Preserving Local Homes, Neighborhoods
continued
from Front
" T h e re ’s an ongo in g struggle
for this black h isto ry ,” she says,
g estu rin g o ff her porch to the
building that once held Mt. O livet
B a p tist’s congreg atio n .
"W hen I first cam e to P ortland
(in 1948), all o f this w as housing.
W e ’re com ing into a phase now
w here w e co u ld h av e an o th e r
negative-equity situation that will
d estroy the rem n a n ts," she says.
B ut the e ffo rts to p re se rv e
P o rtla n d ’s black legacy w ill not
en d w ith people like B radford, if
n e ig h b o r h o o d h is to r ia n R oy
R oos g ets his way.
R oos, 45, w ho q uit his fulltim e
su rv e y o r jo b d u rin g th e ‘9 0s
b u ild in g b o o m to b e c o m e a
handym an specializing in historic-
resto ratio n , takes the loss o f c u l
tural sig n ifican ce to heart.
“ It’s so depressin g how if you
lo o k th r o u g h th e a d s in
( P o r tla n d ’s firs t b la c k -o w n e d
n e w sp a p e r) the A d v o c a te , all
those busin esses are gone, gone,
g o n e ,” he says.
T ak in g p articu la r care in d ig
g ing up w hat evid en ce he can o f
this A frican-A m erican heritage,
R oos searches ev ery th in g from
O regon H istorical Society records
to a series o f rec o llec tio n s g a th
ered by the B osco M illigan F oun
dation. H is d ec ad e-o ld volum e
on the Irvington n eig h b o rh o o d
p roduced in c re ase d aw a re n ess
that becam e a key fa c to r in h is
toric co n serv atio n .
“ H istory is te ch n ic ally su p
posed to help m ake sure that we
d o n 't m ake the sam e m istakes
again," says B radford. "I h a v e n ’t
seen m any lessons learn ed by
those d ealing in A lb in a.”
R o o s' "H isto ry o f A lb in a” re
search will also have personal
significance w hen he ex p ects to
publish it in ab o u t tw o m onths.
He lives in a V icto rian house that
had served M t. O liv et for the
m any d ecades th at the p arso n
age hosted every black p o litician
w ho cam e thro u g h tow n. W hen
develo p ers th reaten ed to te ar it
dow n, he m oved the 1899 stru c
ture six blo ck s north to a safer
fo undation.
W hile h isto ric reg istry now
protects that V icto rian , the sam e
level o f preserv atio n is not guar-
I’lio r o in R aymond R endi . eman /T iie P orti xnd O b s ir m r
R o y R o o s a n d P auline B radford h a ve c r e a te d a pow erful p a rtn ersh ip w h e n it c o m e s to p ro tectin g
local A frican-Am erican h erita g e like th e fo rm er B a p tist church n e a r th e R o s e Q uarter co lise u m .
anteed for B ra d fo rd 's p roperties
that w ere built by the F low ers,
one o f the first A frican -A m erican
fam ilies in Portland.
T h e c ity h a s i d e n tif ie d
B ra d fo rd 's land as m ore suitable
for h ig h -d en sity co m m ercial and
industrial uses req u irin g p ro x im
ity to m ajo r th o ro u g h fares. S erv
ing as extra in cen tiv e to tu rn o v er
th e re sid e n c e s, a s se ss o rs sent
h er notice o f o v er $ 3 0 0 0 ad d i
tional she can ex p ect to pay in
taxes due to the a re a 's prop o sed
streetcar system .
B radford agues that g o v e rn
m ental p o licies should be fo r the
b e n e fit o f e v e ry o n e an d th a t
p ro g ress is carried too far w hen it
com es at the ex p en se o f m inority
g ro u p s.
B elieving "she w o n ’t let those
houses go for an y th in g ," R oos, a
self-d escrib ed “h ard co re history
b u f f , ” a ls o w o r r ie s a b o u t
B ra d fo rd 's stren g th w an in g in
the fight against th e ir d e stru c
tion.
"If it com es dow n to it. I'm not
going to let any d ev e lo p e r get
aw ay w ith w hat w ould am o u n t to
m u rd er," Roos says.
Lead Paint Dangers Abound at Home
Make sure your
family is safe
Free Help to Reduce Lead, Test Kids
S arah G ourde
Lead-based paint is very com
mon and very toxic. Industry has
used it in everything from gasoline,
jew elry, make-up, toys, household
paint, and a num ber o f other appli
cations for thousands o f years. It is
relatively cheap and its properties
m ade engines run sm oother and
paint colors more vivid and du
rable. Great for industry, toxic for all
living things.
G iven that lead is so poisonous,
many parents o f young children are
very concerned that lead is still
A child p la y s n e a r a w indow th a t
currently used in m any every day
objects in and around the home, orapartm ent was built before 1978,
it may contain lead-based paint. If
including their child’s toys.
W hile lead -b ased paint w as lead-based paint is intact or cov
banned from residential use in 1978, ered over by many layers o f paint,
recent stories o f toys recalled for it usually is not a hazard but if it is
lead-based paint and garden hoses disturbed, it has the potential to
made with lead containing plastic create a dangerous situation espe
have many people asking how they cially for young children and preg
can m ake sure that their family is nant women.
W ater leaks, daily wear and tear,
safe.
T he first step is to assess painted friction on doors and w indow s, or
surfaces in your home. I f your home deterioration can all lead to paint
by
co u ld c o n ta in le a d paint.
failure and the creation o f lead dust.
Even a little lead dust is enough to
poison a child and it is the dust that
you c a n 't see that is the most dan
gerous.
It will take a concerted and sus
tained effort but knocking out lead
poisoning is vital to the health of
the youngest am ong us.
Sarah Gourde is the lead grant-
program coordinator fo r the Port
land Development Commission.
Goal is healthier,
safer homes
ing prevention w orkshops that
p rovide a good overview . PDC
does screenings for lead at m any
n eig h b o rh o o d e v e n ts an d the
public is en co u rag ed to bring
je w e lry , pottery and toys to be
screen ed .
Fam ilies can address all three
steps at the Lents Lead Event on
T hursday, April 24 in Lents at
Kelly Elem entary School, 9030
S.E. C ooper, from 6 p.m. to 8
p.m .
P IX ’ will be there w ith free
dust w ipe kits and toy sc reen
ing. T he Josiah Hill III C lin ic
will provide blood lead testing
an d th e C o m m u n ity E n erg y
Project is co n d u ctin g a free lead
poisoning prevention w orkshop.
HOST HOMES
AT
H ELENS
Helping Low Income Seniors
C om m unity Energy Project has
received a grant from the M etro
North Portland Enhancem ent Fund
to provide safety-related yard de
bris removal, guttercleaning, smoke
alarm testing, household hazard
ous-w aste removal, and door and
w indow -screen m ending for 30
qualified north Portland house
holds.
The project will run from April I to
May 31. To qualify, a household
must meet the income guidelines and
have members who arc 55 and over
orhaveadisability.T ofindoutifyou
qualify or to sign up for this free
service, call Com m unity Energy
Project at 503-284-6827 or e-mail
Homes*" (> immunity EnetgyPn »ject.i xg.
W eatherization services are ben
eficial year round: from keeping the
heat in during the w inter to keeping
the air cool in the summer.
It’s a good idea for those inter
ested in taking advantage o f C om
munity Energy Project program s to
sign up for service during the warmer
months. Staff and volunteers in
stall sm all-scale w eatherization
materials for senior citizens and
p eo p le w ith d is a b ilitie s , both
hom eow ners and renters.
The w arm er m onths are also a
C linic and the M ultnom ah County
H ealth D ep a rtm en t o ffe r free
b lood lead testing.
W hen you have your ch ild ’s
blood lead tested, it is im portant to
know the num ber o f the result.
M any doctors still tell parents only
that the result is normal but since
lead is a poison, it is im portant to
know the exact am ount. W hile
zero is probably not realistic given
that there is so m uch lead in our
environm ent, you w ant that num
ber to be closer to zero than to 10.
T he third step is to becom e
educated about the other sources
o f lead that may be in the hom e and
how to repairan older hom e safely.
T h e C o m m u n ity E n e r g y
P roject offers free lead p o iso n
T here are a few w ays you
can assess the risk from lead in
y o u r hom e.
O ne is to determ in e if you
qualify for a lead grant from the
Portland D evelopm ent C om m is
sion. T he p ro g ram o ffers grants
o f up to $ 10.(XX) to low -incom e
hom eow ners i n p r e - 1978 hom es
w ith children u nder 6 or so m e
on e pregnant in the hom e.
A n o th er w ay is to request a
free dust w ipe kit available at
th e P D C w e b s ite , p d c .u s /
le ad h a za rd o r at m any local
c h ild re n 's resale shops.
T he second step parents and
health care providers should lake
is to have y o u r c h ild ’s blood
lead tested. T he Jo siah Hill III
E W
Two, three and four bedroom floor plans ranging from $196.000 to $243.(XK).
Located on NE Killingsw orth and 64th • Sales office at 9454 N W oolsey Ave
Open Sundays from 2-4pm or by appt.
Up to $5,000 in closing cost assistance
P lastic s h e e tin g h e lp s k e e p th e h e a t in during w inter a n d th e air
co o l in th e su m m e r.
great time o f year to schedule small
safety repairs such as installation
o f sa fe ty g ra b b a rs, b a th tu b
benches, handheld show erheads,
and m inor carpentry repairs to stairs
and porches. As rem odeling sea-
son begins, fam ilies should be
aw areofhow toprotectthem selves.
All HOST Homes at Helensview include front yard
landscaping, kitchen appliances, gas fireplaces,
tankless water heaters, window blinds, designed
for LEED certification, ten year limited warranty,
insulated vinyl windows and much more.
LEED
u
HOST
Home Ownershi
fo'HOMES
a Street at a Tim e
Make Portland Home
PDC’s loan specialists can help you
buy or repair a home of your own.
ltne<nng /»
PDC
PORTLAND
OtVIlOPMlWT
C O M M IS S IO N
Call 503-823-3400
4®
or visit www.pdc.us/ownit. a JW9
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