Ch
Page A6
October 19. 2005
e^Iortlanù ODhscrucr
Site Reclaimed
otten Chinese
Respect finally
paid to artifacts
and remains
by K atherine B i . ackmore
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by
K atherine B lackmore TT he P ortland O bserver
Susie Bousha is the manager o f Lone Fir Cemetery, one o f Portland's oldest graveyards. She will oversee
the reclamation o f a former Chinese burial site that was covered up by a county building nearly 60 years ago.
After more than a year of community in­
volvement to pay respect to historic Chinese
artifacts and remains at the Lone Fir Cemetery,
a resolution has been reached that will hope­
fully allow the deceased and their loved ones to
finally rest in peace.
"These are our ancestors, people who worked
really hard to rebuild out community. We need
to respect that. 1 believe we are righting a wrong
and are honoring them,” said Maria Rojo de
Steffey, a Multnomah county commissioner
who led actions to restore a neglected and
abandoned Chinese burial site.
The issue began in the late 1800s and early
1900s, when deceased Chinese immigrants
w ho'd helped work on the local railroad were
buried in a segregated corner of the cemetery,
located at Southeast Stark and Morrison be­
tween 20,h and 26* Streets. In 1948, the graves
o f 265 immigrants were exhumed and sent back
to China to pay the respect of sending the
deceased back “home,” according to loose
records.
In fact, only the deceased men, not the women
and children, were exhumed. This was appar­
ently unknown to Multnomah County at the
time. A parking lot and office building were built
over the land and remained there until recently.
In 2004, when the county announced intent
to sell the building property, tear it down and
possibly use the space for housing, local orga­
nizations such as Friends ot the Lone Fir Cem­
etery, Buckman Neighborhood Association and
the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Asso­
ciation called for a halt to the decision. Their
argument was that there were still Chinese
remains beneath the building and they needed
to be memorialized.
Crews then used ground-penetrating radar
in an attempt to find artifacts. Nine anomalies
showed up, so it was then decided that some of
the spots would be excavated to see what was
beneath.
The artifacts uncovered included head­
stones, pottery, glass, bones and two coffins.
Earlier this month, the MultnomahCounty Board
of Commissioners made the decision to transfer
the land to Metro, the regional government
overseeing parks, trails and greenspaces, al­
lowing it to become part of the cemetery once
again. The items found will be handed over to
the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Asso­
ciation for storage and inventory.
"The cemetery is complete - w e’re whole
again. To be able to honor the people that
played such a significant role in Portland’s
history, you can’t put a value on that,” said
Susie Bousha, manager of the Lone Fir Cem­
etery.
OFFICE • RETAIL
E
A
S
Martin
Luther
King
Corridor
Located
in the
Heart o f
Portland
For More Details
Contact:
Chuck or Mark Washington
503-288-1897
2 Spaces Available
photo by
Joyce Washington Plaza
K atherine B lackmorf / T he P ortland O bserver
A painful sight o f vandalism mars the historic Lone Fir Cemetery in southeast Portland.
Historic Cemetery Victim to Vandals
continued
fro n t F ront
h ea d sto n e s.
On another w eekend, someone
used sidew alk chalk to make rub­
bings o f some headstones to read
them more clearly. W hile this is a
com m on practice, Bousha said it
damages the monument and main­
tenance crew s m ust com e by to
clean off the excess chalk.
Bousha noted that the hours
o f the cem etery are posted, but
there are no gates at the main
entrance to keep people from
com ing in during the later hours.
The Portland Police are good
about patrolling the area, she said,
but their staff is thin.
Pointing to one o f the knocked
over headstones, Bousha said,
“ T h is h e a d sto n e re p re se n te d
s o m e o n e 's b a b y , s o m e o n e ’s
wife, som eone’s m other.”
She also noted that the Lone
Fir C em etery, named for the first,
single tree that grew in the middle
o f converted farm land in 1866, is
a “w ho’s who” o f Portland, hous­
ing m onum ents to notable politi­
cal figures, those who gave the
city and its streets their names
and perhaps most im portantly,
the pioneers o f the land.
For her and those who care toy
their heritage and loved o n e ^
when a person m akes the deck
sion to vandalize, th e y ’re not j u t
ruining a piece o f stone - they 're
taking a piece o f history and
stom ping on it.
Anyone with inform ation on
vandalism in the Lone Fir C em ­
etery can contact 503-797-1709.
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