Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University Post Office Box 751 Portland, OR 97207-0751 Koinonia House, second floor SW Montgomery at Broadway Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.raps.pdx.edu Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Officers Marjorie Terdal President Larry Sawyer President-elect / Program Chair Robert Tufts Past President / Membership Chair Robert Vogelsang Treasurer / Regional Retirement Association Ad Hoc Committee Chair Joan Shiremanr Secretary Doug Swanson Editor Robert Pearson Webmaster Board Members-at-Large Jan DeCarrico Charlene Levesque DawnWhite Committees Alumni Association Pat Squire Awards Committee Chair Bruce Stern History Preservation Committee Chair Steve Brannan Pictorial History Book Committee Chair Mary Brannan Social/Friendship Committee Co-Chairs Beryl and Vic Dahl Office Manager MiMi Bernal-Graves 503-725-3447 / raps@pdx.edu THE RAPSSHEET SEPTEMBER 2008 President’s Message New year brings new faces, new activities Fall has always been the time for beginnings for those of us in academia. For RAPS, as well, this is a time for new faces in the RAPS office and on the board, new activities, and new office space. MiMi Bernal-Graves began work as our new office manager on Aug. 1. She is a graduate assistant, working on a Master of Education degree, specializing in sustainability. Elsewhere in the RAPS Sheet you can read more about MiMi’s background and interests. Her office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You will find her to be friendly, helpful, well organized and professional. Stop by for a visit in RAPS’ new office space on the second floor of the Koinonia House. New board members include Joan Shireman, of the Graduate School of Social Work, and Dawn White, retired director of International Faculty Services. Joan is the new secretary, and Dawn is a new member-at-large. Larry Sawyer, who was our secretary for the past two years, is now president-elect and responsible for planning monthly programs. The September program is an opportunity for a behind-the-scenes visit to Bonneville Dam. The year is barely under way and already RAPS members have enjoyed the annual Summer Picnic on Aug. 21 and a PSU Vikings football game on Aug. 30. Activities like these give you an opportunity to reconnect with former colleagues, make new friends, and keep in touch with what is happening at PSU. With this newsletter you will also receive our new RAPS membership directory—one more way to stay in touch. If there is an error in your listing, be sure to contact the RAPS office. The RAPS Web site, maintained by Webmaster Robert Pearson, continues to grow, with photos of recent activities and information about our interest groups. In addition to the Bridge Group, Hiking Group, and Book Club, there is now a Writers Group. Come to any of these groups and see how you can get involved with others who share your interests. And, oh yes, I am the new president. Besides learning with and from our office manager and presiding at board meetings, I hike with the hikers, read with the readers, and my husband writes with the writers. I look forward to seeing you in the coming months at our programs and activities. —Marge Terdal Next up: Bonneville Dam tour Thursday, Sept. 18 PREVIEW STORY ON PAGE 2 Marge Terdal
—2— Bonneville Dam tour kicks off monthly RAPS program activities RAPS’ monthly program and speakers series starts off the year on Thursday, Sept. 18, with a tour of Bonneville Dam. President-elect Larry Sawyer, who is coordinating the monthly series, noted that public access to the dam has been more restricted since 9-11. However, by working with a retired U.S. Army Corp of Engineers officer, Sawyer has arranged a tour of the first powerhouse, which was completed in1937. The group will have access to the powerhouse floor and control room. “If you’ve never been up close to these massive generators and the water conduits, it can be quite an experience,” Sawyer says. The RAPS group will lunch at the picnic grounds close to the fish hatchery from noon to 1 p.m.; bring your own plates, eating utensils, and drinks, plus a dish to share. The tour will start between 1:30 and 2p.m. If you prefer not to drive—the dam is about 40 miles east of Portland—Sawyer says to meet at 11 a.m. on the top level of Parking Structure 1 on SW Broadway, where carpools will be arranged. Because the Corps of Engineers wants to have an approximate number of people who will tour, confirm your attendance with Sawyer by e-mailing him at larry_sawyer@comcast.net or calling him at 503-7711616. He wants to know if you will picnic and if you will drive or carpool. He also wants to know if you want to take the dam tour or prefer a self-guided tour of the fish hatchery. Future programs include a docent-guided tour of the Oregon Historical Society in October and a presentation by Thomas Palm, who willl speak on Estonia since the fall of the Soviet Union, in January. Sawyer is also planning the president’s luncheon, the annual holiday party at the Multnomah Athletic Club, and the ice cream social in May. Sawyer invites suggestions for additional RAPS programs. RAPS welcomes new members Sandra Anderson Professor of Social Work Daniel Johnson Professor of Geography J. Michael Shaughnessy Professor of Mathematics and Statistics RAPS’ new office manager is MiMi Bernal-Graves, who is pursuing a Master of Education, specializing in sustainability, at Portland State. She received her undergraduate degree in environmental studies with emphasis in biology from Pacific University. While attending Pacific, BernalGraves held many positions with Theta Nu Alpha Sorority, and during her tenure as president, the sorority received the Community Service of the Year Award. She also had the opportunity to present research regarding the effects of organo-chlorine pesticides on Columbia River white sturgeon at the National Society of Toxicology. Bernal-Graves has worked with SOLV as a site coordinator, field volunteer, and office volunteer, and has volunteered as a science fair judge for children in the Portland metro area. Her activities outside of volunteer work include participation in the Lance Armstrong Livestrong annual bike ride, Race for the Cure, Lake Run, and the Shamrock Run. Bernal-Graves enjoys participating in events that support organizations such as Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and organizations that donate to cancer research. In her spare times she enjoys a walk in the Portland Rose Garden, Portland Saturday Market, a day at the beach, or a hike in the mountains. She also likes to crochet, cook, garden, read, and spend time with her husband. She loves animals and has two birds and a bunny that are very spoiled. The RAPS office is on the second floor of the Koinonia House, which is on SW Montogmery at SW Broadway. MiMi Bernal-Graves Education grad student is new RAPS office manager
—3— Crossing Canada by rail: an adventure and a history By Bob Tufts / Past President This past spring I flew to Montreal for an Elderhostel tour across our northern neighbor, Canada. First came an introduction to the history and origins of Montreal, Old Town, and Quebec. My memory rewound to a honeymoon trip to Montreal in 1968, when we stayed in a downtown hotel. We learned that Quebec’s Saint-Jean Baptiste Day parade would end right in front of the hotel. What a bonus! Alas, the parade we witnessed was disjointed, disarrayed, and confused. The next morning’s headlines explained why: The Quebecois separatist movement demonstrated in front of the grandstand—and the new Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau—by rioting, throwing acid, and torching police cars. Almost 300 protesters were arrested. Today, English is missing from Quebec highway signs, and a significant number of Englishspeaking folks and businesses have departed Quebec. “Canada” originally meant the French settlers. History continues. This trip was an indulgence, as we are allowed in our retirement years, picking experiences that supplement our lives and wishes, and that fit our budgets and health. Trains are “romantic,” either as calendar photos or as transportation in our youth—I remember traveling on the New York Central. However, Canada built a rail line to forge its provincial unity and independence from the United States. Canada has a unique history, and a unique national character. From Montreal, on an island in the St. Lawrence River system, to Toronto, on the shore of Lake Ontario, we took one of six daily trains for the 539kilometer (335-mile) journey. Arriving at Union Station, we walked a block to our hotel. The nearby CN Tower was once considered the world’s tallest building. In reality it is the world’s tallest “pole”— with a restaurant and an observatory clinging to it. Our tour encompassed two nights each in Montreal, Toronto, aboard rail, Edmonton, Jasper, on rail (one night), and Vancouver. In each city there were lectures and presentations on regional history, culture, and life. Canada evolved from European history as well as its “adjacency” to the United States. Much of Canada’s history is defined by keeping the railroad beyond U.S. influence, the “elephant to the south.” Quebec was French; Ontario evolved much from Loyalists leaving the new U.S.; the Metis mixed-race people and railroad inducements to non-U.S. immigrant nations settled the Prairie Provinces; and British Columbia was secured from U.S. interests by the railroad promise. (Acadia and the Maritime Provinces escaped our program history.) In Toronto, we embarked on the Canadian, the exalted 3,100-mile Toronto-to-Vancouver train. In the 1950s, Canada ordered 400 aluminum silver cars as its new rolling stock. Ten years ago Canada refurbished them to reinvigorate this national rail icon and provide for what is now basically a tourist trade. North of Toronto, we rolled for a full day through the sparsely inhabited geologic formation of the Canadian (aka Laurentian) Shield, exposed bedrock (mostly pick granite) and its bogs, marshes, and stone that had defied the railroad engineers. In Manitoba it gave Bob Tufts photo continued on page 6 RAPSter Bob Tufts covered Canada by train last spring, traveling from Montreal to Vancouver.
—4— In memoriam: Robert E. Smith, 1919-2008 psychology research. After they settled in Portland, Norma took employment at the Oregon Health Sciences University. They generated a wide circle of PSU faculty friends; she preceded him in death in 2002. During their working careers, they traveled extensively whenever brief vacations permitted, and in retirement they participated in Elderhostel programs throughout the United States. They were devoted to their rambunctious black Labrador dogs, Gus, Pete, andAndy. Professor Smith pursued a wide variety of personal interests, with outdoor activities—notably flyfishing— absorbing much of his limited spare time. In addition to being an avid gun collector, he reveled in target range sports—including trap and skeet shooting—and often loaded his own ammunition. Active Tri-County Gun Club membership included presiding over that organization. He earned a light aircraft pilot’s license, and became a longtime member of the Troutdale flying club. Very likely he was one of the first PSC faculty members to own a pickup truck, but constant borrowing by colleagues prompted him to sell the vehicle. Wartime military service led to Capt. Smith’s 1958 appointment to the U.S. Air Force’s newly formed 40th Aeromedical Reserve Squadron, then based in Portland. The unit’s mission, training reservists— nurses and medical technicians—to evacuate patients from overseas combat zones, heavily utilized Ron’s wartime experience, which enabled him to serve in turn as operations, training, and finally commanding officer. The squadron subsequently deployed in Vietnam, Bosnia, and Iraq. After 20 years of USAF active and reserve service, Ron retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Survivors include a nephew, William Fretwell, of Salem, Oregon, and a niece, Rebecca Stewart, of North Logan, Utah. The Stevens family of Portland adopted Ron as a surrogate Grandpa 10 years ago and loved him dearly. That family and his many friends sorely miss him. At Ron’s request no services were held; his ashes have been scattered over his favorite Metolius River fishing hole. Besides knowing Ronald Smith as a campus colleague, I enjoyed the honor of serving with him in the 40th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. I treasure my memory of this dear friend. —Victor C. Dahl, Professor Emeritus of History Ronald Elwynn Smith, professor emeritus of psychology, born June 12, 1919, in Ogden, Utah, died June 21, 2008, at his Beaverton home. After finishing high school in Utah, Professor Smith attended San Diego State College (1936-37) and then transferred to Weber State College, Ogden, Utah, and earned an associate of art degree in 1939. At the beginning of World War II, Professor Smith entered the United States Army, served with field medical units in Africa, India, and Burma, later became a commissioned officer, and received a unit citation and the Victory Medal. Upon returning to civilian life, he worked as a hospital medical technician in Ogden. In 1947 he enrolled in the University of Utah, earning B.A. (1948), M.A. (1949) and Ph.D. (1954) degrees while holding various psychology instructional and clinical appointments. In 1955 Professor Smith joined the newly established Portland State College. As a pioneering psychology faculty member, he attracted exceptionally large classes and carried out a formative role in developing curricular offerings. For many years he served as department head and recruited a well-trained faculty that provided an essential element for founding today’s comprehensive urban university. Instructional accomplishments, research productivity, and conscientious faculty governance service earned the widespread respect of campus colleagues. Active participation in professional organizations included holding offices in the Western and Oregon Psychological Associations. In 1962 an Oregon State System of Higher Education Counseling and Guidance Training Institute presented him a Distinguished Counselor Educator Award. For several years he served as a director of the Fund for the New Social Studies, designed to promote Northwest social studies programs. Community organizations regularly invited him to speak at meetings and conferences. A tireless intellectual inquisitiveness prompted him to read widely in his specialty field as well as in other disciplines. A wide circle of campus colleagues, students, and friends highly respected his valuable institutional service. The University owes him an enormous debt of gratitude for his many contributions to its growth and development. In 1946 Professor Smith married Norma Knudsen, who shared his interests in medical technology and
—5— RAPS club reports RAPS invites youtowrite your own versionof PortlandState history More than 10 years ago, the late Gordon Dodds wrote The College That Would Not Die: The First Fifty Years of Portland State University. Now it’s your turn to tell your stories about Portland State’s history. As Past President Bob Tufts related in his last “President’s Message” in the June issue of RAPS Sheet, discussions among the RAPS Board of Directors led to an intriguing method of preserving PSU history: asking you to tell your Portland State story. What were the noteworthy events during your professional career? What were your contributions? What happened, why did it happen, when did it happen, and how did it happen? And don’t forget to answer the most important question, who was involved? Names, as they say in the news business, make news. Please consider writing your piece of Portland State history and sending it to the RAPS Office. It can be e-mailed to raps@pdx.eduor mailed to RAPS Office, Koinonia House, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751. Book Club: Votes for ‘Yiddish Policemen’s Union’ Mary Brannan will host the RAPS Book Club on Sept. 16 at her home at 6901 SE Oaks Park Way, Slip No. 13, Portland. Contact her at brannanmg@comcast.net or 503-239-1077 to RSVP and for directions. We will discuss The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, written by Michael Chabon, a Pulitzer Prize winner. This novel is described on the cover: For sixty years, Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a “temporary” safe haven created in the wake of revelations of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. The Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant, gritty, soulful, and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. But now the district is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end. Homicide detective Meyer Landsman of the District Police has enough problems without worrying about the upcoming Reversion. His life is a shambles, his marriage a wreck, his career a disaster. And in the cheap hotel where Landsman has washed up, someone has just committed a murder—right under his nose. When he begins to investigate the killing of his neighbor, a former chess prodigy, word comes down from on high that the case is to be dropped immediately, and Landsman finds himself contending with all the powerful forces of faith, obsession, hopefulness, evil, and salvation that are his heritage. The assignment for the book group for August was to read mystery novels and recommend one or more to others in the group. Seven women met at the home of Joan Shireman on Aug. 19 for a lively discussion of mysteries. More than one recommended books by Northwest writers, including Kate Wilhelm, whose detective is a woman attorney in Eugene; M.K. Wren, whose stories take place in Depoe Bay; Elizabeth Atwood Taylor, who wrote The Northwest Murders, set in Oregon; and J.A. Jance, who wrote Long Time Gone, set in Seattle. Several readers enjoyed Iain Pears’s The Immaculate Deception and Donna Leon’s Death at La Fenice, both set in Venice, Italy; books by Nevada Barr, whose detective is a national park ranger; and John LeCarre’s spy stories. One liked Elizabeth George’s books because of the complex plots and numerous characters, while another did not for the same reason. Hikers: InvestigatenewstateparkSept. 26 RAPS Hikers’ last summer hike of the year will be in “Stub” Stewart State Park on Sept. 26. Stewart, located near Vernonia on the old Banks-to-Vernonia rail line, is Oregon’s newest full service park. Hikers will walk park trails; there will be little elevation gain or loss. Bring a sack lunch to eat at one of the picnic areas. We will meet at 9:00 a.m. at the Cedar Hills Shopping Center near the Harbor Freight Tools store and carpool from there. This is the smaller shopping center on Parkway at Highways 26 and 217; do not confuse it with the Cedar Hills Crossing farther south on Cedar Hills Boulevard. Please confirm your participation by Thursday, Sept. 25, to Larry Sawyer, 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. —Larry Sawyer Bridge Group: Deals Sept. 9 The RAPS Bridge Group will meet at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at Willamette View. For information about the Bridge Group, please call Colin Dunkeld at 503-292-0838 or e-mail him at colinkeld@gmail.com. —Colin Dunkeld
— 6 — way to the Prairies and 85-mph straightaway train runs. From Edmonton, we took a motor coach to Jasper, and from there the next train to Vancouver. VIA Rail, the national system (cf, Amtrak), actually uses “mileposts.” Onboard, the single sleeper accommodation is a fascinating experience of small-space technology and personal adjustment. Our group of 28 was fairly well concentrated on our 26-car train. We tended to gather in the adjacent diner and dome/activity cars. In the dome, you could view 360 degrees, and feel like you were riding atop a long silver snake winding its way through ponds, stone, and fields. We viewed unsurpassed scenery. Calls came out about wildlife: There’s a bear and her cub . . . a large black timber wolf . . . a herd of terribly scraggly mountain sheep. Early on, scores of beaver lodges were photographed. In Edmonton, after 51 hours onboard, we could see the bustling city now awash in oil and cash. There was an excellent presentation by a professional trapper, now called a “wildlife manager,” who held up a mousetrap to provide a connection with his audience. And, yes, the prairie province folks do talk like the characters in the movie Fargo—“you betcha.” There was nary a “kerfuffle,” or fuss. Jasper National Park’s folded granite mountains and terrains, meadows and waterfalls were magnificent. We did learn how to open the city’s bear-proof public trash containers. We left Jasper after breakfast for the mountainous route to Vancouver. On board, the main physical activity is walking to and from the diner, and squeezing past passengers in the narrow corridors. Emerging into Frazier River delta, our continuous days of warmth and sun had ended. Vancouver and our tours were cold and wet. Some folks complained, but I asked if they wanted an inauthentic Pacific Northwest experience. They said, “Yes.” Across Canada . . . continued from page 3 In memoriam: Byron L. Haines, 1936-2008 Byron L. Haines, associate professor emeritus of philosophy, died May 28, 2008, after a heart attack. Professor Haines was born December 24, 1936, in Houlton, Maine, and completed a B.A. (1958) degree in philosophy at Bates College. After Army service he pursued graduate studies at the University of Washington where he earned M.A. (1963) and Ph.D. (l966) degrees in his chosen academic discipline. Professor Haines joined the Portland State College faculty in 1965 during an epoch in which the institution had begun to advance toward University status. He contributed significantly to his department’s continuing and important role in that development. During the 1960s the Philosophy Department’s burgeoning academic program responded to pressing issues—such as those arising from wartime student activism and the civil rights movement—by mounting instructional programs that addressed and investigated societal concerns for morality. Professor Haines taught a wide range of courses dealing with the history of philosophy, as well as those dealing with conflict resolution, moral issues and rights, ethics, punishment, logic, and reasoning. In every sense, his instructional undertakings in the 1960s and 1970s bore particular relevance to what Professor Gordon Dodds characterized as “The Days of Rage” in The College That Would Not Die, a seminal history of Portland State University. Professor Haines’s classes were exceptionally popular with students. He served as department head for more than four years and coordinated its Morality instructional cluster for two years. Throughout his long, active career, he regularly served as an assigned student adviser. He enjoyed a high level of confidence and respect from his departmental colleagues, as well as from faculty from other academic units. The University acknowledged his many contributions with his advancement to emeritus rank in 2001. All of us owe a debt of gratitude for his selfless service to our academic mission. In 1959 Byron married Leslie Spalding, who died in 1999. Survivors include his daughter, Malinn; foster-daughter, Cecilia Orphan, and one grandchild. The RAPS Board extends its sympathy to them. An obituary appeared in the Oregonian on June 11, 2008, and arrangements were made by Omega. Remembrances may be made to Mercy Corp International. —Victor C. Dahl, Professor Emeritus of History
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