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