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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1970)
AA/ ■(/ff ff7 ff Northwest's Newest — Most Provocative — Newspaper This is your paper, because you have demanded it. Vol. 1. No. 3 Portland, Ore, — Something of interest to everyone. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Thursday, Oct. 15, 1970 20c Per Copy Business founded by Black Man thrives as integrated venture His name is Henry Daniel Scott. He is Chairman of the Board, President and General Manager of Coast Janitorial Service, Inc., also dba Eastside Bookkeeping Service. H e n r y was lo rn A p ril 1st, 1925 in Lake Providence Loui siana. Henry Scott says 'it's a tiny place that nol»dy has ever heard of.' As fo r the date of his birth A p ril 1, this A p ril fools O. C la y to n J o h n s o n is an eight h day has been lucky for Henry all grade d ro p o u t. H e is now a big the way. sh o t at G overnor» S ta te U n i He was lo rn of humble farm parentage. Henry rememliers v ersity in Illinois. how it was when he was a boy on the farm , up early and to bed early working in between when he wasn't in school, tiut as Henry Scott says, in his soft well modulated voice " I suppose it hardened me for the work I've had to do to bring us where we are now ." He sat behind his large walnut Clayton Johnson is an eighth desk in front of a large well g r a d e dropout. Also the vice draped window. Somehow the dark rich walnut paneling on the prexy of academics at Gover walls blended with his deeper nors State U niversity, Park walnut complexion adding Forest, Illin o is. G r o w in g up in the teeming strength to an already strong Henry went to work in the black ghetto he was very much face from which beamed a proud shipyard in Vancouver a week sm ile every once in a while. like any other black youth, suf after he got here. He worked fering many hardships. Henry Scott is s till a very there for about three years. At 15 he dropped out of grade humble man. He just couldn't Then he went to work fo r the school and thumlied quickly to see where his story would in City of Portland Water Bureau terest anyone. North Carolina to avoid reform as a pipe in stalle r. He worked school. There he worked on his M r. Scott came to Portland in at this for five years. uncle's farm until he was old H43 for a week's v is it with a In 1951 Henry met and enough to Join the arm y. cousin Sam Whitney, now living m arried Bernice M erriweather This turned out to be the most on N.E. 11th Avenue. Sam want from Texas, they had two ch il Important step in Johnson's ed Henry to stay and was ap dren very early in th e ir wayward life . He was shipped to parently successful in his one m arriage. Just after the wed man crusade. Hawaii. ding Henry decided to change In Hawaii, he soon learned that he was in a rich man's play ground and the cost of living was so high Johnson couldn't af ford anything. He started spend ing his free tim e in the lib ra ry . This led Johnson to helping officers d e v e lo p educational programs for troops. When Johnson was released from the arm y, he started look ing fo r a college that would ac cept an 8tli grade dropout. He was rejected 12 tim es, then f i nally was accepted by Southern University in Baton Hogue, La. Johnson supported him self t»y working as a mall c a rrie r and as assistant football coach. A fte r Johnson picked up his college degree, he took a job recruiting college grads for New York railro ad. But Johnson really wanted to be an educator. He quite his railroad job and went to work at Columbia Uni versity. Then he headed fo r Rutgers University to work in the per sonnel department and earn his masters degree in education. S till determined he worked his way to assistant dean of the graduate school of education. Johnson now is associate vice president for academic affairs at Governors State U niversity and working fo r his PHD. W. H. GREA BY, JR. Dropout now leads college his jobs again. He went to work for Consolidated Freightlines as a lube man. It was during these fir s t two o r three years of marriage that Henry t>egan thinking about hav ing his own b u s in e s s . He dreamed big dreams fo r a coun try boy, txit nothing could dis courage him . He continued to dream. A fter about two more years of dreaming he hit upon something that he felt would stick for him. He and Bernice, his wife, began what is now Coast Jani to ria l Service, Inc., in the base ment of th e ir sm all home on Knott Street. They worked at night, because Henry worked at Consolidated Freightlines dur ing the day. They took the two sm all children with them as they cleaned restaurants, of fices and any place he could get a contract. The third child was lo rn to this couple just about a year after they began the business. Things were beginning to get a little congested in th e ir little house on Knott Street. They found a place on Union and Brazee which was rented for the business and where it remained fo r the next five years. During this tim e Henry had another dream. Why not make this a corporate business, espe c ia lly since he had five brothers and three sisters, and additional loyal staff persons acquired over the years. When Henry decided in 1966 to move to the present location which is 714 N .E. Alberta he brought along the staff that had been with him fo r so long. In 1967 he decided to incorporate the business, thereby making his loyal staff stockholders and co-owners. Henry and Bernice Scott - we say Bemice because behind every successful man there is a woman as this story shows. Henry and Bemice Scott - par ents of two boys ages 16 and 13 and one g irl 18. Henry Scott - Successful Black Businessman - One quick glance at the office staff, in fact, the entire staff reveals that Coast Janitorial Service is an "equal Opportunity em ployer." A l l ethnic groups are employed in the company according to th e ir a b ility. Our hats are o ff to you, Henry. U.S. National Bank changes managers W illiam Greaby, manager of th e local U.S. National bank, Union Avenue Branch, has been recently promoted to the posi tion of Vice President and re gional loan supervisor of the metropolitan region, which has twenty five branches. M r. Greaby’ s task in his new job w ill lie to approve credit for large loans. His new offices w ill be located in the downtown of fices of the U»>. National Bank. M r. Greaby has been at his p r e s e n t location tor the past four and a half years. B ill is a graduate of Jefferson High School, so he is a local to y. He was president of the Jefferson Dad's Club in 1964 and 1965. He says he was not aware of the problems in the Albina area until he returned to the commu nity as a business man. He feels that the community is not going down, and he bases this on the financial deposits at the bank at the present tim e. Friends of B ill's have said that he is sensitive to the com munity, and has a social aware ness of its needs. But BUI, him self, says he is always repre senting the U¿5. National and its place in the community. Many of the customers of the Union Avenue Branch feel a very personal relationship with h im and feel that lie always managed to find tim e to help them with their personal needs. BUI wUl assume his new du ties Novemlier 1, 1970. The new manager who wUl take over B ill Greaby’ s duties is M r. WUliam Spicer, from Eugene, Oregon. M r. Spicer is also a local man. He graduated from Roosevelt High.
