The "Events and Activities" for the month are below these featured stories!
Looks like some customers of the Willsburg Dairy will be missing cream for their morning coffee – as their delivery truck has a serious wheel problem. Willsburg Dairy was offering delivery service in the city as early as 1905 – up until 1928, when the Willsburg Dairy was closed to make way for an expansion of the Eastmoreland Golf Course. (Dana Beck Collection)
SOUTHEAST HISTORY Revisiting the forgotten town of Willsburg
By DANA BECK Special to THE BEE
Portland has changed a great deal in just the last few decades, but in this space we have found many tales to tell of places and people here in the past. However, although neighborhood names reflect past independent communities in many cases, it’s a fact that some past communities – recognized towns, in Southeast Portland – have entirely vanished. This is the story of one of those.
Long before Reverend John Sellwood acquired the property that would eventually name a community after him, and certainly well before the Sellwood Ferry and the Sellwood Trolley existed, the town of Willsburg was being established just east of present day Sellwood by pioneers George and Jacob Wills.
If Willsburg sounds vaguely familiar to you, that might be because you were reading this newspaper fifteen years ago when I presented a story in THE BEE about one of the area’s first pioneers, and told a bit about the town then. For those that missed the story, or who have moved here recently, I thought it might be time to add additional information I’ve collected about Willsburg, and update everyone on one of Southeast Portland’s forgotten chapters of our history.
Between 1840 and 1860, over 400,000 people drove covered wagons over the arduous route that started primarily from Independence, Missouri, and ended in Oregon City, with many of those travelers of the Oregon Trail settling along different portions of the Willamette Valley after their arrival. They came on the promise of fertile land, abundant game, and the chance to start a new life and escape from the woes they left behind. Among those traveling that trail were George and Sarah Wills and their family.
The Wills family arrived from Oskaloosa, Iowa, via the Oregon Trail in 1847. George and Sarah laid claim to 641 acres of land, which included much of today’s Eastmoreland neighborhood, south past Johnson Creek – and included today’s Tacoma Street, as well as parts of the current city of Milwaukie. A son, Jacob Wills, who married Lorana Bozarth on August 22, 1849, laid claim to an additional 620 acres of his own, just north of his parents’ property.
With the land around them forested with Douglas firs and tall cedars, George and his son Jacob decided that harvesting the trees for lumber would make for a profitable enterprise. Together they erected a ten-foot dam on Johnson Creek, partnering with Edward Long, to erect a water-powered sawmill there.
Life was far from easy for such early Oregon pioneers. For the Wills, it meant cutting down trees by hand and hauling them with teams of oxen to their mill – after which, finished lumber had to be transported by horse and wagon to the town of Milwaukie, where it was loaded onto schooners bound for California or the Hawaiian Islands. With no easy access to the Willamette River close to the Wills’ farmstead, the only other option they had for delivering cut lumber, besides getting it to the Milwaukie harbor, was an overland journey to the Stark Street Ferry in East Portland.
Jacob’s son A.N. Wills recalled that lumber from the Wills Sawmill was later hauled up Spokane Street to the ferry landing by the Willamette River, and loaded aboard clipper ships, well before the town of Sellwood existed.
Although that Ferry landing was only about five miles away, loading a wagon full of heavy timber and traveling through a thick forest of trees with it was easily an all-day journey. Once they arrived at the Ferry Landing, they had to wait their turn for the trip across the Willamette to find a prospective buyer, besides unloading the wagonload of timber. While the Wills’ men were kept busy at the sawmill, younger family members had their own chores – attending to the family garden, washing clothes in Johnson Creek – or, for fun, fishing for salmon up Johnson Creek from the Wills’ dam.
On January 24th, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, near Sacramento in Northern California, and would-be gold miners flocking there created business opportunities. George and Jacob celebrated their own bonanza, knowing that those gold seekers would lead to much construction in the Golden State. Thousands would-be 49’ers would flock to California to seek their own fortunes, leading to lumber being in high demand for houses, stores, and even for the construction of sluice boxes to be used to extract the gold from the tailings in the creeks there. And Wills’ Lumber Mill would be among those filling the orders!
Edward Long, who was married to George’s daughter Martha Jane Wills, eventually decided that the chopping and hauling of wood was too dangerous an operation for him to continue in as a partner, so he sold his interest in the sawmill to the Wills family, used the money to buy a land claim from Seth Catlin, an earlier pioneer. Edward and Martha then devoted their time to a peaceful life of growing apples on their orchard on the west side of today’s Milwaukie Boulevard between Holgate Boulevard and Reedway Street. The short street of Long, just north of Westmoreland, was named after him. So there we leave Edward Long, and return to tale of the Wills family.
Ever a devoted Baptist, George Wills delighted in sharing scriptures from the Bible with his hired hands during and after working hours. One of his first missions when arriving in Willsburg was to build a church, which when completed was called the “Hard Shell Baptist Church”. The Wills family’s memorandums record that George always dressed up in a red shirt on the Day of Sabbath. Besides offering Sunday services, the Willsburg church also was used as a gathering place for neighbors to celebrate the yearly harvest, to hold some social functions, and to provide space for meetings of various sorts.
In April of 1868, two of Portland’s most wealthy and prominent businessmen, Ben Holladay and Simon G. Elliot, were engaging in a bitter contest to see which of them could first build a railroad south through the Willamette Valley to the California border. Holladay, who represented the eastside railway, negotiated a right of way for his Oregon-California Railway right through the Wills’ property. It seemed to the Wills this was an ideal convenience for shipping their lumber by rail, and it would also provide a railway stop for passengers or workers visiting this section of Southeast Portland. The subsequent railroad construction was slow and often paused for significant intervals, but this plan led eventually to the right of way used by today’s Union Pacific through that same area east of Sellwood.
As timber sales decreased after the peak of California’s gold rush, new communities began forming on the east side of the Willamette River – but few people chose to settle on Wills farmland. While many still spent their days there, drawing wages at the sawmill, the Donation Land Claims owned by George and his son were not a destination for workers’ homes and families. Both George and his son Jacob realized that for that to change, a town must be platted and a community started. So, by 1870, Jacob Wills had laid out a sixteen-block townsite, called Willsburg – the west side of which was approximately along today’s 24th and S.E. Tenino, and continued east past the Oregon and California Railroad Tracks.
Longtime Willsburg resident Mrs. Ortley Plimpton surmised that eight families lived in the town at that time, and fifty farms and houses were scattered in the surrounding area. Mrs. Plimpton also recalled that a man arrived twice a week in a wagon pulled by two horses to deliver fresh meat in the neighborhood. This was considered a luxury by many residents. He rang a hand-held bell to let customers know that he was waiting patiently at their front gate; and he continued to supply the locals until meat markets opened in Sellwood and Milwaukie.
Before Edward Long departed to grow his orchard, he and Jacob Wills and Edward Long had been asked help to build a dam on Johnson Creek to provide power for a small furniture factory. The mystery now is, who did the asking? Seth Wills, in an interview with Fred Lockley of the Oregonian, stated that it was Lewelling and Beard who’d requested the dam be built. Willsburg resident Mrs. Ortley Plimpton, as reported by the Milwaukie Review in 1953, said it was the trio of Powers, Doily, and Bread. Recalling events years later can be a challenge.
But, as Mrs. Plimpton stated, this early furniture factory manufactured simple items such as “spindle beds and chairs, rawhide laced seat chairs”, along with tables, bedsteads, and head boards. The furniture factory operated near S.E. Harney Street, just west of the railroad tracks, and we do know Jacob and Edward helped with the start of that factory.
The town of Willsburg began to show promise, but it still lacked a general store and a meat market, and people had to travel to Milwaukie to pick up their mail. But what most families valued most was having a school for the children, and they had one.
Worried that her children had to walk miles to attend school in Milwaukie, Jacob’s wife Lorana Wills had donated a portion of her land on which a new school was to be built. The first meeting for Willsburg School was held at Jacob Wills’ cabin in 1877, in which community leaders gathered to outline the conditions for, and to decide the appropriate taxes to levy to support, the Willsburg School. Located on one and three quarter acres, up on a hill overlooking Johnson Creek, the schoolhouse was constructed with lumber cut at the Wills Sawmill. The school building was 60 feet long and 30 feet wide, with a ten-foot porch on the front, and a small belfry. A bell rope that hung from the belfry was used by the janitor to call the students to class. Fifteen students attended the classes taught by Miss Amy Kerns.
The Hungren and Shindler Furniture Company was known as one of the Northwest’s oldest and largest manufacturing firms. Gabriel Shindler had been a successful furniture salesman since 1857, when he first opened his showroom in Portland at Salmon and First Street. The company specialized in supplying hotels, boarding houses, private residents, and even steamboats. But “spontaneous combustion” was not yet well understood, and – as had happened at other similar factories across the country that had buildings filled with oily rags, bits and pieces of cut lumber, and open containers of paints and varnishes – a fire broke out in 1857, destroying the manufacturing facilities of the Hungren and Shindler Furniture Company.
Shindler came to Willsburg in a search for a place to build a new factory and he came across the now-defunct Lewelling and Beard chair and furniture company. He negotiated to buy ten acres of land, and brought in new machinery that would soon be powered by water and steam from Johnson Creek. With a year’s supply of ash, maple, spruce, cedar, and walnut on hand, the furniture factory was soon up and running, cranking out great loads of furniture that were shipped to the company’s showroom at First and Front Street.
Shindler hired between 30 and 40 men – mainly skilled craftsmen from Germany, and other Scandinavian countries – who produced chairs, tables, and school and hotel furniture out of the ash and maple wood from the Oregon forest. “600 desks were ordered for the Park High School building” in Portland, it was recorded. The Commercial Hotel in Salem also placed an order to supply their new Oregon hotel with furniture and mattresses. The sixty-room hotel connected to Salem’s Historic Reed Opera House was furnished with dining tables, plush upholstered parlors, bedroom sets, and other high-end items – all from Shindler’s Furniture Factory in Willsburg.
At about this time Shindler accepted a new partner, J.S. Chadbourne, who was a major furniture dealer hailing from San Francisco.
Jacob and George might have been getting concerned about the slow growth of Willsburg, especially when there were stirrings of a new commercial district beginning to form just west of Willsburg along Umatilla Street in what would be called Sellwood. And the Sellwood Real Estate Company was advertising lots for sale in that new town, enticing families to purchase property and build homes.
Few people were interested in starting a family in a community filled with the smells and sounds of a sawmill filtering through the neighborhood. And, with the presence of a furniture factory in Willsburg, it seemed the town was destined to become no more than an industrial district. But Willsburg did gain enough interest from residents by 1883 that a Post Office was finally authorized there, and J.F. Rhodes was announced as its new Postmaster. A train depot was also built along the east side of the train tracks, at around today’s S.E. 27th and Tenino Street, and the depot served the community as a Post Office and a general store, as well as a waiting room and ticket office.
A note of interest: When J.F. Rhodes finished serving as Postmaster for Willsburg, he later became the Principal at Sellwood School, and he later transferred over to the Brooklyn School at S.E. Pershing and Milwaukie Avenue.
Workers from the Shindler Furniture Factory began visiting what some residents in Sellwood called their racy side of town, along 17th Avenue just west of Willsburg. It was there that full-time and temporary workers congregated during the evening hours to enjoy the lively saloons. 17th Avenue also was becoming the location for new grocery stores, meat markets, a feed store, a blacksmith shop, and even a hotel for temporary workers looking for a place to stay a night or two until they found permanent quarters. Those living along 17th Avenue could easily walk to work in Willsburg – which still lacked most of such amenities – and then walk back to their home in the evening.
The dynamics of Willsburg changed when the founder George Wills passed away quietly in 1888. Suddenly the welfare of the town no longer revolved around the success of the lumber mill – which shut down after more than a quarter of a century serving the area. It had been claimed to be the oldest sawmill anywhere in Oregon, set up in the middle of a virgin forest. But new ideas and changes were happening in Willsburg.
Jacob Wills established a brickyard in 1889, and the Wills Brick Factory produced many of the bricks used in the construction of homes built on the west side of the Willamette River. All of the facings on the former Oregonian building, now torn down, came from the Wills Factory – as did the facing on Portland’s first high school, Park High, in downtown Portland. The brick factory was run by Jacob’s sons, Alfred Napoleon Wills and Seth Dallas Wills, and operated for about nine years.
When Reverend George A. Rockwood arrived in Portland, he was looking to establish a new congregation. He looked no further than Willsburg: When the Willsburg Baptist Church lost George Wills, its leader, Rockwood helped organize the Christian Endeavor Society, and formed the Willsburg Congregational Church. The structure was finished in October of 1892, providing an alternative for religious observance.
Spontaneous combustion remaining a bit of a mystery at that time, in 1890 a fire once again broke out in the varnishing rooms of the Shindler Furniture in Willsburg, caused by flammable materials stored in the factory. The fire soon spread to the engine room and the dry house, both of which were completely destroyed. The only fire engine available to respond was six miles away in Portland, and couldn’t arrive in time to save the three buildings. This mishap played a good part in Gabriel retiring from the furniture business. Gabriel and his wife Janette spent their last days in Long Beach, Washington, near the mouth of the Columbia River.
By the turn of the Twentieth Century, the town of Willsburg was moving away from its reputation of being an industrial district. August Wilson herded a few cows together and operated a dairy which would deliver milk, cottage cheese, and other dairy products to Sellwood and beyond. Wilson’s Willsburg Dairy was just one of the many hundreds of small operations scattered across the suburbs. W.H. Brown also operated a Dairy at Willsburg that not only delivered dairy products but also offered chickens and dogs for sale. Leghorns and Buff Rock chickens were the choice in poultry, and fox terriers and were raised on his property for those seeking canine companionship.
With few residents in town to support it, the Willsburg Post Office closed down that year, and the community’s residents had to travel to the Sellwood Post Office on 13th Avenue to mail letters and send out parcels and packages, though carrier service for mail delivery was still available.
Parents were protesting the closure of Willsburg School, and were demanding a new school be built for their students. In a surprise move, county officials approved a new brick structure with a concrete basement. In 1903, forty pupils marched through the hallways on their way to the classrooms of the new Willsburg School House, built near the site of the original school. The old schoolgrounds were used as a community meeting place, and also for church functions. The new school was equipped with two classrooms and two teachers, as the locals fought off an attempt to absorb School District 70 into the Milwaukie School system.
At the Willsburg School House, the student attendance averaged some 30 to 40 pupils per year, compared to the Sellwood School not far away (today’s Sellwood Middle School) which was bulging with over 400 students. By 1911 the Willsburg school bell had rung for the last time, and students in Willsburg were required to transfer to the Sellwood School at S.E. 15th and Umatilla Street.
The closure of the Shindler Furniture Factory not only affected Willsburg residents, but people in Sellwood as well, since the majority of its carpenters and woodworkers resided in Sellwood. The shopowners and bankers of the Sellwood Business Association, then known as the Sellwood Board of Trade, offered $5,000 to anyone willing to establish a Woolen Mill in the area. William P. Old accepted the challenge, and began ordering machinery, while updating the few buildings still serviceable from the Shindler Furniture Factory days. On May 2nd, 1902, hundreds of citizens crowded through the doors of Sellwood’s Firemen’s Hall to celebrate the start of the community’s first Woolen Mill.
The factory was located east of Sellwood, near the present-day intersection of S.E. Umatilla Street and McLoughlin Boulevard. Local businessman Joseph M. Nickum donated a large structure that was once part of the Shidler Furniture Factory for use as a warehouse, and the water rights to Johnson and Crystal Springs Creeks were easily secured by William P. Old to power the newly installed McCormick Turbine waterwheel. Family members of the George Wills Estate offered the use of two acres of land near the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks for the mill.
As part of his plans, William Old promised to have small cottages built close to his factory, so workers wouldn’t have to travel far, or hunt for housing. Restrooms were built specifically for the female mill workers – that was considered an innovative idea in its time. The dangers of spontaneous combustion concerned Mr. Old, and a water tank nearby was connected to a sprinkler system that was installed throughout most of the buildings – although, when tested by fire, that system did not prove to be sufficient… The new Woolen Mill came to a sudden end in February of 1904, when a fire broke out inside the mill by the spontaneous combustion of dry wool and wool dust. Over 200 employees were thrown out of work, and W.P. Olds, instead of rebuilding on the Willsburg property, decided to move his new Portland Woolen Mills northwest to St. Johns on the other side of Portland.
The Ross Scouring Company attempted to revive the Portland Woolen Factory, but closed after operating for only two years – followed by the Multnomah Mohair Mills. The Mohair Mills continued to support the neighborhood with employment for nine years, until hefty tariffs and few orders led to its own demise.
With the Willsburg School House closing and the sale of the Willsburg Train Station already complete, residents were faced with another tough decision. Since there were few business operating in Willsburg to pay taxes to support such services as clean water, sewer services, and road maintenance, those living in area had to look for an alternative. By 1911, the remaining citizens of Willsburg voted to have the town annexed into the City of Portland, as earlier the City of Sellwood had done.
What was left of the Woolen Mills stood empty in Old Willsburg, until Roy T. Bishop came to town. He was looking to invest in a business venture – particularly in manufacturing, in the textile field. U.S. forces were by then busy overseas in Europe, engaged in the First World War, and the government was searching for willing manufacturers to supply the U.S. Army with blankets, uniforms, and other such. Using his experience as manager of the Pendleton Woolen Mills in Pendleton, Oregon, Bishop convinced government officials that he could provide the materials needed to support the U.S. troops.
With the help of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, and a substantial subsidy from the Sellwood merchants, a scouring room, sorting plant, a spinning and carding department, were set up, a variety of looms were ordered, and 60 employees from the neighborhood were hired to fill the allotment request by the government – after which the Oregon Worsted Company was open for business.
Once an armistice was signed between Germany and the Allied nations ending WWI, on November 11th, 1918, all government contracts were cancelled. Roy T. Bishop was free to begin manufacturing worsted yarns and fabrics made exclusively from Oregon sheep. Oregon Worsted went on to be one of Willsburg’s most successful businesses, though by 1919 this area was now considered to be part of Eastmoreland and Sellwood.
However, at the start of the 1920s, those residing in the area east of 27th and Tacoma Street still called themselves part of the community of Willsburg. The Willsburg Dairy was going strong, sending out truck deliveries to Sellwood, Westmoreland, Eastmoreland, north as far as Hawthorne Boulevard, and even to locations the west side of the Willamette River. An announcement in the Western American magazine defined new routes for the Willsburg Dairy, which included Mt. Scott, Woodstock, Albina, Irvington, Alberta, and the Rose City district – quite a large area to cover.
The Dairy was situated at 27th and S.E. Tacoma Street, and continued to deliver dairy products until 1928 when the barn known to many as Willsburg Dairy was sold to make way for expansion of the Eastmoreland Golf Course.
The construction of the McLoughlin Boulevard – the new “Super 99E Highway”, as it was called – was the final nail in the coffin for Willsburg. McLoughlin was completed in 1937, during the Great Depression, by the Works Progress Administration, and what few buildings and structures still remained in Willsburg were swept away to make way for the new highway.
Those curious about where Willsburg citizens once lived should visit the Milwaukie Museum’s website. The curators and volunteers at the Museum have created an historic tour of Milwaukie called “Ardenwald Adventures”. This self-guided tour includes the house once occupied by Jacob Wills and his family; the Hard Shell Baptist Church, once led by George Wills for his congregation; the Shaw House, built near the Willsburg School – and even gives a glimpse of the old Congregational Church built in 1893.
Yes, there once was a town here called Willsburg. It was there even before the brief decade that Sellwood was a separate town, before its own annexation by the City of Portland to become just another neighborhood in this growing city.
Today, Willsburg is just a memory, and it seems that few living here now have ever heard of it. This article gives those folks a chance to learn about this once-important Inner Southeast Portland community…now vanished.
Portland Puppet Museum founder Steve Overton adjusts Sita, daughter of the Earth Mother, drawn from the epic poem The Ramayana – illustrated with puppets from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. (Photo by David F. Ashton)
‘Women of the Ancient World’ opens at Sellwood’s Puppet Museum
By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE
Welcoming in the Holiday Season, the Portland Puppet Museum in Sellwood has opened its newest, and largest, exhibition yet. And, of course, they also are again presenting, in their Olde World Puppet Theater, the fast-paced show, “The Nutcracker Cracked”.
“We’re so excited to be opening our ‘Women of the Ancient World’ – a spectacular exhibit showcasing all the amazing women from all around the world, and across the ages – and we have the puppets which represent them,” Portland Puppet Museum founder and curator Steve Overton told THE BEE.
“Set in their own tableau, you’ll see the stories that represent 22 women with 300 puppets – 75 of them, brand new to the museum – that came to us from Asia, Africa, Europe, and America,” Overton pointed out.
“The Nutcracker Cracked” In December, the museum’s Olde World Puppet Theater began its 14th season of presenting “The Nutcracker Cracked”, their popular and very speedy Holiday parody of the Nutcracker Ballet. “It’s the perfect show for kids – and for adults with short attention spans – because it’s ‘The Nutcracker’ story told, with 84 puppets, in only just 38 minutes,” remarked Overton.
The Sellwood museum, on Umatilla Street, is open Thursday through Sunday from 2 until 8 p.m. – unless a live puppet show is being presented. Visiting the museum is free; but donations are gratefully accepted.
“The Nutcracker Cracked” plays various days Saturdays and Sundays through January 12th, at 2 p.m.; tickets are $15 per person. For their Sellwood address, and more information, go online – https://www.puppetmuseum.com
But right now, take this quick and exclusive BEE VIDEO tour of the new “Women of the Ancient World” exhibition, and see a lot more than we could tell you in this article about the Portland Puppet Museum. And, get a glimpse of their “Nutcracker Cracked” puppet show, that plays Saturdays and Sundays through January 12th ---
Volunteer Classical Ballet Academy costumer Cathy Ono fits a ballet costume to her daughter, Issa Ono, who is a student at Grant High School. (Photo by David F. Ashton)
Volunteer costumers prepare for Ballet Academy’s Holiday shows
By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE
A month before its December Holiday performances, the Classical Ballet Academy – now based in the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood – was abuzz with activity. Its dance studios were filled with performers, all rehearsing for the upcoming productions of “The Nutcracker” downtown – a Holiday staple.
In addition to the many “dance parents”, who support their kids’ Terpsichorean dreams by taking them to numerous rehearsals, are a largely unnoticed collective of volunteer costumers, who tirelessly work behind the scenes.
“We have an amazing staff of some 60 volunteers, not a professional staff,” CBA Lead Costumer Michelle Simmons remarked. “All of the costuming for our productions is done by volunteer parents, grandparents, and the student dancers themselves.
“In addition to parents who have professional sewing experience, we’re also supported by those without sewing ability who are steaming and ironing the costumes. Some do know how to make costume repairs; but parents may just scrub off lipstick and do spot cleaning of costumes.”
In all, the costuming team prepares more than 1,000 costumes that will be worn by the school’s 600 dancers during the annual December productions of The Nutcracker, The Children’s Nutcracker, Sweet Suite, and Contemporary Winter Showcase in downtown Portland.
Asked why she got involved in doing costuming for the CBA, Simmons replied, “It’s the ‘magic of Miss Sarah!” (Sarah Rigles is founder and director of the CBA).
“In addition to being a world-class ballet instructor, another thing she does really well is finding people – and putting them into positions that bring out their natural talents – and then, supporting them in that role,” Simmons observed.
During our visit on November 22nd, six tables were set up under canopies – filled with food pantry items – at Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, to serve needy community members. Laura Schaefer, standing to the left of the sign, has been the director of “Groceries 4 Grout” since the onset of COVID-19 (Photo by Elizabeth Ussher Groff)
Free ‘Pantry’, centered on Grout School, evolves
By ELIZABETH USSHER GROFF For THE BEE
Four years ago THE BEE published an article about the Inner Southeast Portland food pantry – “Groceries 4 Grout”. At that time, people needing to supplement their household food came once a month to the sidewalk on Holgate Boulevard right across the street from Grout Elementary School, there to receive free pantry items.
In May of 2024, the pantry began a number of changes, and more have taken place since. Pantry distribution of food is no longer done across from the school on the street, but has moved to the Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, on S.E. 34th between Francis and Gladstone Streets, and it takes place every Friday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. It is still an “outdoor shopping” style pantry, and it’s held under a canopy in inclement weather.
“Groceries 4 Grout” Director Laura Schaefer, a member of Kenilworth Presbyterian for forty-two years and an active community member, reminded THE BEE that the seeds of today’s Groceries 4 Grout project actually began sixteen years ago, as a Kenilworth Presbyterian “Backpack Buddy” program for Grout Elementary students and families.
It started out serving just seven families. Now the pantry serves many more, as seen in the data from this past October provided by Schaefer: In that recent month, 1,413 people from 406 households benefited from the extra food. 185 of those households have families, and of those families, a total of 125 students attend Grout Elementary. Twenty-four volunteers, serving a total of 297 hours, helped with pantry food pickup and distribution.
In that one month, the total number of pounds of groceries received for distribution was 17,619 – including 13,277 pounds from the Oregon Food Bank, 914 pounds from the Woodstock New Seasons, 303 pounds from Westmoreland’s QFC Market, and 329 pounds from other donations. “Imperfect Foods” donated 2,796 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables in October – but now it’s closing its distribution center in Clackamas, and will no longer be a donor.
In addition, the pantry made thirty-four home deliveries in October. “Grout Elementary’s social worker provides us with a list of families who especially need help, and who are unable to participate in Friday’s pantry. Volunteers prepare and deliver boxes of food to these ‘fragile families’,” Schaefer said.
She concluded by telling THE BEE, “Those volunteering on Fridays continue to see the need – since our tables of bread, eggs, milk, produce, and dry goods are often empty by three o’clock.” She reported that adding 30 minutes to the pantry time – it used close at 2:30 – seems to enable more attendance from the school families who average over five members each. “It is available to everyone, and we invite people to bring their own bags.”
So these days, the “Groceries 4 Grout” Pantry hours are 1:30 to 3 p.m. every Friday, at Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, 4028 S.E. 34th Avenue. And everyone in need from the wider Inner Southeast community is welcome as well.
As the inspiration for recalling this colorful incident in Westmoreland’s history, this unidentified marcher in a cow suit paused in front of the Crematorium in passage down S.E. 14th, in the October 27th Moreland Monster March. (Photo by Eileen G. Fitzsimons)
SOUTHEAST HISTORY Kuhn Cows hoof it through history
By EILEEN G. FITZSIMONS For THE BEE
This writer always attends the Moreland Monster March, which takes place a few days before Hallowe’en. The inventive and zany costumes, the stalwart band from Sellwood Middle School, Fire Station 20’s fire truck in the lead with red lights flashing, plus the motorcycles of the Portland Police Bureau’s Traffic Division with blue lights flashing, make for an upbeat 30-minute event.
This year that short duration was a bonus, because it rained steadily for at least an hour. Stationed at the corner of Bybee and 14th in front of the Portland Memorial crematorium (it was almost All Souls Day), I witnessed a spontaneous historic re-enactment: The 1902 Case of the Runaway Cows! History isn’t always serious, so why don’t we enjoy a few minutes of levity at the end of 2024?
The original incident occurred more than a century ago. The story was unearthed while delving into the history of Midway – the area north end of the SMILE neighborhood, between Holgate and Tolman Streets, extending on both sides of Milwaukie Avenue.
Robert and Louise Kuhn owned several acres of property on the west side Milwaukie Avenue between Yukon and Martins Streets, and although this part of the P.J. Martins subdivision was surveyed and divided into 50x100 foot buildable lots back in 1882 (the same year as Sellwood), at the end of the 19th Century there were still only a few dwellings in the area, and most of them bordering Milwaukie Avenue, then known as the Milwaukie Road.
One of the structures at the southwest corner of Yukon and Milwaukie was the “Half Way House” (now the site of the Yukon Flats apartment building). That house was the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn, who offered hospitality to travelers wishing to pause in the slog of the unpaved ruts that ran in front of their house. It is unclear if their accommodations included overnight stays and food, but it did include liquid refreshment of a “spiritous” nature. If hot coffee was preferred, cream would have been provided from their two cows, which were pastured behind their home – and it is these lively bovines who triggered this equally lively tale.
The fence around that pasture may have been poorly maintained, or perhaps a gate was left unfastened, because in March of 1902 the restless pair decided to wander south, probably along S.E. 14th, to graze on the grounds of the Portland Crematorium.
The substantial two-story house of the Crematorium’s Superintendent, Frank B. Gibson, was surrounded by neatly maintained grass and plants, and was directly across 14th Avenue from his place of employment. He was an upstanding individual serving on many committees, promoting business interests and development in Southeast Portland. He was also a Special Officer in a citizen police force authorized by the city to hold and/or arrest individuals, when it appeared that a law was being violated. At the time there was a shortage of police, and only one beat cop was stationed in the vicinity – and that was at the opposite end of the neighborhood to the south, in densely-populated Sellwood.
Noticing that her cows had taken it on the lam, Mrs. Kuhn was in pursuit by the time the pair reached the Crematorium. Words were exchanged with Gibson; perhaps this constituted a repeat offense. Various newspaper accounts of the time describe members of the Kuhn family as being a fractious lot, who often settled differences with raised voices and fists.
Anyway, instead of allowing the owner to lead her animals back to their pasture, Gibson summoned a paddy wagon from downtown Portland. Mrs. Kuhn was arrested, transported, and charged; she paid bail, and returned to the Half Way House. However, the Kuhns then hired a team of attorneys, and the Case of the Runaway Cows went to court on April 4, 1902.
The two-hour exchange between defense attorneys Dan J. Malarkey and J.J. Fitzgerald, and Gibson and Deputy Prosecutor Davis (for the city), was recorded by an un-named Oregonian newspaper reporter, and here is that account:
Special Officer Frank B. Gibson swore out a warrant for the arrest of the Kuhns, charging that they allowed two cows to run at large in defiance of the city ordinances dealing with such unruly animals. Special Officer Gibson was the first witness on the stand, and upon his devoted head descended most of the fire. “I’m special officer and manager at the Crematorium, and also a deputy poundmaster,” he began.
“A sort of Pooh Bah, as it were?” broke in Mr. Malarkey.
Mr. Gibson stated, “I caught the animals after some trouble, and impounded them…”
“In a city pound?” interrupted Mr. Fitzgerald.
“Well, no. I mean I took the animals and impounded them on a lot at the back of my residence. Then I went away to inform the Poundmaster to come and get the cows, and when I returned the cows were not where I had placed them. Mrs. Kuhn was driving them home, and she was running.”
“Why did you not catch up with her?” asked Mr. Malarkey.
“She was running too fast,” answered the witness.
“How long have you been in the city?”
“Two years. I came here from California.”
“You’ve done pretty well in two years to hold all those Pooh Bah offices,” remarked Mr. Malarkey.
“I protest,” exclaimed Mr. Davis, jumping up suddenly: “Mr. Gibson is not running for any political office. Of course he came from California. What of it? Is it not a good state to belong to, in the estimation of my distinguished legal friends? Some of us come from Missouri, yet we hold public office. I say that there is no need to bring up the record of this witness, from the cradle to the…”
“We may ask that later on,” replied Mr. Malarkey, unmoved. “Now we will go back to the cows. They must be tired [of] waiting. Mr. Gibson, are you acquainted with those cows?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Know their names?”
“No, sir,” replied the witness.
“I thought the case was prepared for this hearing before your Honor,” remarked Mr. Malarkey.
On cross-examination Mr. Gibson admitted that if the Kuhns had paid the usual pound fees, they would not have been arrested, and he stated that all the pound fees go into the city treasury.
“This special officer asked Mrs. Kuhn to pay $3.50 to save her from arrest,” remarked Mr. Malarkey, “and I say right here this arrest was an outrage. He took this woman, who at the time was attending a sick baby, and placed her on a trolley-car, and on the way to the city placed her in the patrol wagon and took her to the police station. Yes, he placed her in a patrol wagon, like a common criminal, to humiliate her in the eyes of the people of Portland. Why did he arrest her? Why did he not arrest other people in the neighborhood who permit their cattle to run at large?” asked Mr. Fitzgerald.
“Mr. Gibson had no other motive in view than to do his duty as a special officer at the Crematorium,” spoke up Mr. Davis. “He saw the law was not being obeyed. I am surprised at the warm reception tendered Mr. Gibson by my legal friends. But he has no feeling in the matter. When, in the course of time, Mr. Malarkey and Mr. Fitzgerald pass away and what is left of them will be conveyed to the Portland Crematorium, Mr. Gibson will treat them far more kindly than they are treating him now.”
Mr. Malarkey then argued that the case be dismissed because the wording of the ordinance was technically incorrect, and because the complaint had not established that the Kuhns owned the cows. Judge Cameron [said] he would look into the legal objections and make a decision on Monday.
On April 8, the Oregonian reporter followed up: “The Kuhns’ lawyers argued that their clients ought to be discharged on the grounds that the cows were milch cows – favored animals in the ordinance – and because it was not shown in the complaint that the Kuhns were the owners. The Judge granted further time so that another complaint could be drawn up by Deputy City Attorney Davis.”
And there the account ends. Unfortunately, there appears to be no resolution of this case in files of the Oregonian: Whether a fine was imposed; or the case was dismissed by the judge. However, there was a melancholy footnote to this intense legal battle. In November of the same year Mrs. Kuhn was back in court, demanding $70 in damages from the Poundmaster for the death of her cow while in his custody. The claim was denied when the Poundmaster stated that he had turned the cow over to Mrs. Kuhn’s son, and that the boy was leading her home when she was hit and killed by the Oregon City streetcar.
So this ends the saga of the runaway cows in the Midway section of Westmoreland in 1902. But I wonder if the jolly inflated black and white cow, shown here with this article in front of the crematorium – and only a few days before Hallowe’en – could possibly have been inspired by the spirit of one of those historic Kuhn bovines, somehow being channeled from the Great Beyond?
Dominador (Donny) Estrada (at center) received this year’s “Vincentian of the Year” award, for being an outstanding volunteer at the OLS food pantry for 40 years. He is shown with a freezer of meat from the Oregon Food Bank, and with Pantry organizers Jim and Karen Meade. (Photo by Elizabeth Ussher Groff)
Innovative lunch program & award, at Woodstock’s ‘Our Lady of Sorrows’
By ELIZABETH USSHER GROFF For THE BEE
Last year at about this time THE BEE published an article about the mobile – yes, mobile – pantry at Our Lady of Sorrows Church on Woodstock Boulevard at 52nd Avenue. Now they’ve added a lunch program, funded by a grant received from a portion of the Oregon Charitable Checkoff Grant – which is a program that allows taxpayers to donate a portion or all of their tax refund to one of 29 approved charities. The grant was awarded to St Vincent de Paul of Oregon.
Currently the 40 to 60 lunches each week consist typically of a sandwich, chips, fruit, and dessert, and are distributed to homeless camps by a volunteer, or are supplied to the “Giving Fence” – which is 12 yellow recycling bins, at S.E. 50th and Woodstock Boulevard.
A separate grant has recently allowed them to purchase shelf-stable protein, such as canned tuna fish, canned chicken, canned soups with meat, and peanut butter, all of which are intended to offer a more complete meal for those in need, at the “Giving Fence.”
Karen Meade, Co-President of St. Vincent DePaul, Our Lady of Sorrows Conference, and the main pantry organizer with her husband Jim Meade, says their goal is the same as that of the Oregon Food Bank: “No one should go hungry, ever. We work to improve access to food and to reduce waste.”
The pantry continues to deliver food, including dog and cat food for pets, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays – weekly, monthly, or just occasionally. “Sometimes unexpected bills can cause a temporary need for food. People should not skip medication to buy food or pay rent and utilities,” Meade remarked.
A very notable event this year was the “Vincentian of the Year” award given to longtime OLS member Dominador (Donny) Estrada, who was chosen from among three counties of volunteers in Oregon. Estrada has volunteered in the pantry for over 40 years, donating 11,520 hours of service over that time.
In an email Karen Meade says, “On Thursdays at 7:30 a.m., Donny and his partner pick up 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of food from the Oregon Food Bank and unload that food into our basement pantry. He also helps put it away – especially the produce, carefully sorting it. Then he goes with our pantry manager to Holgate House, one of our low-income housing projects with a separate pantry for residents, and unloads there [400 to 500 pounds of food].”
Estrada, who formerly owned a restaurant downtown, helps in many other ways – including cleaning the pantry and the bathroom, sweeping, emptying the garbage, composting the old produce, and recycling the cardboard and plastic. In addition, he is very active in the church, serving coffee and donuts after Sunday Mass, cooking Filipino food for potlucks, and managing the kitchen during the parish Holiday Bazaar.
Meade concludes, “Donny is the first person to give you a hug when you walk in the door. His mission goes beyond the food pantry, even beyond the mission of our conference. It stretches as far as Donny’s arms can reach, right before he hugs you.”
Our Lady of Sorrows food pantry can be reached by 503/235-8431. All information is kept confidential, with no discrimination.
Foster Road Walking Tour guide Tanya Lyn March tells members of one of her tours that in Portland’s early days, Foster Road became known as the “widest street in Portland”. Even wider than her arms could reach! (Photo by David F. Ashton)
‘Walking tour’ highlights Foster Road’s colorful past – and present
By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE
Several of Portland Neighborhood Business Districts conduct “walking tours” of their central areas to acquaint people with the history of the area and introduce them to businesses there.
For the Foster Area Business Association, Venture Portland District Manager Jeff Lynot occasionally conducted such tours – until his paternity leave. Lynot contacted Tanya Lyn March of Slabtown Tours LLC to continue hosting the urban excursions along S.E. Foster Road.
“When Jeff asked me, I said ‘yes’ because I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to learn about a part of Portland,” March told THE BEE as a last-Saturday-of-the-month tour was gathering on September 28.
“During the tour, we highlight two interconnected themes: Streetcar and business-growth history,” March explained. “Back in the day, Foster Road was one of the widest developed streets in Portland, like a Parisian Boulevard.”
Started as the “Old Clackamas Trail” going from eastern reaches of Johnson Creek to the Willamette River, it was a “farm to market” road – which is why Foster Road doesn’t follow the “European Grid” alignment of north-south and east-west street, she explained.
“Streetcars started running on Foster Road in 1892, so it was a very early line,” said March. “The line went east on S.E. Hawthorne to 50th Avenue; then south on 50th to connect with the Foster Road line – which went out to Lents, one of the first neighborhoods annexed into the City of Portland.”
The tour also brings to light the information that Foster Road was – outside of downtown Portland itself – the metro area’s “theater district”, with numerous theaters lining the street.
“We also point out the businesses that are here today, and encourage guests to come patronize these many establishments, shops, and restaurants that are now here in the district,” March acknowledged.
The tours are on, rain or shine – so wear comfortable walking shoes for the hour and a half tour, and come dressed for the weather. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for kids.
This sign in front of All Saints Episcopal Church on Woodstock Boulevard changes throughout the year depending on special sales offered – such as “Draw a Discount”, Bag Sale, 25% off everything, and 50% off Holiday Items. So keep an eye on it when you drive by for these opportunities. (Photo by Elizasbeth Ussher Groff)
‘Mustard Seed’ bargains raise money for the community
By ELIZABETH USSHER GROFF For THE BEE
The “Mustard Seed Thrift Store” is a unique shop, tucked away in the basement of All Saints Episcopal Church, at the corner of S.E. Woodstock Boulevard and 41st Avenue in the Woodstock neighborhood.
A few stairs on the west side of the building down into the basement lead to a few large spaces, and several small rooms which once served – a long time ago – as classrooms for church school.
These days the tiny rooms are each labeled, above the doors, to identify the merchandise for sale there: Room #1 is the art gallery, and the location for books on art, travel, fiction, sci-fi, history, and biographies. Room #2 is for mysteries – by many authors and in many settings. Room #3 is for seasonal items, crafts, and linens. Room #4 is a boutique, containing women’s clothes, shoes, and accessories.
The larger open spaces are filled with greeting cards – six for one dollar! – household items, small kitchen appliances, children’s books, toys and games, CDs, LPs, DVDs, clothes, glassware, jewelry, and seasonal decorations. The proceeds from all sales in the Mustard Seed fund community services provided by the church.
Sonja Miller, a church member and the volunteer Mustard Seed coordinator and manager, told THE BEE that – specifically – this money helps underwrite a number of community services that the church oversees, and also helps fund the new staff person who coordinates the recently opened Woodstock Food Pantry situated beside the church.
The rooms in the back, to the left upon entering the basement, are the “sorting rooms” where volunteers examine and price items. In addition, a church member named John Foyston is the “fixer” who can fix lamps within a week for a small price, and replace batteries in watches for $8.00. In the past, the Woodstock BiMart store replaced wrist watch batteries in watches, but that service is not currently offered.
Besides all the space devoted to the items for sale, one small room in the back of the Mustard Seed is called the “St. Francis Center”, and is filled with used clothing, shoes, socks, and toiletries for those in need who cannot pay. A big need in the winter is for used warm jackets and coats, jeans with waist sizes 32-35, gloves, men’s underwear, and new socks.
Warm clothing in good condition can be dropped off during Mustard Seed hours on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., or on Wednesdays between 10 and 1 when the shop is being organized by volunteers.
The shop will be closed for Winter Break from December 18th to Jan 15th – however, items for the St. Francis Center can still be left with the church office staff on Tuesdays through Fridays during this recess, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
In the Reed College Studio Theater, student actors here were rehearsing a scene from the play “Everybody”. (Photo by David F. Ashton)
Backstage with the Reed College Theater Department
By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE
The Reed College Theater Department continues to thrive: That’s what THE BEE was assured by Associate Professor of Theatre Kate Duffly.
Invited to see actors rehearsing for their production of “Everybody” – a play that explores themes of life, death, and human connection – gave us insight to the high quality of their productions.
“An interesting facet of this play is that at each performance, the roles are assigned to the actors by lottery; so, our student actors are prepared to play ANY of the parts,” Duffly explained.
Few Theater majors; many participants “We have about seven students in each Bachelor of Arts graduating class -- but many more students take our classes, and are involved in productions. In this most recent production, there were about 40 students involved,” remarked Duffly.
“Most of our theater-related classes, and all of our productions, are open to both majors and non-majors; and each year our productions involve many students from across campus in all aspects of production – from working on costume creation in the costume shop, to being a stage manager backstage or a performer onstage.”
Offers variety of genres The Reed College theater “season” includes two “main stage” productions, as well as up to four “thesis” productions by students who are involved in Reed’s “Senior Thesis”, which is the final capstone project of their Reed experience.
“We put on a range of types of productions that tend to span many different types of theatrical genres,” said Duffly. “We try to select plays that will resonate with our students, and speak in some way to our current moment. As we often ask our students: ‘Why this play, why now?’”
Helps fulfill Reed’s mission Duffly pointed out that Reed's Theatre Department mirrors the college's liberal arts mission – which is to make sure that the college’s Theatre students should have a broad education in theatre history, theory, and practice.
“As a department, we feel that theatre is essential to the liberal arts. We believe that with each play we study or perform, we learn about a different world, and delve into that world's cultural values, social and religious practices, gender roles, race relationships, and political debates.”
Asked by THE BEE what is the best part of being in her educational role, Duffly responded, “Reed students are amazing to work with! They are both intellectually curious, and rigorous. They are excited about learning, and therefore make great collaborators. They love to do a ‘deep dive’ into a text, and really grapple with the complexities of whatever play we are working on.”
By the way, their productions are open to the general public. Tickets to all shows are priced at less than $10. Find more about Reed Theatre, and the plays they are presenting, at their website – http://www.reed.edu/theatre/productions/schedule.html
With the help of many volunteers the new Produce for People garden’s irrigation system was installed in their section of the Brentwood-Darlington South Community Garden. (Photo by David F. Ashton)
‘Produce for People’ volunteers renovate Brentwood-Darlington gardens
By DAVID F. ASHTON For THE BEE
On the horticultural blocks just west of Lane Middle School and Brentwood Park, THE BEE has been covering the efforts of several organizations.
All centered in these acres, we’ve presented stories about the Portland State University Learning Gardens Laboratory, the Black Futures Farm, Portland Public School’s Community Transition Program “Green Thumb” garden – and of course, the Multnomah County Master Gardener’s Demonstration Garden.
But now, hidden away on the western edge of the urban farmland, we’ve been introduced to the Brentwood South Community Garden. The street address is 6866 S.E. 57th Avenue.
On Friday, November 22, a number of volunteers arrived to work on a project in their Produce for the People plots – a “subset gardening activity”, sponsored by the Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Community Garden Program.
“Produce for the People has been around for at least 25 years now,” remarked the Site Manager for the Brentwood South Community Garden, Leah Witte. “Each of the PP&R Community Gardens has the ability to grow organic produce that is then donated to their local food pantries – in our case, it’s mostly given to Lane Middle School; but also to the Woodstock Food Pantry, and Portland’s Urban Gleaners.
“Last season, we grew and gave away 2,961 pounds of produce!” she added.
On an “off-season mission” “Earlier, the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) gave us a grant to build raised garden boxes,” Witte said. “Now that we’re out of the growing season, we’re installing an irrigation system that will allow us to water the beds much more efficiently, and in a way that’s better for vegetables.”
And the crew of volunteers finished the project that afternoon.
Witte had an invitation for BEE readers: “If you like gardening, come join us! Volunteers are here, mostly during growing season, on Sundays from 10 a.m. until noon; and on Wednesdays, from 4 until 6 p.m.”
DECEMBER 21 Southeast’s renowned Classical Ballet offers “Nutcracker”: Once again this December, the Classical Ballet Academy is bringing to the stage of the Lincoln Performance Hall at Portland State University performances of “The Nutcracker” to fill every member of the family with Holiday Spirit – today, at 2 and 6 p.m., and tomorrow at 1 and 5 p.m. Tickets are sold through the PSU Box Office (https://portlandstate.universitytickets.com – or 503/725-3305). Tickets are $28 for adults 18+, $22 for seniors 65+ as well as youth (age 10-17), and $17 for kids age 2 to 9.
Woodstock cleans up for the Holidays: Come on out today for a “Holiday Walk ’n Clean”, picking up trash on the streets of Woodstock, from 9:30 a.m. to noon. It's good for the neighborhood and good for the soul. Tell a friend or bring kids or grandkids (school community service credits can be earned). Bundle up in a seasonal sweater, ugly or not. All equipment from “Adopt One Block”. The Woodstock Neighborhood Association provides refreshments. Meet at the Woodstock Community Center 5905 S.E. 43rd Avenue, just west across the street from BiMart.
DECEMBER 24 Christmas Eve Candlelight Services at All Saints: This afternoon at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. there are family-friendly Christmas Eve services at All Saints Episcopal, at at 4033 S.E. Woodstock Blvd – and there’s a live animal pageant at the 4 p.m. service. In addition, at the 4 p.m. service, all children are welcome to participate in the pageant and creche building – costumes are provided, and no rehearsal is required. The 8 p.m. service is more traditional – and carols begin at 8 p.m.; the service itself begins at 8:30pm. Email to – office@allsaintspdx.org – if you have any questions. All are welcome.
Christmas Eve gatherings at Moreland Presbyterian: This afternoon at 4 p.m. is the Families and Intergenerational Celebration, and at 9 p.m. this evening is the Candlelight Celebration, with choir and strings. On S.E. Bybee Boulevard between 18th and 19th. Open to all!
Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church offers Christmas Mass: Christmas Eve Masses will be held today at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, on S.E. 52nd at the corner of Woodstock Boulevard. Christmas Day Mass will be held tomorrow, Christmas Day, at 10 a.m. Merry Christmas!
DECEMBER 29 “Christmastide Celebration” at Moreland Presbyterian: At 9:30 a.m. today, “Christmastide Celebration”; on S.E. Bybee Boulevard between 18th and 19th Avenues. Open to all.
JANUARY 5 New Year’s at Moreland Presbyterian Church: At 9:30 a.m. today, the service focuses on “Epiphany/New Year Celebration”. On S.E. Bybee Boulevard between 18th and 19th Avenues. Open to all.
JANUARY 12 SMILE History Committee gathers for inventory project: This afternoon, 3-5 p.m., the SMILE History Committee and interested members of the community will meet in the new lower meeting room in SMILE Station, S.E. 13th and Tenino; enter down stairs on the north side of the building. Training will continue on the historic inventory project, and preparations for the first history walking tour in March. All are welcome.
Note: Since THE BEE is not the operator of any of the websites presented here, we can assume no responsibility for content or consequences of any visit to them; however we, personally, have found all of them helpful, and posted them here for your reference.
"Next Generation TV", in the incompatible ATSC-3 format, is currently duplicating (in the new format) KATU, KOIN, KGW, KOPB, KPTV, KRCW, and KPDX on channels 30 and/or 33; you will need a new TV or converter box capable of receiving the new ATSC-3 format in order to see these broadcasts. The one we use and can recommend is the Zapperbox -- learn more at: www.zapperbox.com
