The RAPS Sheet The newsletter of the Retirement Association of Portland State SUMMER 2019 Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University–RAPS Post Office Box 751 Portland OR 97207-0751 Campus Public Safety Building Second Floor, Room 212 SW Montgomery at Broadway Office Manager Emily Caparelli Telephone: 503-725-3447 Email: rapsmail@pdx.edu Office hours: Tues. & Thurs., 8 am to 3:30 pm; Fri., 9 am to 3:30 pm. Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Board Members Co-Presidents Steve Brennan David Krug Secretary Brian Lewis Treasurer Ansel Johnson Members-at-Large Constance Andersen Steven Brenner Nancy Eriksson RAPS Sheet Editor Eileen Brennan Website Editor Larry Sawyer RAPS Representative to Regional & National Retirement Associations Larry Sawyer Committees Awards Steve Brennan, Chair History Preservation Nancy Koroloff, Chair Membership/Program Dawn White, Chair Scholarships Barbara Alberty & Joan Shireman, Co-chairs Social Nancy Eriksson, Chair You’re invited to the RAPS Summer Picnic on August 15 LET’S GET TOGETHER for the RAPS 2019 Summer Picnic! All RAPS members and their families are invited. The picnic will be held on Thursday, August 15, from noon to 4:00 pm at Willamette Park, Picnic Shelter A. Please bring a salad or a dessert to share and a beverage of your choice. We suggest that you bring a serving utensil if your food dish requires one. RAPS Board members will provide entrees, paper products and other tableware, plus bottled water. Willamette Park is located at 6805 SW Macadam Aveune. Parking is available by Picnic Shelter A; there is a small charge for parking. Both the shelter and the site are accessible for people with disabilities. The park is served by buses 35, 36, and 99. The Willamette Park stops are 3620 and 3622. Please call Nancy Eriksson, 503913-7200, for additional information. —Photographs by Larry Sawyer —
Co-President’s Message 2 2019-20 RAPS BALLOTS are in and counted, and we are pleased to welcome those who are returning to the board, and to offer a big welcome to our one new member! Our new co-president is Steve Brennan, who most recently has served as RAPS Award Committee chair and also as organizer of the RAPS Bridge Group. Steve has been a RAPS member since 2011, so he is familiar with the RAPS who have been working with Brian and Ansel over the past several years, greatly appreciate their willingness to continue providing their skills to support RAPS. New to the board is Constance Andersen, who will serve as a member-at-large for two years. Constance served in several PSU units as an office administrator, with an extensive background in public relations. Both Doug Swanson and Charlie White will be leaving the board. Charlie has served on the RAPS Board in several positions over the years, including serving as president. This year Charlie completed a three-year stint as a member-at-large. RAPS members extend a warm thanks to Charlie for the many years of outstanding service he has provided to PSU’s retirement community. Finally, a very big thank you is due Doug Swanson, retiring co-president, for the outstanding commitment and service he has given to RAPS over the past two years. Doug has provided a steady hand with both enthusiasm and a great sense of humor. Thank you, Doug! —Dave Krug Board and the duties of a co-president. We on the board are very pleased Steve will continue to provide his expertise to RAPS. Brian Lewis had a 36-year career at PSU in Human Resources and several other positions during his service at PSU. For the past three years Brian has served as RAPS secretary; he will continue in that position. RAPS treasurer since 2016, Ansel Johnson, professor emeritus of geology, has been re-elected to serve another three-year term as treasurer. We on the board, RAPS GOES TO Portugal WITH COLLETTE Portugal . . . Ancient castles, Roman ruins, lemon and almond groves, whitewashed villages and welcoming locals—and it’s the next destination for RAPS. During 10 days we’ll see Lisbon, Obidos, Sintra, Araiolos, Evora and a host of other unforgettable sites. Airfare from Portland, airport-to-hotel transfers, and 12 meals are included. Plus, there’s an optional four-night extension to Madeira Island. And because you’re traveling with Collette, part of your fare will benefit the RAPS Scholarship! Book by April 3 and save $100! To learn more, please contact: Larry Sawyer, 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net OCTOBER 3-12, 2020 $3,649 PER PERSON, DOUBLE OCCUPANCY RAPS Board election results
RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE RAPS BOOK GROUP has read some excellent books in the early summer months. In May we met at the home of Gwen Pierce and discussed Evolution’s Captain by Peter Nichols, the story of the captain of the Beagle, who took Darwin along for company on the voyage. It was a lively discussion, and members liked the book very much. In June we met at the home of Eileen and Steve Brennan and discussed Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, a novel that moves between the 1950s and the present time. It is the story of five siblings abducted, placed in a children’s home, separated despite their struggle to stay together, and adopted. In the present day a family member discovers the family secret and pieces the story together. Complex and rich in detail, the chapters told from the perspective of the children were particularly compelling. The tale is based on an actual scandal in which an adoption agency in Memphis sold stolen children to well-off adoptive parents. On Tuesday, July 16, we will meet at the home of Marge and Leif Terdal, Terwilliger Plaza, 2545 SW Terwilliger Blvd. We will be discussing Michelle Obama’s Becoming, a memoir of her life in the south side of Chicago, as a student at Princeton and Harvard Law School, and as a young lawyer at the Chicago law firm where she met Barack Obama. And, of course, of her life through campaigns and as first lady. In August we will read and discuss Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. This is the story of two families, in two centuries, who are “navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it.” We will meet on Tuesday, August 20, at the home of Joan Shireman, l3584 SE Snowfire Dr., in Happy Valley. The book group meets on the second Tuesday of every month. New members are always welcome. . —Joan Shireman Bridge Group THE RAPS BRIDGE GROUPmeets in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of each month. We begin play at 12:15 pm. We try to finish up by 4 pm We meet in Smith Center. We have had a few new and returning members join us for our last few meetings. Please feel free to be another one of our new members for bridge (we really would welcome more new members). Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming meetings in SMSU 258: July 2, August 6, and September 3. I will send out the reminder email notice about one week prior to each date we play. If you wish to join us, please contact Steve Brennan, 503-646-6297. My email address is the.steve.brennan@gmail.com. —Steve Brennan 3 —Tom Hard photograph Hikers visiting Silver Falls State Park in June were rewarded with amazing vistas. Hiking Group ON JUNE 26 seven members of the hiking group followed trails in Silver Falls State Park to spectacular viewpoints of the falls and forest areas. The hike on July 23 will be on the Opal Creek Trail, a 6.4mile moderately trafficked out-and-back trail located near Elkhorn, Oregon, that features a waterfall and is good for all skill levels. Beginning at the Opal Creek Trailhead, this hike is on a gravel road through an old-growth forest of cedar trees. This trail takes you over a high bridge to the opal pool and hikers can loop around and go back through the historic small town of Jawbone Flats. It is a great walk along an old road and an opportunity to explore an old mining operation abandoned over a century ago in this ancient forest. Along the way you can also see Slide Falls and Sawmill Falls. On August 27, the group will explore the Oregon Coast and hike on trails in Oswald State Park West. Details of this hike are still being worked out, but there are possibilities of hiking along the beach or following trails through old growth forests that result in spectacular views. For more details about these hikes or upcoming hiking plans in 2019, please consult the RAPS hikers’ website: https://www.pdx.edu/raps/RAPS-Hikers. If you plan to hike in July or August, please contact Larry Sawyer at 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. —Larry Sawyer
In memoriam: Kenneth M. Ames, 1945-2019 KENNETH M. AMES, a longtime Portland State University anthropology professor, died April 21 at the age of 73. His book, Peoples of the Northwest Coast, co-authored by HDG Maschner in 1999, “remains a standard reference for Northwest Coast archaeology.” The article also noted that Professor Ames held a particular interest in the evolution of social inequality in human societies, and he explored important questions related to political economy, social evolution, and hunter-gatherer “logistics”—how social groups organize themselves to acquire and distribute resources needed for survival. Professor Ames was president of the Society for American Archaeology from 2005 to 2007 and chair of the Portland State Department of Anthropology from 2002 to 2011. He chaired 24 master’s thesis committees and served on seven Ph.D. committees of students from other universities. Professor Ames is survived by his wife of 38 years, Jane; the couple’s daughter, Joanna; a granddaughter, Carly Jo; her parents, Michele Greco and Mike Banker; and a brother, David Ames. The family is planning to hold a wake this summer. Remembrances may be sent to the Chinook Nation at https://www.chinooknation.org/contribute-paypal.html . —Doug Swanson Professor Ames was born July 5, 1945, in Winnebago, Minnesota. His father was a military chaplain, and the family moved almost annually, requiring Professor Ames to attend 11 schools before he entered college. He earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from George Washington University in 1967, a master’s from the University of New Mexico in 1969, and a Ph.D. from Washington State University in 1976. He taught at Moorhead State University and at Boise State University, where he had a joint appointment as a professor and as Idaho state highway archaeologist. He joined Portland State in 1984. According to an article in Screenings, the newsletter of the Oregon Archaeological Society, Professor Ames made many significant contributions to Pacific Northwest archaeology and anthropology over his 50-year career, including dozens of journal articles and books. In memoriam: Laura Conti Digregorio, 1926-2019 LAURA CONTI DIGREGORIO, who served Portland State University as an instructor in foreign languages, died two sons, Richard and Leonard. Ms. Digregorio earned a bachelor of arts degree in French from Portland State in 1971.She was a member of the PSU Alumni Association and had a passion for reading Italian magazines and doing Italian crossword puzzles. She is survived by her sons and a granddaughter, Arianna Digregorio. A funeral mass was held May 25 at St. Clare Catholic Church, Portland. —Doug Swanson May 18. She was 92 years old. Ms. Digregorio was born September 20, 1926, in Rome. Her career included teaching both French and Italian at PSU and Lewis & Clark College. She was married to Irving Digregorio on December 25, 1948. They had 4
RAPS Outstanding Retiree and Special Recognition Awards highlighted at President’s Luncheon 2019 award presenters and recipients are (from left to right): Joan Shireman, Arthur Emlen; Doug Swanson, Priscilla Blumel; Christine Meadows, Charlie White; Susan Poulsen, Dawn White. AT THE MAY 9 President’s Luncheon for Retired Faculty and Staff, RAPS presented two Outstanding Retiree awards and also gave two Special Recognition awards. Joan Shireman presented an Outstanding Retiree award to Arthur Emlen. In 1989, Art Emlen retired from his positions as a professor in the School of Social Work and director of the Regional Research Institute. Art’s research and publication continued, as did his involvement in RAPS and his service to the community and university. In “retirement” Art’s scholarship and policy efforts focused on issues of work and family, specifically child care when parents worked outside the home. From his work with parents, and development of measurement tools, Art isolated flexibility as the key component of child care—flexibility in either the workplace, the home, or the child care arrangements. Doug Swanson presented a Special Recognition award to Priscilla Blumel. Doug noted that since the 1960s, when she was a young faculty wife and Portland State was a fledging college, Priscilla has worked tirelessly to advance Portland State, and, more recently, RAPS. As Portland State was growing and developing, Priscilla joined her husband, Dr. Joseph Blumel, PSU’s president, in serving on several community boards. Priscilla was a very active part of the Scholarship and Membership Committees of RAPS and served as presidentelect, president, and past president from 2013 to 2016. Christine Meadows received the second Special Recognition Award presented by Charlie White. Christine came to Portland State in 2006 to lead PSU’s fledgling opera program and to teach voice. She came from a very successful career as opera soloist and singer, performing with virtually every wellknown opera company in the United States, as well as those in several foreign countries. Under her leadership, the Portland State Opera program has become one of the bestknown in the country. RAPS members especially appreciated the lectures and opera previews that Christine made part of our annual members’ meetings. Dawn White presented the second Outstanding Retiree award to Sue Poulsen. Sue came to PSU in 1990 and retired in 2010. During Sue’s tenure at PSU she served as department chair from 2004-2007, directed the Graduate Program in Communication Studies for three years, and supervised the Graduate Teaching Assistant Program for a total of nine years. She served on several University committees and presented at new student orientations and new women faculty orientations, as well as other service activities. After retirement, Sue continued her research and writing, and served as president-elect, president, and past president of RAPS from 2012 to 2015 and co-president in 2016. RAPS extends heartiest congratulations to the honorees. —Steve Brennan, Awards Committee Chair 5
Past Tense—The Origins of PSU: The Vanport Placemarking Project “AS YOU KNOW, we are starting from nothing.” In this quote from Gordon B. Dodds’ book, The College That Would Not Die, founder Stephen E. Epler famously described the origins of the Vanport Extension Center – the precursor to Portland State University. His was an apt description, since no modern American university began in less promising circumstances than Portland State. There were no students, no faculty, no staff. What passed as a campus was the remains of a dilapidated WWII housing project at Vanport, Oregon. As the place of our origin, PSU has a deep connection to Vanport. Once Oregon’s second largest city, Vanport was a wartime housing development built to house workers for Kaiser Shipyards. It was built in 300 days and served as home to over 40,000 people, about half of whom were African American, living in 9,900 residential units on 650 acres. Vanport was home to many Oregon firsts: integrated schools, full time daycare, a library and health care provisions for workers, and the first black school teacher hired by Portland Schools. Tragically much of the city washed away in a flood on May 30, 1948, leaving 18,000 people homeless. All that remains of Vanport are the memories of the survivors and their families, photographs, and a small concrete foundation slab of the once 750-seat movie theater. The mission of the Vanport Placemarking Project is to preserve the history of Vanport and tell the oft-forgotten role of African Americans in Portland’s wartime history. This project is a unique opportunity to construct permanent awareness of Vanport history to protect and support the cultural and environmental assets of the community for future generations. The project will include installation of permanent signage at noteworthy Vanport sites and structures, construction of an interpretive center, development of an augmented reality app, and historic designation to preserve the site. These features will offer opportunities for visitors and groups to stage cultural and arts performances, educational events, and tours. Connecting the structural history with the cultural significance through signage and an interpretive center will give perspective to the transformation of the site which is now Vanport Wetlands, the Heron Lakes golf courses, and Portland International Raceway. The completed project will create a place where the stories and memories of Vanport can be told. There will be tangible reminders to foster awareness of the profound historical and cultural significance of Vanport. It will identify a place of public significance that will help visitors to the site understand how and why “place” is meaningful to people. It protects our shared history, memories, and traditions, and will allow for the continued use of this piece of Portland history into the future. For more information and to learn how to support this project, visit http://www.vanporthistory.org. —Maryhelen Kincaid and Michael Molinaro —Map designed by Ryan Sullivan of Paste in Place 6
RAPS welcomes Emily Caparelli as office manager THE RAPS OFFICE MANAGER for 2019-20 is senior health sciences major Emily Caparelli. Born in Southern California, Emily moved frequently as a child. plan is to complete prerequisite courses for both nursing and physician assistant degrees, and she hopes go on to advanced study in health care or law. During the past three academic years, Emily has worked for Portland State’s Center for Student Health and Counseling, first as a records clerk in Information Services and then as a clinic assistant. Her positions have given her experience with a wide range of responsibilities, and she is looking forward to the opportunity to work with the RAPS and its members. Emily will begin her work as office manager on July 1, succeeding Ilana Tarasyuk, who has moved from Oregon to Alaska to work in a nonprofit educational organization. The RAPS office will be open during the remainder of the summer from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm on Fridays. —Eileen Brennan However, her seventh and final move was from Illinois to Oregon to pursue her bachelor’s degree. Emily says that “moving to Oregon was the best decision I had ever made, with deciding to pursue a health degree right behind it.” Emily is following an ambitious academic program, which has involved taking many science courses, “and many more to come.” Her 7 Upcoming member events AUGUST (Thursday, August 15) Annual RAPS Picnic for RAPS members and their families. Willamette Park, Picnic Shelter A, noon-4:00 pm. SEPTEMBER (Friday, September 20) “Is the Grass Really Greener? The View from Palatine Hill,” presented by Wim Wiewel, who was named president of Lewis & Clark College after serving as PSU’s president from 2008 to 2017. The meeting will be held on the Lewis & Clark campus in the Gregg Pavilion, an annex of the chapel, beginning at 11:00 am. OCTOBER(Thursday, October 17) “Pigment of Your Imagination: Tales of Artwork from a Conservation Science Perspective,” presented by Tami Clare, PSU professor of chemistry, 294 SMSU. —Dawn White, Program Committee Chair Football tickets available PSU FOOTBALL FANS: the Athletic Department has donated 20 complimentary tickets for the use of RAPS members to PSU’s game against Eastern Oregon on Saturday, September 21, at Hillsboro Stadium, 4450 NE Century Blvd, in Hillsboro. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis (up to two per member). Please call 503-725-3447 or email the RAPS office (rapsmail@pdx.edu), leaving your name and contact information. —PSU scrimmage photo by Steve Brenner
A new format for the fall RAPS wine tasting event SCOTT BURNS, professor emeritus of geology, will reprise his role as leader of a wine tour for RAPS, a very popular event over the past few years. This year’s event, billed as “RAPS Fall Wine Tasting: the Basics of Terroir,” is scheduled for Wednesday, September 11, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Unlike past wine tours led by Scott, with stops at multiple wineries, this one takes place at one local establishment – Oswego Hills Winery in West Linn, hosted by owners Jerry and Leslie Marshall. In two hours you’ll get a chance to sample up to 17 different wines from many different terroirs,” says Scott. “I’ll go over the basics of terroir and will relate every wine to terroir. The wines cover the whole range from whites to light reds to a port. We’ll have lots of nibble foods to go along with the wines.” Participants will have the opportunity to buy wine at the end of the tasting. Cost of the event is $20 per person, and this fee gives a $10 rebate on the first bottle of wine purchased. Wine tasters will meet at the winery rather than board a bus. “You can carpool to the site,” suggests Scott. “Bring a friend. It will be a fun event!” Oswego Hills Winery is located at 450 Rosemont Road in West Linn. Additional information is coming in an email message to the membership later in the summer. —Dawn White Terroir: the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as soil, topography, and climate. Seven members of the RAPS hiking group explored Silver Falls State Park, near Silverton, on June 26. See page 3 for more news about RAPS hiking opportunities this summer. —Photograph by Larry Sawyer 8
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