SERVING
Burlingame • Capitol Hill
• Garden Home • Glen
Cullen • Hillsdale
• South Portland
• Multnomah Village
• Raleigh Hills • Vermont
Hills • West Portland
Volume No. 16, Issue No. 7
INSIDE:
Southwest Portland’s Independent Neighborhood Newspaper
www.multnomahpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Future of Sears
Armory to be decided
May 8 at open house
--Page 6
Complimentary
May 2008
New farmers’ market scheduled for
June opening in Multnomah Village
By Mark Ellis
The Southwest Portland Post
With the apparent blessing of all
concerned--including the Multnomah
Village Business Association--the
plan to create a farmers’ market in
Multnomah Village has come to frui-
tion.
“I’ve heard nothing but good
things,” said Multnomah Arts Center
Executive Director Michael Walsh,
who also sits on the Multnomah Vil-
lage Farmer’s Market board.
Another pivotal player is Eamon
Molloy, current market manager for
the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market. His du-
ties with regard to the Village market
will be the same as at Hillsdale, rang-
ing from layout analyst in the plan-
ning stages to roving onsite facilitator
and manager once things kick off.
“I admire the strength of the MVBA
here,” said Molloy. “They set this goal
a while ago and have been patient
enough to see it through.”
The original concept for a Village
farmer’s market included insuring
that the new market would not com-
pete directly with any concurrent
Southwest market. Thursdays were
chosen, as Walsh explained, “Because
no other market occurs that day on the
southwest side of the Willamette.”
Thursday is also fortuitous from the
standpoint of the providers, farmers who
are reaching the end of the harvest week
and want to get into weekday markets
with the freshest possible product.
“The Hillsdale and Village markets
will complement each other,” explained
Walsh, who was integral in the planning
phase and now is helping to coordinate
the market’s June 5 th debut.
Portland’s urban open-air markets
attract farmers from up and down the
Willamette Valley, and east-west from
the Gorge to the coast. One wrinkle has
to do with this year’s unpredictable
spring weather. At press time strawberry
growers were worried about possible
freezes.
Similarly, while a lot of fruit trees have
experienced a nice flowering, the jury is
still out on quality and output. “It hasn’t
really been warm enough,” said Molloy.
Regarding the seafood typically offered
at the markets, there are understand-
able questions about the availability of
salmon.
Other considerations which fall un-
der Molloy’s purview include artful
alignments with regard to the market’s
visual and overall aesthetic sense, and
thoughtful assignments with regard to
booth placement. “You get to where you
have a sense of which booths work well
together and which configuration may
be less effective,” says
Molloy.
Another fluid factor is
freight charges; farmers
anxious to supply fresh
product to a market-
place full of afternoon
and evening impulse
buyers will have to fac-
tor their costs in light
of changing economic
realities.
Notwithstanding
these concerns, the
commitment to bring
the freshest of berries, Neighbors starving for fresh Oregon strawberrries made up
apples, pears, peach- the longest line at the Hillsdale Farmers Market, April 27.
es, and locally grown, (Post photo by Don Snedecor)
healthful vegetables to
an already diverse and thriving busi-
the sensitive composite surface of the
ness hub is proceeding apace.
courts.
The Village market will be held
Payment for produce and other
Thursdays from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
merchandise will be by cash or check,
under the basketball awning at the
with no plans yet for credit/debit card
Multnomah Center [Southwest 34 th and
options. “Hillsdale waited four years
Capitol Highway] from June through
before going to a card option,” said Mol-
September, and is estimated to be about
loy. WIC (Women, Infant, & Children)
one-half to two-thirds the size of the
Coupons & Senior Coupons will be ac-
Hillsdale market with approximately
cepted, with Food Stamps/Oregon Trail
thirty booths.
Card to be considered in the future.
The logistics are configured in such a
“We’ve got a ribbon-cutting com-
way as to create a safe haven for kids in
mitment from City Commissioner Dan
the middle of the courts, with display
Saltzman on the market’s opening day,”
(Continued on Page 3)
tables set around the perimeter and off
Children benefit from reading aloud to dogs at the Hillsdale Library
By Polina Olsen
The Southwest Portland Post
Angie, a large German Shepard
stretched in a sunny corner of the
Hillsdale Library children’s section.
Sam Way, 11, reached out to scratch
her ears. “It’s about a cross between
Godzilla and a dragon,” he said as he
opened the book Jellaby and started
to read.
Meanwhile, Way’s seven-month-old
sister, Louisa, patted Angie’s nose with
a hand holding the muffin she’d been
eating. “Let’s get that out of the way,” her
mother Janet Way said nervously. The
dog didn’t move or even blink.
Angie and owner Kathy Fogerty are
used to dog-lovers of all ages. They’ve
visited children and listened to them read
at the Hillsdale Library for about five
years. Working through the DoveLewis
Animal Assisted Therapy and Education
Program (DLAATE), they coordinate
with other volunteers to make Read to
the Dogs available every Saturday morn-
ing.
“I got Angie from the Portland Humane
Society,” Fogerty said about the eight-
year–old dog. “She was a stray, -- very
gentle, but very skinny.” DoveLewis
certification took four to five months,
she explains. Humans learn how to
deal with situations like people with
disabilities or illnesses. They learn to
read their dog’s body language and
know when they’re asking too much.
“The dogs have a rigorous obedience
program, and you have to take a final
assessment.”
Angie snoozed quietly as Sam Way
continued reading. His mom and sis-
ter sat on the floor and played with
bright toys Janet Way brought from
their John’s Landing home. Browsers
walking by stopped to pet the dog and
chat.
Sometimes, if the schedule changes,
Fogerty and Angie walk around the
library and explain the program. Today
a man asked if his four-year-old could
read, and the 11 a.m. cancellation pro-
vided a spot. Amalia can’t read yet, but
he can, -- and, the little girl likes dogs.
Erica Moore, a youth librarian, enjoys
the Read to the Dogs program. A resident
of Garden Home, she’s worked at the
Hillsdale Library for about three years.
Most of the children are in grade school
but Moore also sees preschoolers.
“It provides kids a safe, nonjudgmen-
tal place to practice their reading skills,
and it’s nice to interact with an animal,”
Moore said. The program runs through-
out the year, and Moore said she found
particular benefit in keeping up reading
skills during summer vacation.
Fogerty agreed. “I would say the aim
of the program is to reach kids who
want to practice their reading skills are
a little shy about reading in class. Dogs
will never correct you.”
Hillsdale Library’s Read to the Dogs
program also outreaches to schools,
(Continued on Page 3)
Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 2.
The Southwest Portland Post
7825 SW 36th Ave Suite #203
Portland, OR 97219
Sam Way reads to Angie the German Shepard while Janet Way, baby sister Louisa, and
dog owner Kathy Fogerty look on. (Post photo by Polina Olsen)