If you’ve had the chance to walk through Wilshire Park, perhaps you’ve sat down on one of the benches. Maybe you checked your phone, read a book, or enjoyed a cup of coffee. Maybe you noticed a brass plaque set into the cement slab a foot or so from where the bench rests. If you were curious to see what was on the plaque, you might have read a person’s name embossed thereon.
There are five benches in Wilshire Park that have dedicatory plaques embedded next to them. Four of the benches are placed along the walking path on the south side of the park. The first one, starting in the southeast end of the park, reads “Alameda Tuesday Club 100th Anniversary 2013.”
… seeing these plaques reminds me that these people have been honored by others, that each of them has a story.
A little arithmetic tells you that the Alameda Tuesday Club began in 1913. So, were there still founding members around in 2013? If not, how was the legacy carried on? What did the Club do? We may not know the answers, but perhaps that is not the point. The point is the plaque makes us aware of our community, of those that have come before us, and, as we hear children’s shouts and laughter from the park’s nearby play structures, of those who will continue after we are gone.
Farther down the path we find the next bench. Its plaque is dedicated to Molly Elaine (Fleetwood) Rodway: “Beloved mother, music teacher, care provider, and friend to all creatures, great and small.” She must have been a wonderful person. A third bench and its plaque recognize Jim Owens for his service: “Portland Parks Board, 2012 - 2020.” A fourth states “In Loving Memory of Yda and Trevor Berrington.” On the north side of the park, a plaque placed alongside a bench simply states “In Loving Memory of Barbara York, 2009.”
I do not know who any of these people were or are, but just seeing the plaques reminds me that these people have been honored by others, that each of them has a story.
When I sit on or walk by a bench that has a plaque next to it, I feel connected not only to those being honored, but to the community of people who adopted the benches in their honor. These folks are strangers to me, but when they created this opportunity to recognize someone in their circle, they opened themselves to all of us who spend a moment reading the plaque and thinking about what that community’s act of recognition means.
The plaque gives us a glimpse into the lives of those commemorated, and, for those who knew or know the ones being honored, it provides them with a reminder of the honorees’ stories.
Pamela Plimpton, a B-W resident since 1980, retired as a professor of English in 2020. Her interests include reading, writing, gardening, and singing with a community chorale. She and her husband enjoy playing golf, working out at the N.E. Community Center, traveling, and grandparenting their granddaughter.
Want to Adopt a Bench?
Portland Parks & Recreation’s Adopt-A-Bench program offers the opportunity to “commemorate or honor family, friends, or events in one of Portland’s parks through the adoption and financial care of a park bench.” To adopt a bench in memory of or in honor of a group or individuals, visit tinyurl.com/4d7ct2de.