June 12. 2002
u u u .p m I l . i ih I o I isc m ci .cnin
( iiiiiiilit ( it i li» ( u lt m ul D iw is iK
“S iiidgin p P a itta n d ô C&rnnuuMieô”
Innkeepers
Celebrate
First Year
North Portland bed and
breakfast may be first of
its kind in Oregon
by D avid P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
Pioneering spirit is nothing new to Rozell and Bea
Gilmore.
In 1955, Bea w as the first A frican A m erican to
graduate from the U niversity o f O regon’s School o f
Nursing. In 1963, Rozell was the first to graduate from
C ascade College.
N ow it lo o k s lik e th e c o u p le ’s R iv erv iew
G uestH ouse at 3909 N. O verlook Terrace m ay be the
first official A frican A m erican ow ned bed and break-
• fast o f its kind in O regon.
“Y ou w ill note I said official,” says Rozell. “A fri
can A m ericans have a long unofficial history o f
’operating bed and breakfast businesses.”
Before the civil rights m ovem ent o f the 60s, he
says, blacks w ho traveled from tow n to tow n had few
other options than staying in the hom es o f fam ilies
and friends.
“O ur hope is that m any o f ou r friends and neigh
bors living in the m etro area w ill reserve our
guesthouse for friends and relatives visiting the city
o f roses,” says Rozell.
T he couple opened the bed and breakfast one year
ago. T hey w ere trying to com e up w ith an innovative
w ay o f holding on to a second property.
“T he bed and breakfast allow s for m ore flexibil
ity,” R ozell says. “If w e w ant to close it dow n for a
m onth and take a vacation, w e can do that.”
T he inn is ju st around the bluff from K aiser clinics
and O verlook Park.
“W e w ere blessed to purchase the property in
1972,” Bea says. “O ne can see the Frem ont Bridge
n nt nt u n i t n
a I r it b a r
Juneteenth Celebration
T his y ear’s annual Juneteenth celebration will
feature a parade, historical presentation, m usic
and carnival. Special guest is Cedric the E nter
tainer. The event w ill be from June 1 9 - 2 3 ,
starting noon tim e every day at the co m er o f
M artin Luther King, Jr. Blvd and Highland St. For
vendor inform ation, call 503-284-1693 and for
parade inform ation, call 503-288-6571. Advance
tickets are available by calling 503-285-8898.
Friends of Trees
V olunteers w ill be on hand to provide expert
inform ation during the “T ree T eam ” N eighbor
hood Tree C are. P articipants will learn how to
ensure that new ly planted street trees are prop
erly cared for. T he event w ill be held on June 15,
from noon to 5 p.m. at M cM enam ins K ennedy
School, 5736N.E. 33rt. Call Teri Ruch at 503-282-
8846,
e x t.
17
or
go
o n lin e
to
w w w .friendsoftrees.org.
Strawberry Festival
Straw berry season arrives in early June and
peaks w ith a Straw berry Festival W eekend from
11 a .m .-4 p .m .,S a tu rd a y , June IS a n d S u n d a y ,
June 16 at K ruger’s Farm M arket on Sauvie
Island. Visitors will have an opportunity to sample
som e o f the N orthw est’s tastier varieties and
discover w hich kind are best suited to canning,
baking and eating straight from the plant. Call
503-621-3489.
b H
\
Rozell and Bea Gilmore show o ff the stunning view and other amenities o f their bed and breakfast in the Overlook neighborhood of north Portland.
photo by D avid P i . f . chl /T he P ortland O bserver
and m ost o f dow ntow n from o u r location.”
B esides a stunning view , they offer am enities
such as a private bath, TV , telephones, and a great
breakfast m ade by B ea herself.
“Y ou can choose from a traditional breakfast of
southern style,” she says.
Rozell says m ost o f their business so far has been
people from out o f state, ju st passing through or
visiting fam ily in Portland.
B ea’s sister. M arge W hite and her husband, Ken
are the host couple.
R ozell says business is going good so far.
“P eople are beginning to know about us,” he says.
For more information, call 503-287-3937 or visit on
line at w w w .riverview guesthousebb.com .
Mortgage Turns Sour for Portland Investor
B y D avid P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
Jew elia F runchess has bought houses in Portland
before. She is not a financial expert, but she know s a
deal w hen she sees one.
A t least that is w hat she thought w hen she agreed
to buy a sm all house as incom e property in a quiet
northeast Portland neighborhood in 1999for$l 11,000.
Frunchess soon realized som ething w as wrong
w hen Spartan M ortgage refused to show her an
interest rate before she signed the deal.
N ot only that, she claim s officials at the m ortgage
com pany intim idated her. A t one point, Frunchess
said three w orkers surrounded her and told her she
had to sign the papers.
“T hey leaned o ver me and said they put to o much
w ork into it for m e not to sign.” Frunchess said.
"T hey scared m e so bad, I co u ld n ’t m ove.”
Frunchess said she succum bed to the pressure
and reluctantly signed.
W hen Spartan sent a truth and lending statem ent
days later, she discovered her interest rate w ould be
14.75 percent. She w as also charged origination fees
unknow n to her at the tim e o f purchase.
Frunchess also found out Spartan had sold her
m ortgage to a m uch larger H ousehold Beneficial,
w ho charged her additional fees.
Soon, she was dishing out alm ost $ 1,600 a m onth
to pay o ff a house that had ballooned to $ 152,000 with
an additional $32,000 in fees.
Paul Sam uelson, the real estate agent that was
selling the house for the previous ow ners said he had
never before dealt w ith Spartan M ortgage and never
will again. He said he asked them num erous tim es to
Jewelia Frunchess picks up a picket sign outside her northeast Portland investment property to
protest a mortgage agreement she claims she signed through Intimidation.
P hoto by D avid P lechi / T
send a good faith estim ate, but never received one.
"T rying to get a hold o f anyone that w ould give
m e inform ation w as ju st about im possible," he said.
Sam uelson called S p artan 's tactics “probably le
gal, but definitely unethical.”
He recom m ends having a financial expert or realtor
he P ortland O bserver
w ith you at the tim e o f purchase to avoid being taken
advantage of.
Frunchess has tried to refinance her loan for a
better rate but says she c a n ’t because she is locked
into her original deal.
continued
on page B4
Need a Small Business Loan?
N eed a sm all business loan for a start-up or
business developm ent? M ercy E nterprise’s PEI
program offers m ini-loans for qualified business
applicants. T o leant m ore and receive an appli
cation, call 5 0 3 -236-1580 o r go on lin e to
w w w .m ercyenterprise.org.
PCC Graduation Celebrates 40 Years of Success
Hike Northwest Portland
Andi Prewltt wlll
give the student
address atPCC's
2 00 2 graduation
commancmant.
M azamas leads casual hikes exploring the streets
and trails o f N orthw est Portland at 6 p.m. every
T uesday and T hursday. T his is a great w ay to
m eet other hikers, plan a w eekend trip o r ju st to
m aintain your fitness after w ork apd see som e
hidden parts o f Portland. M eet at M azam as at
909N.W. 19* Ave.Call503-227-2345.
t
1
T he spotlight w ill shine on 2,104 graduates o f
Portland C om m unity C ollege on Friday, June 14,
w hen they will take cen ter stage to receive diplom as
and celebrate their accom plishm ents w ith fam ily,
friends, faculty and staff.
T he co lleg e's com m encem ent w ill be held from 7
to 9 p.m. at the M em orial Coliseum .
P C C sprung from h u m b le ro o ts, c e le b ra tin g its
first c o m m en c em en t in 1962 w ith a d o zen g ra d u
ate s in the lu n ch ro o m o f, iro n ic a lly , th e fo rm e r
F ailin g E lem entary S chool. T h e co lleg e is now the
la rg e st p o st-se c o n d a ry in stitu tio n in O re g o n ,
serving nearly 100,000 full- and part-tim e students
th is a c ad e m ic year.
PCC President Dr. Jesus "Jess" C arreon will d e
liver the 2002 com m encem ent address.
T he student speaker is 20-year-old A ndi Prewitt.
Prewitt is a winning parliamentary dehater for PCC
and is also a member of the two-year honor society Phi
Theta Kappa with a 3.73 GPA She plans to transfer to
Portland State University with the goal o f entering the
U niversity o f California- Berkeley her senior year.
I