Portland Observar February 12, 1981 Paga
Dick Bogle
Sometime around A p ril 1st, the
end o f an action packed chapter in
the history o f P ortland night life
w ill be written when host supreme
Paul Knauls calls it a night for the
last time.
Paul has perhaps been the c ity ’ s
most steadfast host for the past 17
years offering a handshake and a
wide flashing grin to his male
customers and a kiss on the cheek to
the ladies as they enter his
establishment.
The sale o f Genevas, named after
his glamorous wife, has been in the
works fo r some time and Paul ex
pects to be able to step down around
the first o f April.
Paul's fascination with the night
club business began many years ago
in Spokane, Washington where he
was the wine steward at the Daven
port Hotel, at that time the class o f
Spokane hotels.
Paul says he was always intrigued
by people of means who would fight
over the dinner cheque and that
built up a desire in him to be able to
pick up expensive tabs and smile
while he paid.
He knew however it would take a
lot o f hard work and for 12 years he
worked two jobs. He continued as
wine steward at night, and during he
day, he repaired typewriters for the
Royal Company. During those 12
years he never had two days o ff in a
row. But he saved his money and
bought his first night club, the Cot
ton C lub, on N orth Vancouver
Avenue.
The Cotton Club meant a lot o f
things to a lot o f people.
To drummer Mel Brown, it was a
place to work nights perfecting the
skills which would eventually lead
him to the top while going to school
at night.
To a somewhat younger d rum
mer, Ron Steen, it was a place to sit
outside and listen to Mel while im
patiently waiting to turn 21 so he
could go inside and sit in with the
big guys.
To dancer La Wanda Page it was
a place where she did her fire dance
while dreaming o f hitting it big as
she eventually did as Aunt Esther on
Sanford and Son.
And to its many many customers,
the Cotton Club was a place where
one could relax and know the drinks
were going to be alright and the en
tertainment superb.
Paul decided to expand and for
awhile owned arid operated three
night clubs: The Cotton club, Pauls,
on North Russell between Williams
and Vancouver, and Genevas.
Finally Geneva’s became his only
endeavor and d iffe re d from the
Cotton Club in that Sunday was the
only night featuring live music.
But the main ingredient was
there, the Paul Knauls charm and
warmth and o f course the big grin.
And he prospered. Weekends would
see the place jammed with only the
jukebox providing the music for the
dancers crammed together on the
floor.
Paul has his fond memories too
and most o f them have to do with
his customers and friends. One such
memory is the annual Paul Knauls
birthday party where he gets to see
old friends, some o f whom he
perhaps hasn’ t seen since his last
birthday party.
Paul also recalls New Years Eve,
‘ ‘ I ’ ve been in business for 17 years
in Portland and 1 have some people
who have spent each o f the past 17
New Years Eves with me.”
Paul thus finds his kind o f
dedication returned to him, as one
PUBLIC NOTICE O F
FILING O F OREGO N ELECTRIC
RATE INCREASE
APPLICATION
On January 29, 19 8 1 Pacific Power & Light
Company filed with the Public Utility Com
missioner of Oregon an application to in
crease electric service rates in Oregon
For the average residential electric cus
tomer using about 1100 KWH monthly, this
will result in an increase in the monthly
electric bill of 5 1 98 or an additional 6.6C
per day. This application for a 6.2 percent
rate increase in Oregon will produce an an
nual increase in revenues of approximately
Sl9.870.000
Why Have We Had To Ask For An Increase
In Electric Rates?
Paul and Geneva Knaula
For O ther Information
considers that some recent New
Years Eves have been icy with very
little movement on city streets.
On the bar business and the
economy, Paul says, “ When times
get tough, usually the bars do bet
ter, you never see bars going broke
when other businesses are going un
der.”
When I asked Paul what his plans
are after the sale, at first he jokingly
replied he was going to be a house-
husband, but anyone who knows
Paul knows he w ouldn’ t be happy
staying home day after day. And he
w on’ t. Paul sees a new career
looming for him in either real estate
or insurance.
The same qualities which made
him a success in the nightclub
business; hard work, dedication and
a special way with people w ill push
him over the top no m atter what
field he chooses.
Fort Apache: A film review
By A rt Alexander
For the past year I've heard rum
blings in various film and television
trade magazines about Fort Apache.
These rum blings were made by
several ad hoc m in o rity film and
video groups concerning several
film s due to appear as part o f the
80-81 season. Most frequently men
tioned were Beulah Land, F o rt
Apache, and a new C harlie Chan
movie. The gist o f the complaints
lay in the gross insensitivity and
racism o f Hollywood producers.
F ort Apache was described as a
horribly racist film which depicts all
Black and Pureto Rican people o f
the South Bronx as animals, no
more than a teeming mass o f
junkies, hookers, pimps, thieves
and murderers. It was claimed that
the whites in the film were portrayed
as beleaguered bastions o f decency
and tolerance, try in g to keep the
brutish ghetto dwellers from turning
the South Bronx into an anarchist
state.
1 have to say that 1 did not get
quite the same impression from the
film . It should however be noted
that the current box office version is
missing scenes that were taken out
in an effort to placate those groups
protesting the release o f the film . 1
must also note that the film is racist.
A fter all, this is a Euro-American
gj
country. It is known fo r its m ur
dering o f m illions o f Africans and
Native Americans to steal this land,
and the industry isn’ t about to do
anything to suggest that white
America has any ongoing respon
sibility for the current situations o f
racial minorities. The film is racist,
but it is not a bit more racist than
Barretta, Starsky and H utch,
Kojack, Police Woman or Police
Story. A ll o f these cop shows
frequently depict white America
(w ith the help o f some trusted
m in o rity aide), trying to preserve
law and order in the face o f streets
supposedly fille d w ith Black and
Brown criminals.
In the case o f " F o r t A p a c h e "
perhaps the most significant failing
is that almost none o f the non
crim in a l racial m inorities have
speaking parts. There are Black and
H ispanic doctors, nurses, store
owners, cops, etc., but they appear
as part o f the background on which
the story plays out. In some respects
i t ’ s jio t s u rp ris in g ...it’ s a cop
movie...cops fight “ bad” guys. The
cops w ith all the ‘ ‘ good” lines in
" F o r t A p a c h e " are white and
therefore the viewer is left with the
Euro-centric impression that whites
care more about conditions in the
ghetto than the co m m u n ity’ s
The plot o f Fort Apache is sim-
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The Company faces a continuing re
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creasing numbers of customers. The re
quested increase will recover part of the in
creased costs facing the Company in many
areas, including the cost of utility plant
additions, generation expense increases
and depreciation expense increases.
Copies of the proposed rate schedules,
testimony and exhibits are available for in
spection at the offices listed below where a
representative of the Company will answer
any questions that you may have Please
feel free to contact our offices by phone at
the numbers indicated. Also, copies of the
Company's proposed rate schedules, tes
timony and exhibits are available for inspec
tion at its main office located at 920 S.W
Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204
If you wish to receive other information or
notice of the time of any public hearing, if
scheduled, a special toll free number, I-
(800)452-7813 has been established by tfie
Public Utility Commissioner of Oregon.
When your call is answered ask to speak to
the Consumer Assistance Division of the
Office of the Public Utility Commissioner
Also, you may write to the Public Utility
Commissioner of Oregon at 300 Labor &
Industries Building. Salem. Oregon 97310.
While the purpose o f this notice is to pro
vide you with general information as to
Pacific's proposed rate increase, you should
be aware that the proposals, calculations
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not binding on the Public Utility Com m is
sioner of Oregon, and he may issue an
order effecting rates from those proposed
by the Company.
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pie. There’ s an easy going veteran
cop played by Paul Newman, who is
only concerned w ith crimes that
have victims (purse snatching, mur
der, armed robbery, assault, and
serious drugs). A long w ith his
rookie partner and the other charac
ters that work for the police depart
ment, Newman goes through a
series o f episodes that evidently are
“ norm alcy” for the South Bronx.
Those episodes include a cop
killing, a riot, the murder o f an in
nocent Puerto Rican youth, falling
in love with a nurse and shooting it
out with gunmen who are holding
hostage in a hospital.
As the veteran cop, Newman is
pleasant enough. He's not a do-
gooder, he doesn’ t try to be
"Barretta hip,” he has a good grasp
o f why things are so bad in the
South Bronx, but he doesn’ t have
any cures. His young partner played
by Ken Wahl is also easy going and
also unconcerned w ith victimless
crimes. O ff setting the Newman and
Wahl, is Ed Asner as the new “ by
the b o o k” precinct captain. The
new captain, in an effort to solve the
cop killings and break up a hospital
based drug ring, orders a crackdown
on any and all street crime (over the
objections o f his men who know
that it won’ t be worth the trouble.)
The ca ptain’ s e ffo rts produce
dubious results, a m inor “ r io t.”
The " R io t” is one o f those less ob
vious racist turns in the p lo t. It
suggests that the Black community
is incapable o f dealing w ith the
police on a legalistic level. On the
other hand communities sometimes
do explode in the face o f some gross
injustices. In this case the police are
arresting people indiscriminately in
an effort to raise a lead on the cop
killers. In the course o f the “ riots”
a cop kills a citizen. Newman w it
nesses it and has to struggle with his
conscience over “ ratting o u ,” on
another cop or seeing that “ justice
is done” for a Puerto Rican kid that
can’ t be brought back to life
anyway.”
The movie was made for the pur
pose o f making money. It was not
intended as a docum entary or a
vehicle for social uplift. Perhaps the
tragedy o f F o rt Apache is this:
There is no jo y to counterbalance
the pain. There arc no block parties,
no playgrounds, no schools, no
c o m m u n ity
im p r o v e m e n t
associations, none o f the indications
that there are human beings
struggling to make their community
safe and decent. " F o r t A p a c h e "
dehumanizes us and dehumaniza
tion is the first thing you do to any
one you wish to eliminate with im
punity.
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