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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2020)
March 18, 2020 Page 11 Forest Supervisor Writes Memoir C onTinued from P age 8 her supervisor, who called the school superintendent and in a short time, the principal called her and said they let the white girl continue to participate be- cause she had an abusive father and they were afraid he would hurt her if he found out she had been in a fight. Incredulous, Brown asked if anyone thought about her daughter. “They said no,” she said. “It was an honest answer. But I said that is not acceptable and feels like racism against my daugh- ter.” But it was while in Montana that Brown learned to make camp in the woods, ride a horse and learn all about the wilder- ness experience that she came to love, as she relates in the book. Although she had made friends in Missoula, and the reason for her leaving was fea- tured in the July 1987 issue of the Missoulian newspaper titled “Shades of Racism,” Brown knew she had to leave. “I felt sad about leaving,” she wrote in the book. “I had been naïve about Montana, but I’d also learned that if I set my mind to it, I could do just about any- thing. I had ridden a horse, set up camp, cooked outdoors, learned to fight fire, made new friends in an all-white community, helped other women and begun to fo- cus on civil rights. When I ar- rived, the beauty of the Big Sky country had enveloped me like a blanket. Now I felt cold.” But all those experiences also gave her courage to face the fu- ture, and Brown was determined to forge ahead. After the incident at her daughter’s high school, Brown ended up sending her daughter back East to live with her parents to finish her senior year, and she was given a trans- fer to the regional office in Port- land to work for the Willamette National Forest. But Brown still wanted more. She wanted to become a For- est Service line officer, so she could make the decisions that were then only being made by white men, she said. So she found out about an opening in public affairs and applied for it, saying if selected, she would help them get their overdue Forest Plan published quickly. And once she did that, she said, she wanted a sabbatical to go to OSU to get training to become a forest ranger, the only track to becoming a line officer. It worked, and she became a forest ranger and was able to work out in the woods. Brown went on to other as- signments in the Northwest, in- cluding Mount St. Helens, and eventually reached the lofty po- sition of being hired as Forest Supervisor of the 630,000-acre Siuslaw National Forest. It was both a shock and an unbelievable challenge, as she wrote. “My position as forest super- visor was new territory not only for me, but also for the Forest Service,” she wrote. “We were betting on each other, and the stakes were high. I had watched and participated in the continued unfolding of Mount St. Helens’ ecological network, the flora and fauna that brought back an eco- system. Just as wildlife, birds and sprouts of green reemerged on the once-barren landscape, I realized that I, too, had blos- somed toward my new assign- ment. I knew that my dream job would present huge and unex- pected challenges.” Brown’s book is chockfull of anecdotes about the inner work- ings of the Forest Service and the many situations she has over- come, from the internal racism in her own family because of her dark skin, being raped at age 12, becoming a widow at a young age and experiences as varied as working to protect the California condor, promote women’s rights and standing up to white men who would keep her down. She sums up her life in the Forest Service and her experi- ence with racism in the book’s epilogue: “My philosophy was that if you want to be successful as a black person in a white world, you were the one who had to make it work. That could mean educating white people or sim- ply turning the other cheek. The reality is that many African Americans don’t make it past a single summer in the Forest Ser- vice, in part because the onus is always on them. But others do. I’d had to put aside my own feelings and push my way up- ward. My need to provide a de- cent life for my children and my own ambition had more power than the words of a few racists.” Trying to Slow an Epidemic C onTinued from f ronT “All of our dining centers are closed and we are not distributing meals to diners and diners cannot pick up meals. If they have no oth- er source of food, they can regis- ter for Meals on Wheels delivery,” she said. Finley says many volunteer drivers have backed out of making deliveries, so more volunteers as well as more bags with handles are needed. One hitch in getting more volunteers to make home deliveries, is that all drivers must pass a criminal background check, which normally takes about three weeks. She said efforts are being made to shorten that time or to use people who have already passed background checks, such as teach- ers. The nonprofit also needs dona- tions of hand sanitizers, anti-bac- terial wipes and plastic gloves. Donations of this type can be brought to the Meals on Wheels Central Kitchen at 7710 S.W. 31st Ave. in Portland. Finley stressed that if people can cook at home or get food from any other source, like restaurant take outs, they should. The Urban League of Portland, one of the oldest African Amer- ican service, civil rights and ad- vocacy organizations in the area, is also redefining how it offers its services. The nonprofit will not hold in-person walk-in hours and will maintain at least six feet of social distancing along with en- hanced hygiene procedures. Starting on Monday, March 23, all Urban League offices and satellite locations will be open by appointment only. In addition, in response to guidance from Ore- gon Health Authority, the Urban League is cancelling all planned gatherings, including daily activ- ities at the Multicultural Senior Center, parenting groups, upcom- ing Zumba classes, and the Rent Well series. The annual Urban League Career Connections Job Fair, previously scheduled for April 7, has been canceled. Hospitals are also limiting contact between people, and the Legacy Health hospital system announced that unless accompa- nying a patient, the general public is not allowed inside Legacy med- ical center until further notice, in- cluding cafeterias, waiting rooms and other indoor and outdoor meeting spaces. There are a few exceptions. “It is important that we initiate these safeguards to protect our pa- tients, staff and the public,” said Brian Terrett, director of public relations and community relations for Legacy Health. Many other organizations and health providers have taken simi- lar steps to limit people-to-people contact, and readers should call or email agencies whose services they use to find out what their pol- icies are and not rely on websites alone. Obituary In Loving Memory Hilary Thomas Clark Hilary Thomas Clark was born Feb. 26, 1929 in McGregor, Texas to John Clark and Lizzie Thomas, and the third child born to Lizzie. His siblings included five brothers, Jack, Roscoe, Roy, R.L. and Curtis; and five sisters, Beatrice, Willie, Maezella, Liz- zie and Evia. Though he had just a seventh grade formal education, he was determined to make his life bet- ter, telling others how he lied about his age to be accepted into the military. While he never saw action, he served as a quar- termaster and received an hon- orable discharge. His military service entitled him to all the benefits that would put him on the path to more opportunity. His biggest success was his marriage to Doshie Lee Brannon whom he met through a friend. With her support, he was able to pur- chase his first home through the G.I. Bill. They went on to create a blended family of nine children in a marriage that ended with Doshie’s death just shy of their 50 year anniversary. Hilary had a career working for the Southern Pacific Railroad and Portland Public Schools. He also had multiple businesses, including Hilary Clark Construction Services. Also preceding him in death were two sons, Donald Allen Clark and Ricky Van Clark; and his first- born daughter, Margaret Clark. He leaves to mourn his passing, a sister, Maezella Marlborough; sisters-in- law Jean Winters, Merle Rogers and Doris Cumby; his children, Lurlene Johnson Shamsud-Din, Carolyn Johnson Gamble, Ozie Johnson Jr., Beverly Edmondson, Linda Sue Beasley, Larry Dean Clark and Har- old Thomas Clark; and the spouses of his children, Jeddy O, Beasley and S.K. Clark. He was blessed with 26 grandchildren, 60 great grandchildren and 8 great-great grandchildren. He also leaves many nieces, nephews and friends. While Hilary will be missed, he has left his family and many friends with great memories of his humor, tireless work ethic, and many unbelievable and outra- geous stories to tell.