Art Driven to Extremes
Advocate Takes Charge
Mixed media art by Serena
Barton and Bonnie Meitzer
at Onda Gallery.
Paige Coleman is the new
interim director o f the
Northeast Coalition of
Neighborhoods.
See inside, page AIO
See inside, page A3
‘City of Roses’
AJ
Established in 1970
Volume XXXVIII, Number 28
z^oni m u n ity
C a le n d a r
Annual Community Garden Tour
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • July 16. 2008
Historic Albina Dome Refurbished
Saturday, July 19, from 8:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m „ take a tour o f six com ­
m unity gardens via van and ear
pool; call 5 03-823-1612 to reserve
your seal.
Represents
proud past
for African
Americans
Camp SCRAP
July 21 thru July 25, from 9 a.m. to
3 p.m ., children ages6-10 wi 11 learn
new skills from local artist at Camp
SC R A P; activities include tile
m osaics, bike part wind chim es,
and reuse art projects all week,
with field trips to several local re­
cyclers. Call 503-294-0763 for dis­
counts and scholarships.
“Held Day - A Day in the Life
of the Water Bureau”
T h u rsd ay , July 24, the W ater
B ureau invites the public to p a r­
tic ip a te in this free event fea tu r­
ing the o p eratio n and m ain te­
n an ce o f P o rtla n d ’s d rin k in g
w ater system , for m ore in fo rm a­
tion call 503-823-7637.
West African Dance
Saturdays, currently thru July 26,
from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Richard
Sokpor, a form er m em ber o f the
National Dance Company o f Ghana
will instru ctclassesfo rag e 14and
up at the Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center, 5340 N. Interstate
Ave. To register, call 503-823-4322
or ju st drop in!
‘Viva La Raza’ Rebel Reading
Wednesdays, currently thru July
30, at 7 p.m. at the Bread & Roses
Center, 819 N. Killingsworth St.,
discover the stolen history o f defi­
ant organizing by farm workers, stu­
dents and Chicana feminists in the
telling o f their dramatic story; for
more i nformation cal1503-240-4462.
MHCC Par Excellence Golf
Tuesday, Aug. 5, starting at 7:30
a.m., at the Stone Creek G olf Club in
Oregon City, spend the day golfing
for a good cause the event benefits
the Mt. Hood Com munity College
Scholarship Fund; $ 150fee includes
green fees, cart, and more; for more
information call 503-491 -7206.
Student Exchange Host Needed
The nonprofit international stu­
dent exchange program, AFS-US A
is currently seeking local volun­
teers to host students in high
school; volunteers are also needed
as liaisons to w ork locally with
fam ilies and their hosted students;
to learn more visit afs.org/usa/
hostfamily.
Guide to Summer Stargazing
T he second M onday o f each
month the Mt. H ood C om m unity
College Planetarium Sky Theater
g u id es sta rg azers through the
m ysteries o f the universe, shows
a re a , 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.; $ I adm is­
sion, for more inform ation visit
planetarium skytheater.com or call
503-491-7297.
Interstate Farmers Market
T he Interstate Farm ers M arket
with its rich variety o f quality fresh
local produce, baked goods, cut
flowers, artisan cheese, m eat and
fish, is held each W ednesday
through Sept. 24 from 3 p.m. to 7
p.m. just off Interstate Avenue
between O verlook Park and the
Interstate K aiser W est Building.
Breaking the Cycle
Every 1st and 3rd Friday o f the
month, at the C alvary Christian
Church, I26N .E. Alberta, Brother
Eric Carson, invites men of all walks
o f life to join a safe and confiden­
tial m en 's forum exam ining issues
and struggles that arrive in life,
netw orking together. For more in­
formation, call 50.3-422-8573.
Student Summer Jobs
Portland Public Schools has posi­
tions open for high school stu­
dents to work as custodial help­
ers. For in format ion, cal 150 3 -9 16-
3544 or visit hr.pps.k 12.or.us.
photo
m M ark W \ s h im ; ton /T he P or it . and O bserver
Serena Stoudamire Wesley (left), Albina Rotary president, celebrate the rededication of the Dawson Park Gazebo,and Harold Will­
iams, local business owner and community activist. The structure one adorned a building on North Williams and Russell in the heart
of a former African American business district.
A rea resid en ts are invited to
celeb rate the red ed icatio n o f the
D aw son Park G azebo during a
com m unity concert featu rin g lo ­
cal m usician P atrick L am b on
W ednesday, July 16 from 6 p.m .
to 8:30 p.m.
T he park is located on the c o r­
ner o f N orth S tanton S treet an<
N orth V an co u v er A venue.
The beautiful dom e and brick
flooring o f the D aw son Park G a ­
zebo w ere salv ag ed from the Hill
B uilding, last located on North
R ussell S treet during the early
1970s in the last days o f a sig n ifi­
cant business d istrict for the A f­
rican A m erican co m m u n ity b e­
fore d isp lacem en t by the ex p a n ­
sion o f E m anual H ospital.
T h e d o m e w a s p la c e d in
D aw son Park in 1978. T he Hill
B uilding w as built in 1890 and
w as once a co rn ersto n e o f the
fo rm e r c ity o f A lb in a . T h e
Daw son Park G azebo serves as a
rem inder o f the A lbina o f y ester­
day.
T h e P o rtlan d D ev e lo p m e n t
C o m m issio n fin a n c e d all the
g a z e b o ’s re n o v a tio n an d im ­
provem ents using tax increm ent
proceeds from the Interstate C o r­
rid o r Urban R enew al A rea.
T h e re n o v a te d g a z e b o e n ­
hances and pro tects the historic
dom e and brings focus to the
cultural significance o f the dom e.
All o f the ren o v atio n w as c a re ­
fully planned w ith P ortland Parks
& R ecreation; the A lbina R otary
and Eliot N eig h b o rh o o d A sso ­
ciation co m m u n ity partn ers; w ho
have en co u rag ed and supported
the renovation o f the gazebo.
Billy Webb Elks Lodge to receive a $1 million face-lift!
>
Preserving historic
African American heritage
T he N ational A ssociation o f the p roject will do n ate their tim e
M inority C ontractors o f Oregon and labor. T he group has o rg a­
(N A M C O ) announced its plans to nized a Project M anagem ent Team
remodel the Billy W ebb Elks Lodge and is asking for help with m ate­
on T illam ook Street in Northeast rial co n trib u tio n s, new fu rn ish ­
Portland. N A M CO will work with ings, tlo o rin g and carp etin g , re s­
Hoffman C onstruction, C’J Jackson tau ran t eq u ip m en t and cash c o n ­
C onstruction, Portland D evelop­ tributions from org an izatio n s and
ment Com m ission, IBFW local 48,
con tin tied
on page A 2
W a lsh C o n s tr u c tio n , L eg a cy
Health System , Stacy
W itbeckG eneral Engi­
neering, NW Natural
G as and other local
partners on the project.
Built in the early
19 0 0 's, the historic Elks
Lodge was known then
as the YW CA and to­
day is one o f the few
re m a in in g A fric a n
American owned build­
ings. T he Elks Lodge,
currently ow ned hy the
local lodge m em ber­
ship. serves as a place
for e v e n ts, birth d ay
parties and wedding re­
ceptions; however, the
entire building is in
need o f im m ediate re­
pairs and NA M CO has
w illingly stepped for­
ward to organize a team
that can assist w ith m trm m M \ rk WA shington /T iii P orii smi O bsik \ m
Jennifer Dishman in front of the North
renovations.
C o n tracto rs for Tillamook Street Elks Lodge
Billy Webb Elks Club History
Built as The Colored YW CA in
1921, the building was first co n ­
structed as a portable structure
like a portable classroom .
In 1926, Mrs. E.S.Collinsaw hite
woman donated $ 12,(XX) to bu i Id a
permanent YWCA. Some city offi­
cial tried to block construction.
T he feeling was that black females
d id n ’t need a YW CA.
The YW CA was m anaged by a
I
black w om an’s group
The building had a gym, boys
and girls lockers, stage and office.
All o f the black social clubs used
the Y for their social functions, in­
cluding the Black USO for service
men and woman.
Dick Bogle, form ercity com m is­
sioner, and Mrs. Hepburn, were
chaperons at teenage dances.
NA ACPmeetings were held here.
Several w om en’s groups, such
as the Oregon Federation o f co l­
ored W omen, used the facility for
scholarship teas. Bethel African
M ethodist Episcopal Church, lo­
cated at N ortheast M cM illan and
Larrabee, used the site to host for­
mal dinners.
T oday the W illiam A venue
YW CA iscalled the Billy Ebb Elks
Lodge IPBOE.