Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2000)
Feature _____________ L WEÓNEsdAy, DecEMbeR 6, 2000 TI he ClAckAMAS P rint Volunteering rewarding for adventurer-teacher PHOTOGRAPHER/ Clackamas Print Cleo White (right) helps YPOP student Millie Santamaria crochet a blanket for her baby. JENNY CHAVEZ Staff Writer Retired teacher and volunteer Cleo White has brought a lifetime of adven ture and a love of teaching to students in Clackamas’ Young Parents Oppor tunity Program (YPOP) while sharing her intricate art of crocheting. White began volunteering for YPOP six years ago after responding to an ad for someone to teach young mothers crocheting. She’s been there every Wednesday ever since. Student Veronica Partida is one ofher students. “It’s fun to learn how to crochet,” said Partida, “because you can learn to make something special for your baby, to have and to remember when he is older.” White shows up faithfully because die loves to see the results from the students. “They make beautiful tilings,” she exclaimed. “They’re proud ofwhaithey have done. It’s a real self-builder craft and a skill they can use the rest of their lives.” White says she has always loved teaching. As a child she helped teach younger children in a one-room schoolhouse that she attended grow ing up in rural Idaho. She began a for mal teaching career while still in Idaho, after getting her teaching credential through correspondence classes, com munity college and summer school. She taught there for 13 years. “I taught in some classes where there was one teacher to four grades,” White remarked. While in Idaho, White heard of a need in Bogota, Colombia for teachers at a mission school for 1000 boys. According to White, she had wander lust and eagerly accepted the assign ment. She spent two years teaching at the South American mission, and fondly remembers her summer vaca tions as well— in the jungles of Co lombia teaching children and adults who had no formal educational sys tem. White recalled a 72-year-old man who wanted to learn to write his name. She not only taught him to write, but also to read; and then left him books so he could teach the children after the foreign instructors were gone. . White recalls another incident as well. “This guy came galloping up full tilt,” she recounted. “He stopped dead in his tracks right there and said, ‘teach memath’.” The man was a construction engi neer but could only do simple math calculations. White was giving lessons to another student at the time and told him to wait until she was finished, for getting the local cultural custom that women must drop everything when the man speaks. She suffered no re percussions and was pleased to teach another eager student. After returning to the United States, White moved to Portland where she taught elementary school for 25 years. She arrived during the late 1960s, when enforced integration laws meant buses ofblack children were transported from north and northeast Portland to the southeast, white-dominated schools. It was a new environment for White, just back from South America. “The racism surprised me more than anything,” she said. “I thought, ‘when are we going to just be people instead of white, black, brown or yellow?’” White’s adventures didn’t stop af ter she retired from the Portland schools. She traveled to Spain and spent a summer in Mexico to improve her Spanish-speaking skills. Now she’s a part time Spanish instructor at St. John's School in Milwaukie. White doesn’t seem to run out of energy. She volunteers with a senior citizen program and teaches at Craft Mart in the evenings, in addition to sharing her craft with YPOP students. “I love it,” exclaimed White. “I en joy the kids. They come because they want to learn. I just enjoy teaching.” Library clerk leaves behind co-workers and students DANA PALMER O’Driscoll has seen the li brary advance technologically as well, since she came to Claudia O’Driscoll, Clackamas’ li Clackamas in 1982. At that time brary cleric for 19 years, will retire this there was only one computer in year, and leave behind students and the whole library, located in co-workers she considers beloved. the back room. Prior to Clackamas, O’DriscolL ,‘‘I had to learn a lot about worked for such public libraries as the computers,” she remarked. “I Woodbum Public Library, Dickie Prai- didn’t think that I liked them but rie and Rural Dale School. At now I have my own at home.” Clackamas, O’Driscoll was in charge When asked what aspect of of inter-library loans and magazines, her work had been her least fa as part ofher duties. vorite, ODriscoll recounted an The need to make a living and a aversion for numbers. This long love oflibraries steered O’Driscoll distaste, common to book and to her chosen field. A 1962 graduate English lovers, is the only ste of San Jose (CA) State, O’Driscoll’s reotypical aspect of a library major simulta worker that neously prepared O’Driscoll ap her for, and deter pears to em I already miss mined, her future ca body. interacting with reer. In fact, “I graduated with O’ Driscoll students and a bachelor’s degree seems any getting their ideas in English Litera thing but ste ture,” laughed reotypical. Claudia O'Driscoll O’Driscoll, “sol was While she be library clerk used to books.” lieves that When asked to com people envi pare public libraries sion librarians to academic libraries, as wearing O’Driscoll had good things to say their hair in buns and glasses, about both. and constantly telling people “I liked both,” she said. “Public li to be quiet, O’Driscoll was braries were more of a social thing quick to state she does not fit where people came to talk; there wasn’t that mold. the heavy research. Academic librar “I never tell anyone to be ies are more cyclical, they get more quiet. I’m not quiet myself. It people during the rush times such as is funny how long stereotypes spring term.’*’ take to die,” she said. “It is Despite the cyclical nature of aca hard to work against that.” demic libraries, O’Driscoll, who seems O’Driscoll says she has man bright, upbeat and funny, recounted aged to retain her own person stories that show that her years at ality and good humor. She Clackamas have been anything but sports close-cropped hair, and dull. She has seen the library undergo told the history ofher haircut. tremendous changes, including ex “I must say I did cut my hair treme remodeling and construction quite a few years ago because due to mold. That required all library I found myself wearing a bun,” materials to be moved numerous times. laughed O’Driscoll. “So I “The library moves were unforget thought, ‘ok this isn’t going to table,” said O’Driscoll. “The whole happen.’ So I cut my hair really library was moved to trailers. It was a short.” lot of work but it built muscles.” O’Driscoll left Clackamas Staff Writer about a month ago and already Claudia O'Driscoll, misses the school. library clerk, will “I’ll miss the students and my retire at the end of fellow workers,” she said. “I al fall term. O'Driscoh ready miss interacting with stu has dedicated 19 dents and getting the new ideas years to library that they brought forth. It was ex work, and was in citing.” »charge of It appears the library will be qui interlibrary loans eter without O’Driscoll, but the and magazines. long-time library clerk does not in After retiring, she tend to let retirement slow her plans to spend down. She has plans to kayak with more time with her her husband and their new puppy, husband and her and to continue her pottery work. new puppy. She And, when asked what book she also wants to go would choose if stranded on a kayaking and desert island, the ever-resource continue her ful library clerk had a quick answer. pottery work. “I would take War and Peace," O’Driscoll will be said O’Driscoll. “It’s nice and long missed by students and was the book that I planned and co-workers. on reading upon retirement be cause now I’ll have the time.” MIKE POLLOCK / Clackamas Print Wed. Latin mèatballs Thurs. Fried chicken Fri. Curried Name The New Cafe Contest!! Help us name the new cafe and you will automatically be entered to win a new color t. v. All suggestions should be entered by Christmas break. tuna' n'tomatoes Mon. Spinach beef macaroni Tues. A name will be selected and displayed during the grand opening week when school resumes Winter Term 2001. Winner will be contacted. Chicken fried steak Breakfast: 7-10:30 a.m. Come visit the espresso bar today! Entrees: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Grili/Espresso: 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Hrs: 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon-Thurs; 7 a.m.-4p.m. Fri; 830a.m.-l p.m. Sat FINE HOST CORPORATION
