by Myrna Sheie
It’s no secret that Beaumont-Wilshire is a great place to explore. Whether we saunter, stroll, stride, skip, slide, glide, or roll along the well-traveled sidewalks of our community, let’s be thankful for all the gifts along the way:
- A sense of history: names, dates, and even horse rings (sometimes with toy horses attached).
- Gifts from nature: streets carpeted with delicate blossoms in spring and brightly colored leaves in the fall. Mounded-up sidewalks with messages from trees: “I’m here!”
- Gifts from neighbors: beautiful gardens, chalk art, lemonade stands, poetry posts, upbeat messages like “You. Are. Amazing!” … and free stuff.
I moved here in 2011 and was surprised to see a paver stamped with “Elwood Wiles 1911.” Today that sidewalk is 112 years old and — for the most part — looking good and providing a safe surface for everyone. Recent changes to many intersections have improved accessibility, but also honored history with two dates stamped: the original and the new (i.e., 1911-2022).
Cracks, holes, uneven surfaces, and repairs tell a sidewalk’s story of people walking, running, or using wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers. And, of course, dogs, cats, crows, raccoons, and coyotes use sidewalks, too. And one morning, even a very confused opossum!
So, when Portland Bureau of Transportation hung a bright orange “Notice to Repair Sidewalk” on my doorknob last spring, my neighbors and I grumbled a bit, but we fixed what needed to be fixed so our sidewalks continue to make this a great place to explore.
Myrna Sheie is this newsletter’s copy editor. She’s a former English teacher and church body executive. Now happily retired to NE Portland, she loves finding new walking routes, hanging out with her almost 13-year-old twin grandsons, and keeping the Portland Water Bureau solvent by obsessively watering her gardens.