On a blustery evening in early April, over 125 folks from the neighborhood and beyond gathered at Fremont United Methodist Church to hear Alameda resident and Portland historian, Doug Decker, share stories from our area’s past. The event was sponsored by the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association and organized by its Events Committee. Donations raised that night (thank you!) helped to defray a portion of the church rental fee.
Speaking to a rapt audience for over an hour, Doug used historic photos, old advertisements, and maps to illustrate his talking points.
His timeline of our neighborhood’s rich history started with the Indigenous peoples who thrived here for over 10,000 years, moved on to the factors that helped first to establish the original Beaumont neighborhood and later the Wilshire neighborhood and Wilshire Park.
Doug concluded with the central message that learning about the past helps us build a deeper sense of place and understand how the present came to be.
“By paying attention to the history around us,” Doug said, “we gain a greater appreciation for the temporary nature of our time in these spaces, which will soon be part of someone else’s story.”
The many details of Doug’s presentation will not be lost to those who were unable to attend. Look for the nuggets of history he revealed that night on the pages of BWNA’s next several newsletters.
For those interested in learning even more, explore Doug’s extensive history blog at alamedahistory.org.
Looking ahead, the BWNA Events Committee is working to secure more speakers; an expert on the Cascadia Subduction Zone is currently on tap for November. Do you have ideas for future speakers? Send us your thoughts via email to Events@BWNApdx.org.
Liz Erickson has lived in the neighborhood with her husband and two children since 2009. Growing up in Beaverton, she remembers visiting grandparents on NE 42nd and walking to Rose’s Ice Cream for a scoop of butter brickle. She’s a Master Recycler volunteer with Metro and served in the Peace Corps in Morocco.