Portland Observer, January 21, 1963 Page 7
OBSERVATIONS
FROM THE SIDELINES
by Kathryn H all Bogle
II
Echoes o f the 1981 W hite House
Conference on Aging keep reverber­
ating. Final drafts o f the business
conducted there have just now ar­
rived to be accessible to the dele­
gates and other interested persons.
A nd interest is high, fo r, after all,
the conference is scheduled o n ly
once in every ten years.
Bobbi Gary, already chairing the
Multnomah County Conference and
appearing in Lucius Hicks* N AAC P
Committee on Aging and Housing,
was the one and only Black person
among 14 appointees making up (he
delegation from Oregon to the na­
tional conference.
G ov. V ic to r A tiy e h , in m aking
the Oregon a p p o in tm e n t, chose
names fro m lists recommended by
Bob Ziegen o f his own staff and the
Rev. W aller McGeddigan.
Mrs. Gary, well acquainted with a
num ber o f o rg a n iza tio n s in the
P ortland area, is a member o f the
national AAR P, the Older Womens
League, the N a tio n a l Caucus on
Black Aging and the National Gray
Panthers, all dealing w ith concerns
o f the e ld e rly . She is also a vice-
president o f the P ortland Chapter
o f the N a tio n a l C o u n cil o f Negro
Women.
Members o f the Oregon delega­
tio n , before they left the state, had
met in briefing sessions on matters
previously discussed in earlier local
conferences w ithin the state. Upon
their return they found themselves
pretty much in accord.
" W e th o u g h t we had been well
prepared,” says M rs. G ary. “ The
conference opened at the Washing­
ton Sheraton w ith 2,200 persons
registered. Later a ll the delegates
were assigned to one o f the 14 com­
mittees. I was appointed to C om ­
mittee III called "O ld e r Americans
as a Continuing Resource."
"O u r Committee comprised 200,
but we were soon to discover that
committees were hampered and dis­
organized to exclude those appoint­
ed by an earlier a d m in istra tio n . It
became increasingly d iffic u lt to gain
a m icrophone to be heard by even
one's own committee.
*1 practically seized the m ike at
one time because I was so eager to
get the topic on the floor for discus­
sion. It concerned the need to
recognize that Blacks have a
shorter life span than persons o f the
m ajority race. This fact means that
they have a generally shorter time to
draw Social Security i f they must
w ait u n til they arc 65 before they
can apply for their fall benefits.
"O n e o f the positives we noted
was that some o f the issues that in ­
terested Oregon actually reached the
BOBBI GARY
floor and emerged in the final draft.
O ur com m ittee agreed that elders
should be paid enough to pay their
expenses fo r volunteering; we saw
the need fo r a national health plan
and we made suggestions fo r a
stable Social Security system.
" O u r committee also agreed that
elders should be allowed to work in
their jobs past age 65 as long as they
m ight lik e , and that elders be a l­
lowed to w ork part tim e or be o f ­
fered training or education in some­
th in g else they m ight lik e to do.
There were others.
"S o m e o f the negatives o f the
conference were very a p p a re n t,”
Mrs. Gary said. "F o r instance, han­
dicapped persons were badly incon­
venienced for access, transportation
fo r everyone was poor, food man­
agement and services was sometimes
deplorable.
"H o w e v e r, on the w hole, I ’ m
glad 1 had the o p p o rtu n ity to go.
We can all only hope that Congress
w ill approve our recommendations
and put them into la w ."
Notes and Vibrations fro m Wash­
ington D .C .— See in Jet Magazine,
o f January 21, that Armstrong W il­
liam s has surprised everybody by
p ulling $5 m illio n out o f Congress
for construction fo r Black colleges
over the next five years. No mean
feat in these p a rsim oniou s tim es.
And Black colleges w ill also get six
per cent o f total research grant dol­
lars. They used to get only three per
cent.
Richard Douglass, and assistant
deputy secretary at the A griculture
Dept. worked with Armstrong to get
the farm bill through.
Who is Armstrong Williams?
Arm strong W illiam s is a 22-year-
old legislative analyst at the U.S.
Agricultuc Dept. and this writer was
pleased to have the opp o rtu n ity to
Neighborhood Meetings
Sabin C o m m u n ity A ss o c ia tio n , 7: JO pm, Jan. 25, Sabin School. 401J
N.E. 18th.
King Im p ro v a m a n t A s s o c ia tio n 7:30 pm, Jan 26, King Neighborhood
Facility, 4815 N.E. Seventh. Discussion o f Open Heart treatment program.
N ortheast C o m m u n ity m a s tin g w ith C ongressm an Ron W yden to
discuss concerns. 10:30 to 11:30 am. King N eighborhood F a cility, 4815
N.E. Seventh., Jan. 22.
P o rtla n d S ch o o l B o a rd . 7:30 pm Jan. 25, Blanchard Center, 501 N.
Dixon.
P o r tla n d /M u ltn o m a h S e n io r S e rv ic e s D iv is io n R e o rg a n iz a tio n
T ask F orce w ill meet F riday, January 22, 1982, 1:30-4:30 pm, in the
Willamette Center, Conference Rooms A & B, 121 S.W. Salmon Street.
The Task Force w ill be responsible fo r planning a structure w ithin .he
guidelines o f the Senior Services D ivision..
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PRO STYLE
SHOP
917 S.W. Alder
224-8401
across from the Galleria
Proline now offers a
SUPER CUT
Under these conditions ONLY
■
!
g
*No appointment
’ First available
operator only
$ß00 j
in r n c o n f t h ic r n n n n n
v iz ifli s zic tF Ï
ask some questions o f h im . O ver
b u ffe t lunch in the A g ric u ltu re
bu ild in g in D .C . a few weeks ago,
we got together.
Arm strong was treating at lunch
and after he wolfed down a sizeable
plate o f food (and put far too much
sugar in his coffee) he was ready to
answer my burning question. Ques­
tio n was; " H o w come a young
Black man like you is interested in
S trom T h u rm o n d ? A n d saying
T hurm ond is a 'changed* man? A t
least that’ s what Jet said you said."
" I t 's true. It's tru e ,” said A rm ­
strong W illiam s, pushing aside his
empty cup.
" I ’ ve know n S trom T h u rm o n d
for nine years. I ’ ve read a lot about
him and I w rote to him all d u rin g
high school. Life is an adventure. I
like to explore. I ’ m interested in my­
self, loo.
" M y daddy was reading some­
thing one night about Strom T h u r­
mond and it made me sad to think
that this man, so p o w e rfu l, could
bring so much fear to Black people,
and even to Black girls and boys like
me in school.
"S u d d e n ly , I w anted to re a lly
know S trom T h u rm o n d and to
know why he is thought o f as a b i­
got. So I w rote a le tte r to h im . I
asked him why. Well, he didn’ t ans­
wer, as you might have guessed. So I
w rote him again. A nd w rote him
again. And again.
» * *i
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Jimmy Robinson and P.C. Peri view
photographs of Richard Brown, Observer
photographer, at "Snap Decision", an exhibit of
photojournalists from the Portland/Vancouver
area.
The show is at the U.S. National Bank Plaza
through January 24th.
' BATH
TOWEL
M A R A T H O N -T O W E L ENSEMBLE
Solid cokx sheared terry towels with
coordinated accent dotjby border
Bath towel
Hand towel
Wash doth
Reg
5 97
6™»1
SALE
4.77
2.97
1.47
HI-ORI PAPER TOWELS
Strong and thirsty tor quick cleanups
REG7B*
POLYESTER THREAD
All purpose thread 200 yd spools,
white black or tashion colors
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS
" N o answer.
" E v e ry b o d y in M a rio n , South
C a ro lin a , where I was born and
brought u p ,th o u g h I was crazy to
keep on w riting to M r. Thurmond. I
have seven brothers and two sisters
and they finally gave up teasing me
about w ritin g to him . M y Daddy,
I'm suie, had his thoughts, too, but
I knew he also believed I should find
things out fo r myself. So I kept on
w riting. O ur fam ily lives on a 250-
acre tobacco farm and, I guess w rit­
ing to someone im portant like M r.
Thurm ond made life more interest­
ing to me. I kept at it anyway.
" I fin a lly met M r. T h u rm o n d
when he came to speak in M a rio n
while I was s till in T e rre ll’ s Bay in
high school. He advised me then to
keep in school. I did. I went to col­
lege at South C a ro lin a State, a 90
per cent Black school. I was gradu­
ated from there in May, 1981 with a
B.S. degree in P o litic a l Science.
Cum Laude.
"W h ile I was in college M r. Thur­
mond frequently gave me some o f
his time and really coached inc when
I ran for and won the office o f stu­
dent body president at SCS. I was
graduated on May 10 and on May
11,1 received an a p p o in tm e n t to
work as a U.S. Congressional Aide,
f rom there I became a special assist­
ant to the Director o f Congressional
A ffairs in the Dept. o f Agriculture.
"A cco rd in g to others, M r. T hur­
mond was a racist, a segregationist.
I f he has been, I think he is changing
and that his w ife is helping him to
change.
" D id you know that M r. T h u r­
mond recommended a Black woman
to serve on the Supreme Court? He
appointed the firs t Black judge in
the Court o f Appeals in South Caro­
lina. I know he saved M o rris C o l­
lege in Sumpter from going under f i­
n a n c ia lly in the last fo u r or five
yeais, and Allen University, to o ."
Armstrong W illiams is now a leg­
isla tive analyst. A fte r attending
I egislalive Process Hearing courses
on the " h i l l , " he has his sights set
on study at H arvard. He wants to
know more about agriculture law.
" N o th in g ," says this articulate, am­
bitious young man, " is impossible
with G o d ."
I he $5 m illion for Black Colleges
sounds good for an opener.
G e rb e r
XM RM HMXW
i i :: m :: m s i i î !
XM X M X M X M
MXM XW KM K
:: h »» ik m >: m
u k u :: m :: m :(
:: h x o k w >: w
W K H K IIK M K
6.47
BASKET HAMPER
G ER B ER DISPO SABLE
NURSER BOTTLES
Pkg ot 100 tits all nursei
holders pre sterilized oz
and ml markings REG 2.57
A hamper or clothes basket
ventilated Ml cover asst
colors REG 9 97
STACKING
STORAGE BINS
Organize and conserve
space m every room cho
of colors REG 4.77
MISSES TERRY TOPS
Poly cotton V or crew neck
styles scalloped floral trim
white blue aqua peach
lemon S M L REG 7 97
CANVAS H A N D B A G S
Large and roomy, double
short handles basic colors
asst styles REG 6.97
10,o. »1
FLOW ER A VEGETABLE
SEED PACKETS
A wide variety Io choose
from in this Michael
Leonard selection
H O USEHOLD
SPRAY BOTTLE
,6 oz container heavy duty
sprayer REG 1 47
DELSEY
BATHROOM TISSUE
Pack ot 4 rolls soil
bathroom tissue asst
pastel colors REG 1.27
TRASH CONTAINER
6 gal capacity snap lock
cover metal bail with plastic
G 6 97
gnp asst colors REC
FLAIR PENS
Choose point guard or ultra
tine tips REG 89*
I STANDARD
F SIZE
BED P ILLOW S
Polyester tiherfill lloral i otton cover
corded erige
R
SALE
Standard
Queen
King
4 97
6 47
7 47
PH OTO ALBUM
PLAST1C MH.K CRATES
10 self adhesive sheets 20 pages spiral
nog inde» page asst cover designs
REG 1 97
Versahle Storage cubes
use slacked or side by side
choce of cotors REG 7 47
*
Store Hours
Mon.-Fri. 9 am-9 pm
Saturday 9 am 9 pm
Sunday 10 am 6 pm
OVER 330 STORES
THROUGHOUT TWELVE WESTERN STATES
8310 N. Ivanhoe St.
in St. Johns
next to Taylor’s Thriftway
and the King's Tabla
OUR POLICY; If lor any reason advertised items are not m slock ram checks
are available on request Items w h ch are limited to quantifies m slock and
“
cannot be reordered are fust come, first sei ved