are the property of the paper and may not be reprinted without express permission from the Re-view editor.
River Bridge is a monster! Span-ning 3,500 feet between towers, it uses 61 strands in each cable, each strand containing 434 wires, making a total of 105, 869 wires. The total weight of the wire is 28,500 tons, with a total strength of 350,000 tons. All of the tech-nology and advancement learned from the construction of the oth-er suspension bridges allowed for improvements in design and ath-letics for the St. Johns Bridge. It’s a marvelous tribute to men such as Steinman and Roebling to see their creations still in use, standing as strong as the day they were built. Bridges of today use the same principles and fundamen-tals that were use over a century ago, and now nobody questions the reliability or functionality of a suspension bridge. But in Roe-bling’s day, his ideas were met with great skepticism and sadly, Roebling himself would not live to see his revolutionary ideas come to fruition. For those of us who stand in won-der of the St. Johns Bridge, it’s im-portant to note the minutia of his-tory that sits under our noses. The bridge holds secrets and it stands for something far more important than just a way to get across the Willamette River. It’s a bridge to our national heritage; a path to monumental history that connects our nation, not just a community.
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Page 6 * St. Johns Review * #13 July 4, 2014 * Addresses: PO Box 83068, Port., OR 97283 * [email protected] or [email protected] * 503-283-5086 * web: www.stjohnsreview.com
Fred A SchelbAugust 27, 1928 – June 15, 2014
Fred A. Schelb, long time North Portland res-ident passed away at home on Father’s Day, June 15, 2014. Fred was born in Chip-pewa Falls, WI, during the great depres-sion, on Au-gust 27, 1928. He was the first-born son of Arthur and Hazel (Misfeldt) Schelb. He loved to tell his children and grandchil-dren that his first bed was an apple crate. The family moved to North Portland when Fred was a toddler, so his father could find work. Some of his family was already in the Portland area and many soon fol-lowed. At one point Fred had 45-50 relatives living in a three-block radius, near Kenton Park. Once in Portland the family grew, with brothers Bernard & Alloise (Bud) and sister Phern. Fred attended Holy Cross Catho-lic Grade School, Benson Tech and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1946. On September 17, 1949 he mar-ried Muriel Alice Kirker. They cel-ebrated their 64th wedding anni-versary last year and were excited about being featured in The Orego-nian “Love Stories” series last July. Fred & Muriel had five chil-dren – Chris Schelb (Peggy), Wendie Nowacki, Susie Langfield (Ritchie), Tom Schelb (Cathy) and Barbara Williams (Allen). Fred had 7 grandchildren – Rachel Brusseau, Angela Maroon, Vanessa Carr, Lau-ren Barton, Matthew Williams, Sa-sha Mankowski and Alex Schelb. Fred had 6 great grandchildren. Fred worked for Moreland Heights Foods, Spear Beverage and owned two businesses – Fred’s Refuse Service and Fred’s Lawn Service. Fred worked hard all his life and had a strong work ethic, which he passed down to his chil-dren and grandchildren. Fred was active in the St. Ce-celia/Queen of Peace Men’s Club, coached CYO sports and was al-ways interested in his children’s and grandchildren’s sports activi-ties, attending as many games and meets as possible, as well as dance and choir recitals. Fred was also active in amateur sports himself. He enjoyed getting together with friends to play basketball and in his 30’s he started playing Portland City League Volley Ball (Twilight Room Team), which he played un-til almost 70 years of age. He was also a past president of the Portland Volley Ball Association. Fred had a real love for the out-doors and nature. His children re-member many family camping and hiking trips. He tried to make sure every child and grandchild hiked to the top of Beacon Rock. He was very proud of climbing Rooster Rock. He also taught almost every child and grandchild to swim by “throwing them into the deep end.” They all survived and learned to swim. In his late fifties he decided to try white water rafting. He had a lot of fun on the trips down the
Clackamas and Deschutes rivers with his children, grandchildren, and their friends.
Fred and Muriel spent time in Hawaii when they first retired. They also enjoyed a few cruises and numerous trips around the North-west and dif-ferent parts of the coun-try. However, Fred’s greatest loves were his grandchildren, great-grand-
children, family get-togethers, and the Schwartz Family Reunions. He also loved his garden and spent
many hours growing beautiful flowers and delicious vegetables. He was planting his vegetable gar-den right up to the end. Fred had an opinion on every-thing. Most listened and several took his advice. He taught his chil-dren how to do many handy things around the house and became a sur-rogate father to several of his chil-dren’s friends. Fred was a strong and faithful man to the end and will be missed by many. A funeral mass was held at Holy Cross Catholic Church on June 24, 2014. Memorial contributions may be made to Holy Cross Catholic Grade School – 5202 N Bowdoin, Portland, OR 97203. Please sign Fred’s guestbook at Crown Memorial website www.an-ewtradition.com.
Max Allen LoucksApril 20, 1925-June 5, 2014 Max Loucks passed away peacefully on a June 5th, 2014. Max was born in Plentywood Montana on April 20, 1925 to Na-than and Nettie (Scaman) Loucks. Max had two brothers, Clayton and Je-rome. In 1931, the family moved to Kermit, North Dakota to a wheat farm where the Loucks boys grew up. Throughout his life Max referred to him-self as “a North Dakota farm boy.” Max was drafted into the army in 1951 and married Caryl Zimmerman of Noonan, North Da-kota before reporting to duty. They were married on December 20th during a blizzard so severe that the trains couldn’t get through. Two weeks later Max was sent to Korea for the first of two tours of duty. After being discharged from the army, Max and Caryl resided in Ta-coma, Washington before moving to Portland in 1957. They made their home in the community of St. Johns in 1959. Max worked as a Millwright and Machinist until he retired in 1988. He worked in the shipyards and steel mills of Portland, participated in the construction of the Trojan Nuclear Plant and worked in lumber mills all over the Pacific Northwest. Max enjoyed hunting and fishing and was always crazy about horses. He boarded two quarter horses at a pasture on Germantown Road for many years. In 1976 Max and son
Harry Oliver LaTour Sr. (11/21/58-06/22/14) was surrounded by his children & loved ones as he peacefully passed away from com-plications of congestive heart failure. A native Portlander, Harry was a mischievous young boy who grew into a loving and compassionate man. Harry served in the Army in the late 70’s, upon returning home from service he started a family that grew to 11 children and 31 grand-children. Harry was a funny and charming kind of guy who was quick to lend a helping hand to even a strang-er. He will always be remembered as an avid Biker and Harley Davidson lover. Ride in peace Harry. Full throttle until you see God, then brake.
Mark rode his horses in the Bicen-tennial Oregon Trail Ride. Max was a member of the fraternal order of Freemasonry and the Korean War Veterans Association, Oregon Trail Chapter. Max participated in many events with the KWVA of Oregon including the building of the Kore-an War Veterans Memorial in Wil-sonville. Max loyally supported, and was an active member of, the St. Johns community for 55 years. Max was preceded in death by his parents, Nathan and Nettie, his brothers Clayton and Jerome, and his wife of 63 years, Caryl (Zim-merman) Loucks. He is survived by his children, Lynette Saunders (Spencer), Jan Silagi (John), Mark Loucks (Teresa) and Shawn Axten (Bruce), and five grandchildren, Ja-son and Tim Loucks, Kevin Silagi, and Ethan and Danielle Axten. Max will be laid to rest at Wil-lamette National Cemetery. A me-morial service was held at Hustad Funeral Home on June 14.
Addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] * PO Box 83068, Port. OR 97283 * Web: www.stjohnsreview.com * 503-283-5086 * St. Johns Review * #13 July 4, 2014 *Page 7
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Faduma Ali, a community organizer for the most mar-ginalized populations affected by the Willamette River superfund recently had a conversation with a public re-lations representative for the polluting businesses. The PR representative told her there was no environmental justice issue with the superfund because the lower Wil-lamette is an industrial area. However, there are several neighborhoods within a 5-mile radius including north, northwest and some of northeast Portland. The polluting businesses tend to regard their activi-ties as far more important than any others and have con-vinced many of their viewpoint, though hopefully not the Environmental Protection Agency. After 14 years re-searching the clean up, businesses still have little aware-ness of other uses of the river including the people who regularly fish for food as part of their family or ethnic tradition. Those groups include local Hispanic, white, black and Native American neighbors as well as immi-grants, particularly people from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Russia. Often, these groups have difficulty being in-cluded in the discussion due to lack of connections with decision-makers and other community members. In fact, the clean up process has included few studies to better understand all the uses of the river besides industry. A Port of Portland rep once assured me that “they live here too” and so, presumably, wouldn’t want to live with pollution. But “living here” across town, away from the river’s hazardous waste is not the same as “living here” close to it. We, who actually live here and are exposed to it, would like to be able to safely fish, use the beaches at Cathedral and Kelley Point Park, swim and boat without worrying about chemical contaminants. The river and the air is after all, the commons we all share. No one has the right to despoil it for everyone else. In fact, those who create most of the chemical con-tamination often do not live with it. They tend to live high in the hills in seclusion behind gates, far away from the mess they’ve created. They leave other people to live with it. Yet their representatives declare environmental justice a nonexistent issue. Just imagine what would happen if, for instance, it was suggested that the bottom of Lake Oswego instead of St. Johns, be the site for the toxic waste dump to hold all the hazardous waste from the river. No doubt, here would be angry phone calls to representatives and lawyers would be immediately hired. That is why three quarters of all toxic waste dumps in the US are located in poorer or minority communities where there is less voice and means to fight it. The problem with allowing the businesses or agen-cies exclusively to define environmental injustice is that it drowns out the actual people who are experiencing it. The neighborhoods and all people who interact with the river clearly have environmental justice issues. Excuse us, but we should be allowed to speak for ourselves. We can define environmental justice and do not need the polluting businesses to tell us it doesn’t exist or isn’t as important as their profit margin. All community members are invited to be present for a discussion about environmental justice at the next Port-land Harbor Community Advisory meeting, Wednesday, July 9, 6-8pm at the BES Water Lab at 6543 N. Burl-ington. All are encouraged to offer input, listen or learn more. There will also be an educational presentation on threats from both the Willamette superfund and oil and coal shipping on the Columbia River entitled Two Riv-ers, One City in September at the Charles Jordan Com-munity Center. The presentation will feature a keynote talk by Robin and Will Collin, lawyers and long-time advocates for environmental justice. Stay tuned for more details to follow.
Environmental Justice: Who defines it?
About the Author: Barbara Quinn has lived in the St. Johns neighborhood for 28 years. Her community vol-unteerism efforts include: organizer of the first annual walk-to-school day at James John School, community advisory for the St. Johns Plan, past chair of Friends of Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association, com-munity advisory for the superfund, and organizer and current Executive Director of Friends of Baltimore Woods. By day she is employed as owner of Wild Oak Native Plants. To get in touch with Barbara regarding her articles, email her at: [email protected].
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MAJOR CRASH TEAM INVESTIGATES ROLL-OVER CRASH ON I-5 - DRIVER CRITICALLY INJUREDNews Release from Portland Police BureauPosted on FlashAlert: June 23rd, 2014 7:55 AMOn Sunday June 22, 2014, at 11:47 p.m., North Precinct officers responded to the report of a two-car rollover crash on I-5 northbound at Rosa Parks Way. Officers and medical personnel arrived and learned that the crash involved only one vehicle and
that the driver was ejected during the crash. Portland Firefight-ers were able to free the driver, an adult female, and she was transported to a Portland hospi-tal, where she remains in critical condition. The Traffic Division’s Major Crash Team responded and began a crash investigation. Preliminary information indicates that both speed and alcohol were factors in the crash. I-5 northbound was closed for several hours during the crash investigation.======================== TRAFFIC STOP ON I-5 LEADS TO SEIZURE OF 50 POUNDS OF COCAINE - DRIVER ARRESTED News Release from Portland Police BureauPosted on FlashAlert: June 23rd, 2014 11:18 AMOn Friday June 20, 2014, at 5:12 p.m., Portland Police officers conducted a traffic stop on I-5 northbound at Delta Park. Officers noted that the driver, 28-year-old Charles Taesung Pak, was nervous, driving a rental car and couldn’t answer basic questions. Pak is a Canadian citizen from
Vancouver, British Columbia. Based on the officer’s observa-tions, they asked Pak for consent to search his car called for a
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