Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2011)
local news Portlander Phil Walden, 1927-2011: Coach, Father Figure, Mentor lisa loving of The Skanner News A beloved track coach and teacher with more than 50 years of working with area kids, Phil Walden’s memorial service, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 10, promises to be a moving event. The celebration of life starts at noon at the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 8501 N Chatauqua Blvd., and is followed by an open-mike gathering from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Center for Self Enhancement, 3920 N. Kerby Ave. Founder of the Albina Sports Program and the Albina Road Runners Track Club, Walden touched the lives of thousands of youth. He passed away Monday, Aug. 22, from cancer. “A lot of people who are professional in this community got their start with him,” said Leon McKenzie Jr., head track coach at Benson High School. “Most people who work with kids now want to make money doing it – he gave money. And all of his time, and all of his resources, consistently, for a long time.” Walden is especially remembered as giv- ing his time to work with kids from all area schools – inner North and Northeast as well as Gresham high schools where so many families have been scattered to over the Carol and Phil Walden years. McKenzie, who along with his wife Grace is working to publicize the memorial servic- es, says Walden sacrificed his own family time to make sure every kid who wanted it was able to participate in sports. “I was one of the kids who he used to come by in his wrecked station wagon, and pick up and take to meets and keep you out of trouble, when I was just living with my dad and on the border- line of getting in trouble. “And I’ve been the head track coach at Benson for 26 years and he came along for the last 20 years helping me out with my kids at Benson,” McKenzie said. “We want people to know how great he was.” “He didn’t do it alone – he and his wife together, Carol was right there beside him,” Grace said, adding the Walden’s entire family was gracious in sharing his time with so many other children and youths. “I would just say Coach Walden saved lives,” McKenzie said. “I would say surely he saved the lives of many indi- viduals, and myself included.” porters are launching the Phil Walden Scholarship, as well as annual sports events. Contributions can be made at Albina Community Bank in the name of Coach Phil Walden, or online at www.coach- philwaldenfund.com. “He never wanted any praise for it, he never wanted any attention, he always wanted to stay in the background,” McKenzie says. “But now since he’s gone on, we want to put him out front where he belongs.” Musical guest Linda Hornbuckle will highlight the memorial services, and a slate of speakers as well as video clips will re-tell Walden’s life and dedication to young peo- ple across the metro area since the 1960s. “I just think the impact he had on many young people across the community for this long needs to be celebrated,” McKenzie says. “He was happy if some- body graduated from high school, made it through col- lege and then gave something back. “So it was about sports, but in the end, it was about using sports as a vehicle to reach your full potential as a per- son. I think that’s what he did so well,” McKenzie said. Founder of the Albina Sports Program and the Albina Road Runners Track Club, Walden touched the lives of thousands of youth To continue his legacy, friends and sup- Community news Briefs Multnomah County library Builds Bigger E- Book Selection Multnomah County Library has expanded its e-book collection with 8,500 new nonfic- tion e-books on economics, science and technology topics. The e-books comple- ment the library’s current general nonfiction e-book offerings with more in-depth nonfic- tion that will be especially helpful for aca- demic and other research. This new service is made available through “patron-driven acquisition.” This means that the library pays for books only as patrons use them. The patron-driven acqui- sition model is becoming widespread in large libraries across the country because it provides a cost-efficient way for libraries to offer deeper coverage on subjects that are not primarily driven by popular use, and respond to patron interests without making permanent purchases or taking shelf space. It also provides a way to offer mate- rials that have shorter periods of relevance and are common targets for theft. Each title can be viewed online and down- loaded for up to seven days. To view a title, a library cardholder simply clicks on the title in the library catalog and enters his or her library card number (no PIN required). There is no limit on the number of people who can access an e-book simultaneously, or to how many times an e-book can be viewed. Downloading the e-books requires Adobe Digital Editions, the same software patrons are using to read e-books from Library2Go, the popular service that provides a large selection of fiction e-books. The new e- books are searchable, printable, and offer tools such as note taking and citation assis- tance. Madison High School library Book Sale The annual Madison High School book sale is coming up! Each Madison student will be able to choose a free book from the sale, teachers will be able to take books for their classrooms, and student musicians will perform during the sale. Drop off donations of books,CDs,DVDs, or VHS tapes to collection bins at the school entrance, 2735 NE 82nd Ave., from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. from September 26 – 30; on Sept. 29 donation hours are from 5 – 8 p.m. You can also email laurens@alum.swarthmore.edu for pickup of a box. Come out and show your support for Madison and their school library by shop- ping at the sale 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2. Madison’s library is one of the more heav- ily used high school libraries in Portland (and 400 additional students from Marshall next year will increase usage), yet it has no budget for new books. Madison students want and need new books to read for pleas- ure and to support their studies. For more information contact librarian Nancy Sullivan, at nsulliva@pps.net or call 503-916-5220 x79370. University website at www.cu-portland.edu. Nursing Information Session- Mon., Oct. 17, 6:30-8 p.m. Learn about Concordia University’s Bachelor of Science in nursing degree dur- ing our monthly information sessions. For more information, go to www.cu- portland.edu/nursing. Health Care Administration Info Session- Tues., Oct. 18, 6:30-8 p.m. Come learn about Concordia’s Bachelors degree in Health Care Administration. For more information, go to www.cu- portland.edu/healthcare.cfm. Oktoberfest in St Johns If you enjoyed seeing the trees on Lombard Street lit up last winter, then mark the 8th of October on your calendars now. The St Johns Boosters are joining with McMenamins St Johns Pub to present the 1st Annual Oktoberfest from 1-8 p.m. on Saturday with food, live music and beer. This is a big benefit fundraiser to pay for lighting the trees that line downtown St Johns. Come one, come all and please men- tion this to your friends and neighbors. Everyone in Portland should know, what is going on the 8th of October in St Johns! Concordia university Hosts Community Events in October Concordia University invites the public to attend the following community events this October 2011. All events are free and open to the public and will take place on the Concordia University campus, 2811 NE Holman Street in Portland, unless otherwise noted. For more information, visit the Concordia September 14, 2011 The Portland and Seattle Skanner page 5
