L ife in the P ortland M etropolitan A rea
Camp Scholarships Needed
For Low-Income Children
Many o f the
children going
to camp come
from
Portland’s
inner city and
have never
experienced
the excitement
o f camping
before.
lack Womens’ Gathering Pays
Tribute To Gladys McCoy
On May 8, Black women from all
over Portland and as far away as Se
attle came together for the 11th annual
Black W omen’s Gathering. Begun in
1983 in reaction to the indifference to
the violent death of a young Black
woman, Trina Hunter, a support group
of Black women gathered to talk about
that incident as well as other issues
pertaining to Black women in Port
land. Out of that ‘gathering’ came the
feeling and desire for an annual occa
sion for everyone to get together and
just be in one place — to talk, to laugh,
to share information, and to have a
good time.
The Gathering was held at the
Salvation Army Center and featured a
full day of networking, information,
entertainment and refreshments. The
highlight of the noon luncheon was a
special trib u te h o n o rin g G ladys
McCoy, the late M ultnomah County
Commission Chair. Numerous women
came to the podium to speak to the
Commissioner’s many accom plish
m ents, h er h a rd w o rk an d her
unyielding support. Lucinda Tate told
how, when she was a single mother on
welfare living at Columbia Villa,
Gladys inspired her and helped her
find em ploym ent. Rep. M argaret
Carter said Gladys was the first person
to offer her support when she ran for
office. Rep. Avel Gordly reminded the
audience of how difficult it is to be on
the front line” and how important it is
to support and encourage one another.
And, Bobbie Gary called fof renaming
the Urban League Multi-cultural Se
nior Center after the Commissioner.
The Imani W omen’s Symposium
held its day-long workshop in con
junction with the Gathering. Co-spon
sored by the Black United Fund, the
Symposium utilized the theme “The
Hidden Leader W ithin You.” Work
shop topics included: Breaking the
Glass Ceiling; Starting Your Own
Donations are needed to send making coffee over and over from the
children from low-income families to same grounds. At one meal we served
The Salvation Army’s Camp Kuratli her mashed potatoes and she could
this summer. A donation of $95 to hardly believe it. She normally fed her
$125 will provide “ a week in the children the mashed potatoes and ate
the peelings herself. Those were hard
woods” for a needy child.
Many of the children going to days.
And the stories were the same for
camp come from Portland’s inner city
many
of the cam p’s attendants, both
and have never experienced the ex
children
and adults. Costs were kept
citement of camping before.
as
low
as
possible, and for families
Located 22 miles southeast of
Beryl Hammonds (left) author of “I Am Not a Dark-Skinned White-Girl”. Gina Lawrence (center) and Dr.
who
couldn’t
afford even the low fees,
Portland, the camp provides 120 acres
LaFrancis Rodgers-Rose (right) from Newark New Jersey, special guest speaker for the 1993 Black
donors
paid
the
way.
of wooded slopes, swimming, hiking
Womens' Gathering continue a discussion about the greater, need for cultural diversity in today s
And
the
camp
continued
to
at
sports and arts.
society.
photo by Veronica Green
tract
hundreds
of
kids
from
all
over
Week-long camps will take place
Oregon
and
southern
Idaho,
an
area
June 24 through August 31.
Business: W hat It Takes; the Legacy ment and its implications for the 21st When your sister is your hairdresser,
In 1929 two Salvation Army of called the Cascade Division.
of Our Mothers: Leadership Among century. She reflected on the origins of you need no mirror She went on to
Around the time of World War 1
ficers, Albert Baynton and Ronald
Women in the African Diaspora: and mankind as she stated,” ...out of us extolled her sisters to support and lis-
Eberhardt traveled from Portland to a the train rails were pulled up and
It Takes an Entire Village to Raise a came all.” According to Dr Rogers, ten to each other “When your sister
grassy area in Barton, Oregon. The sent to Japan for making bullets.
Child.
we are the most dispersed people in the tells you something, believ e her; she
T h e
a re a , a b o u t 15
B
Keynote speaker Dr. LaFrances world, reflected in the many shades of has your best interest in mind.’ she
tra in
miles from Port
Rogers addressed the Gathering and people of color and the reasoning that concluded Dr Rogers ended her ad-
tre
stle
land, was a rich,
Symposium audience during the lun- you are considered Black if you have dress by hav ing the audience join her
w a s
country' field ,
cheon. Author, clinical sociologist and just one drop of Black blood in you.
in calling out the spirits and names of
fin a lly
giant fir trees
professor of Sociology and African
Referring to Black women, she Black women, past and present roles
d e s -
towered over
Studies at Drew University, Dr Rogers stated. “We are the original queens, models and mentors, who have in-
troyed
a
die creeks and
both inspired and ignited the crowd as the original goddesses There is no spired and aided us to get w here we are
f e w
g le n s, o n e
she traced the Black women’s move- need for us to imitate the imitators ... today.
y
e a rs
f is h e r m a n
later. Ev-
h a d
e
ry o n e
claimed a
w a s
catch o f
cleared out
50 trout
of
the
in a half
camp and
debutante It is not all the glamour of
hour
dynam ite
a ball, but the work before the ball
there,
was used to
which prov es what a true debutante is.
where
bring down
Once when I was feeling down. 1
Little
the trestle. A film company from Hol
spoke with a past debutante She re
Deep Creek joined Deep Creek.
minded me that self-love is a precious
An electric train had run out to ly-wood even came out to film the
value to have. Through Les Femmes
that area from Portland until recent explosion and use it for a movie. The
and past debutantes I know that “No
years. Called the Inter-Urban Line, it force of the blow rolled boulders in the
one will see the good in you. unless
dropped off fishermen along the creek, fields and scattered railroad ties for
acres,
which
young
campers
still
find
you
show it. You have to hold your
during the day when a catch of 50 trout
occasionally.
head
up high and be proud of vv hat you
was legal. Though the trains had
By
the
early
1980’s
the
camp
was
have
done, as well as what has yet to
stopped, the trestle was still there.
due
for
remodeling
and
repair
to
some
come
Because if you don't care, no
Bayton and Eberhardt, along with
one else will.”
other Salvation Army leaders, decided of its buildings. However, a series of
Sadruddin-T he ability of being
to buy the land. They called it Camp catastrophic ice storms in 1980 nearly
a Debutante comes from within one
Trestle Glen. Huge patches of black destroyed the camp altogether. Trees
self by having self-love, self-respect,
berry vines were cleared by teams of toppled on building’s, pipes broke,
self-esteem and self-pndc A debu
workers from Salvation Army reha and wires fell The camp was unin
tante has the ability to be an excellent
bilitation programs. Cabins were t ui It, habitable.
Wendy
Murray
Lateefah Sadruddin
Salvation Army leaders debated
Ime Etuk
leader, and a dependable follower be
much rougher than their modern-day
sen.”
Les Femmes has trained 29 high here to a strict code of ethics
cause she has the ability to make good
counterparts. Much of the work was what to do with the camp Was it
E
tuk-T
o
be
a
Cavalier
to
me
is
As a reward for successfully com
done by Victor “Viggo” Jensen, a possible to rebuild it? Where would school seniors for adulthood and is pleting these tasks each participant is special because it requires me to live decisions, therefore she knows whom
school teacher and Salvationist who the money come from? How could The prepared to present them to their 42nd
to follow She is able to always hold
challenged at a private “Rites of Pas my life in a certain way; it is known as
was one of the longtime operators of Salvation Army go somewhere else Annual Debutante and Cavalier Ball
her head up high with pride, but will
the
Cavalier
lifestyle
This
lifestyle
sage” then presented at the formal ball
nev er low er it for the purpose of look
the camp up until his death in 1957. after generations of its officers and in June
demands
me
to
be
rcspectfiil.
punctual
Les Femmes exists to improve the after graduating from high school
ing down upon others Over the past
Vcdna Jensen, his wife, still re staff and generations of campers had
and
spiritual
A
Cavalier
is
never
to
Each week through June. Les
liv csof African-American youth, vv hile
calls the early years at Camp Trestle gone to Camp Trestle Glen
eighteen years 1 have evolv ed in to a
disgrace
or
b
rin
g
sham
e
to
the
The answer came when a Port preparing them for life after high Femmes and the Portland Observer
Glen. "We had childrens’ camps all
untarnished Cavalier name For a young woman w ho is able to meet all
school. Students arc encouraged to will feature three young people who
summer, of course, but we also had land dentist named Dr Rcubc H
ofthc above qualifications I represent
were chosen as 1993 debutantes and Cavalier is to be pure and unscathed
mothers and childrens’ cainp I re Kuratli left a trust to The Salvation join the organization as young as the
Cavaliers arc to alway s remember that Les Femmes, my community and my
sixth grade, although most join w hile cavaliers This week meet Ime Etuk
member one mother during the de Army for the rebuilding of the camp
family. They all deserve the very best
(Jefferson High School), Wendy M ur to be a Cavalier is to be a Cav alier not
pression days who didn t know what Gifts from trusts and numerous indi freshmen or sophomores in high
The
best I can give of myself is to
ray (Grant High School) and Latccfah only for 24 hours today and tomorrow,
to do when we ofTcrcd to refill her viduals poured in, and several years school All students in the program
display
the qualities of a true Debu
Sadmddin (Benson High School) who but for the rest of your life
coffee cup during meals. She would ago. Camp Kuratli at Trcstlc Glen was arc required to maintain good grades,
tante
M urray-It takes a lot to become a
will share with y ou why they arc “cho
say “if you want to.” She was used to finished, representing over $2.5 m il perform community service and ad-
Les Femmes Debs And Cavs
Growing To Be Men And Women...Phenomenally
lion in facilities.