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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1981)
Page 4 Portland Obsarvar M ay 7, 1961 OBSERVATIONS from the Sidelines By Kathryn Hall Bogle Conservation for renters books' goal cent o f the monthly rent. Most o f the b o o k le t’ s tips are common sense conservation advice such as w eatherstripping around doors and windows and caulking around the outside door and w in dow frames. O ther, not-so-w ell- known tips include blocking cold drafts under a door w ith a “ d ra ft dodger” — a cloth tube filled with sand. A new publication from the Ore gon Department o f Energy can help renters save both energy and money. “ Energy Tips fo r Renters” tells how to reduce space heating, lig h tin g , cooking and laundry energy costs through simple, no-cost and low-cost actions. Most renters pay u tility costs directly and that can am ount to as much as 25 per The free booklet discusses how tt w ork w ith landlords in making energy e fficiency im provem ents, home safety and how to read electric meters. The book is available from the Oregon Department o f Energy, I02 Labor and Industries B uilding, Salem, Oregon 973IO. ( I -800 ( I -800-452-7813) Fred Meyer Shopping C enters < Super Shopping Centers Help Lower Your Cost of Living . . . Your nearby Fred Meyer Super Shopping Center i. filled with P • >ple Pleasing” services to make your shopping more pleasant. Wide, spacious aisles, friendlv helpful clerxs anu un dc'cover parcel loading are just some of the "People Pleasing services to you. Plus everyday low prices on thousands of items you use ano need everyday help lower your cost of living. Because we're open 9 a m. to 10 p.m. daily, including Sunday, you can shop when you WANT to, not when you HAVE to. Come in anytime and "funshop" in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. Pete M onroe and his w ife Alda Ruth discuss Pete Monroe climbs down from the saddle seat o f his big power lawn mower. He’s been cutting the grass on the terraces of his garden behind his sprawling tile-roofed house in the southwest hills of Portland. Its early springtim e, the day is cool and bright. Trees are putting out lender green leaves, azaleas and rhodedendrons are bursting into bloom in the time-machine o f the sun. Pete welcomes a visitor with just just a brief look back at the mower and his unfinished w ork. A slow smile spreads and he admits that this year's springtime has intertwined a double happiness for him. One happiness is that Pete M onroe has been made a board membet and a director o f the prestigious Men’ s Garden C lub of Portland. The term is for the years of 1981 and 1982. T he board meets monthly at the official home o f the P ortland Garden C lub on S.W. Vista Avenue. How did it happen? O f course he was chosen - he’ s a nice man. Home and garden mean a lot to Pete. He is now in the process o f “ revitalizing” his entire garden. He planted the garden himself - every tree, bush and posey, some ten years ago when he and his school-teacher wife, Alda Ruth, built their home on their I '/j acres of hillside proper ly- This springtime time-slot ticks o ff an “ anniversary’ ’ o f a sort, accord ing to Pete. “ Exactely tw enty years ago, physicians gave me five years to live," he said. Diagnosis was cancer o f the larynx. Surgery removed the voice-box and Pete was left silent and speechless, a special kind o f merits of new variety of rhododendron. personal hell for this big powerful man. A period o f withdrawl from out side social contact followed as a not- unexpected sequence u n til Pete could get his bearings. Monroe had been a Master Serargeant in the U.S. Army - “ the 2nd Infantry Division 503 f ield A r tillery Battalion in W W II," he tells you precisely. “ I was in N orth A fric a in Tunisia and Algiers; I was in Italy, Erance and Germany when there was a lot going on. Seventeen days after the Korean conflict opened, I landed in Pusan, Korea. “ In Korea I was wounded. That was in I9 5 I. I hey sent me home to recover. But it was back again to Korea in I954 - this tune in a non- combatant status. T hey called me a “ movement control specialist.” That means I operated the arm y’ s railroad for the section I was in. I made up the trains and routed them w ith available cars.” Monroe paused and ad justed the slant o f a pane o f glass in the sheds jalousie windows, and then pinched back a liny geranium plant. “ A year or so more in Korea,” he continued, “ and I was again trans ferred to Germany. “ Then came the battle against the “ big C .” I lost my voice and could only whisper. And they said five years was all I had to look forward to. I was all mine - my own personal battle. I am still here! This spring marks my fo u rth five-year celebration!” Monroe learned esophageal speech, the very d iffic u lt and slow process o f speaking with swallowed air. His family and building his house were his life line and his therapy. fro m the ground level flooring to the tiling of the roof, from the brick and Arizona stone facings o f the walls to the inside cabinetry, every rod every beam, every nail o f the house were selected by Pete. He studied, he learned, and he prac ticed speaking out of necessity. O f course landscaping went with the house. Pete first entered the master gar dening program ol Oregon Stale University to learn. Now , Monroe is a p a rticipant. He assists in the program’ s clinics by helping laymen gardeners to select plans for plant ing and care o f flowers and vegetables. M onroe joined I he ” Home Or chard S ociety" which deals with fruits, nuts and berries. I his group holds clinics to encourage house holders to grow their own crops. Monroe is there to demonstrate grafting and to discuss the habits and needs o f the various trees and bushes. A clinic in which Pete recen tly participated drew 4(M) persons in West I ynn. Pete now has no need to be shy when addressing an audience for his speech comes easily to him and his articulation is pleasant to the ear. I he Monroe rose garden shows healthy loliage and growth and the flats o f geranium seeds have sprouted well in the potting shed. I he vegetable garden reflects Pete's I98I interest in the onion fam ily. He has planted green onions to be sure, but there are red onions and yellow ones, and there are shallots and leeks, too. Here’ s to the I98I double hap piness o f Pete M onroe - and especially Happy “ fo u rth Anniver sary" to all the Monroes. Walnut Park N E Killingsworth at Union Interstate N Lombard at Interstate Peninsula 6850 N Lombard Plenty of Free and Easy Parking Open 9am to 10 pm daily, including Sunday. E X O D U ' S i/rnen/ Wen/ee ,639 N E Alberta PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1 294 7997 From the Front Door By Tom Boothe THE KEY The wisdom, the knowledge and the understanding of purpose - preparation - Direction and Consistency is the KEY to the development of a responsible, Respectful and Constructively Productive citizen. This KEY opens the door to the proper spirit of being, the proper mental attitude toward self and others and the proper physical values of self and others. With this KEY comes the power to overcome prejudice, to recognize oppor tunities and to secure and maintain your right to live a Responsible Produc tive life on Earth. W ithout this KEY you will not be able to recognize opportunities or open door to self fullfillment. You will become a victim of those who have found their KEYS. Herein is the incentive and motivation to seek out your purpose, prepare yourself, and know your Direction and be Consistent. P«ta M onro« In hl« potting «h«d. Brought to you as a public service by House of Exodus (Photo*; Richard Brown) I * t
