Portland Observer Thursday, December 7, 1978 Page 3
by Kathryn H. Bogle
One o f the pace-setting families in
the early Portland Black community
was the C urry fam ily, headed by
James W illiam Curry and his wife
V io la Shaw C u rry . We recently
showed a picture to you o f Viola who
is living still in California at the age
o f 103 years.
James W. Curry (1906).
The C urry’s were ambitious, in
dustrious, outgoing people who
brought up their children (there were
three girls: Maybelle Shaw, Frieta
Shaw and Clothilde Curry) to give
the best o f themselves every day and
to set high goals for their futures.
“ Go ahead and be ‘ Somebody,’ ”
was an admonishment the girls often
heard from their mother. “ Don’ t let
anybody turn you around — you are
somebody — so be somebody” she
always said. Maybelle died in young
womanhood but her life and the lives
o f her sisters reflected this maternal
advice and parental care.
A t another tim e we can leaf
through another album to tell you
about Frieta and Clo.
James Curry and Viola McElroy
Shaw were married in Portland in
1905. Born in Urbana, Ohio in 1867,
James migrated to St. Paul, M in
nesota which was a busy railroad
terminal even then when James was a
young man. James hired himself out
as a railroad man and was given a
run from St. Paul to a number o f
destinations, among them Billings,
Montana. Eventually be found him
self coming to Portland and he liked
it here.
It was in Billings that James met
Viola Shaw, a dainty little lady with
gray blue eyes. A widow she was,
with two little girls, Maybelle and
Frieta. The children’ s father had
died in a small pox epidemic and
Viola, young and without sufficient
resources had turned fo r help in
caring fo r her children to an o r
phanage on an Indian Reservation in
nearby Twin Bridges.
In Billings, Viola set about learn
ing how to take care o f herself and
family. She learned how to prepare
tasty and attractive foods for large
numbers o f people; she learned how
to set a table and how to serve with
finesse and she liked doing what she
learned. She also began to dream
dreams for her daughters. They must
never be as helpless as she had been,
she th o u g h t. The g irls must be
prepared to take care o f themselves.
Viola's dreams and ambitions for
a successful future were fed when she
met matching ambitions in the tall,
tan and handsome James Curry. The
day came when she gathered her
children up, swept out o f the or
phanage with them, paid her passage
to Portland and married her good
looking man in the derby hat and
handlebar mustache.
The C urry’s settled on the West
side o f Portland, up on N.W. 21st
Street somewhere between Irving and
Couch. They sent the elder two girls
to Couch School.
Mrs. Curry then began to build a
clientele as a cateress among the cir
cles o f wealthy white folk in Nob H ill
and thereabouts. Sometimes Viola
w orked w ith another popular
cateress o f those times, Ada McGill.
(Fred Thomas was also well-known
as a waiter-caterer in the town. He
later added a catering supply service,
building it all into a very substantial,
brisk and respected business which
he conducted from his property on
N .E . Shaver Street near U n io n
Avenue.)
The C urry’s made themselves an
integral part o f the community life
by contributing their time and con
siderable talent to church and com
m u n ity events. T h e ir daughter,
Clothilde, born in Portland, showed
an early talent as a violinist and was
in frequent demand to “ play on the
p ro g ra m ”
fo r
many events.
Daughter Frieta Shaw was a musical
phenomenon possessed as she was
with a rich, full singing voice like a
great pipe organ.
Frieta actually entertained a crowd
o f shoppers gathered around her
baby buggy when she was eleven
months old. The im p ro m p tu
sidewalk performance embarassed
Viola, the proper little mother who
could not explain how this baby, this
infant, could have such a tremen
dous, big voice, who sang notes and
who applauded herself, patting her
dim pled hands together sm iling
broadly and contentedly afterwards.
To nurture this talent Frieta was
encouraged by her parents to first
>
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Curry's Tents at Seaside, Oregon.
Viola Shaw (Mrs. James) Curry
(1907 or 1908).
Oregon’ s prohibitive laws on the
books at that time) and he advised
this to all.
In his work, James Curry had been
assigned as waiter-porter on an ob
servation car run to Seaside, Oregon
at one period. He knew that beach
houses were available now and then
to be rented to vacationers, but
basically houses were scarce and
were hardly ever available to Black
families.
M r. Curry bought several acres o f
wooded land in Seaside near the
beach front, cleared a few locations,
and put up house tents to rent by day
or week.
the University o f California at Los
Angeles for her summer vacations,
M r. C u rry entertained fo r his
daugh ter’ s pleasure, and invited
many o f her friends to the beach.
We show a picture o f such a group
in about 1925 at the Curry Cottages:
left to right: Edward Watson, Ada
M cGill (standing), Jennie Grayson
W agoner, C lo th ild e , M r. C urry,
Helen Logan M elker, Lenore
© Family Album Northwest 1978
l
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Since 1 9 M
help herself. Frieta was taught to
serve parties and how to look after
the children o f the affluent to help
pay for the expensive vocal lessons
she took from Mdme Lucia Volair.
Mdme Volair trained the voices o f
the wealthy but she took a real in
terest in Freita.
Freita sang everywhere and often.
Mdme V olair, recognizing an im
pressive talent and natural g ift
teamed with Freita’s apparently in
domitable spirit, helped to make it
possible for Freita to go for study in
Paris at the Sorbonne. So as soon as
Freita was graduated from Jefferson
High School, o ff she went to Paris.
By this time M r. Curry had bought
two different homes for his family
on the East side and Clothilde at
tended E lio t School. M r. C u rry
developed strong feelings that Blacks
should own property (in spite o f
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12 7:30 P . M . =
For a reservation call:
Samantha Hicks: 777-5846
City of Portland Development Commission
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It soon became very p opula r
among the Black community to pic
nic or weekend at the C u rry
“ places.”
The accom odations
became “ C urry’ s Sunflower Camp”
as M r. C urry acquired additional
fram e dwellings. Eventually they
were known as “ C urry’s Housekeep
ing Tents and Cottages.”
When Clothilde came home from
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James Curry and daughter Clothilde enjoy a game of croquet.
Edward Watson, Ada McGill (ded), Jennie Dora Grayson Wagoner, Clothilde
Curry Woodward, Mr. Curry, Helen Logan Melker, Lenore Freeman Gaskin,
Leon Wharton West, and Barbara Hubbard Sullivan (dcd.l, enjoy a picnic at
the Curry's beach property.
Freeman Gaskin, Leon W harton
West and Barbara H ubbard
Sullivan.
M r. Curry died in 1942 at age 75.
M rs. C u rry Dunn lives on, a
remarkable lady at 103 years o f age.
The fa m ily m u ltip lie s , w orks,
thrives and carries on its old families
traditions in a new setting. "Y o u are
somebody. Be somebody.”
Three ‘’Recycle” houses are now available
for sale to owner-occupants by the City of
Portland Development Commission. More
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re h a b ilita te d by the D e ve lo p m e n t
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moderate income families who meet the city
income guidelines and qualify for financing
Average cost is $32,000 A 5% downpayment
will be required Houses are located at 128
N.E Morris, 75 N E Ivy and 88N.E Ivy Date
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