August
September
2003
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Eight years ago, when Chris & Julie Copp moved Papa Murphy’s to NE Fremont from Sandy and 62nd, I could have written about their always fresh ingredients, their tasty pizzas, or made a pun about how they make a lot of dough every day. Today, I could point out that Papa Murphy’s is the 6th largest pizza chain in the world. But all that would miss the point. Chris and Julie Copp own three Papa Murphy’s along NE Fremont; so the point is they have an investment in the people of this neighborhood. The Papa Murphy’s store at 41st and Fremont makes about 55,000 pizzas a year. But I asked manager Lee Mabe what else they do. “We’ll be at the Beaumont Wilshire picnic again this year with six or more pies. We’ll also have free pizza and at least two bands at the Fremont Fest.” Looking at his crew, he continues, “Our State Champion singer and Grant High graduate Maliea Yakymi will be singing during the Fest when she’s not making pizzas.” Cezanne Serrant, another co-worker, was Rose Festival Ambassador for Madison High, and a straight “A” student, who earned an extra $60-70 at each report card period. Lee went on to explain how Papa Murphy’s invests in their student workers who invest in themselves. The high school students receive a bonus of $10 for each “A” they get on their report cards. The college students get a $250 bonus every term they maintain above a 2.5 average. But Papa Murphy’s also does a lot for kids who don’t work at their store. Pizza for Books, a great success across the entire city of Portland, is a monthly fundraiser that benefits Beaumont Middle School students. And through its recent ‘Riverside Little League All Stars’ event, Papa Murphy’s gave 25% of one day’s gross income to the League. The 41st street store alone supports four Little League teams. And finally, every other month they take 15 family sized pizzas to the Salvation Army’s Shelter of Hope. So next time you’re in there picking up your pizza, check the pictures and plaques on the wall. That is your neighborhood and your neighbors in those pictures. Thanks Papa Murphy’s for giving so generously to BW!
Continuing a well-established summer tradition, the Beaumont Business Association is sponsoring Fremont Fest on Saturday, August 2nd. This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever, as the business association has experienced a significant infusion of energy and vigor over the past several months. The fun begins Saturday morning at 8 am with Foot Traffic’s Volkssport Walk, a free yoga class at Bikram Yoga (entrance is at the back of the building) at 9 a.m. followed by the regional competition for the World Yoga Championship beginning at 11 a.m. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Most merchants open their doors, and/or sidewalks between 9–10 a.m. You’ll find horse carriage rides, bake sales, artist market and other activities along Fremont. More specific times and information can be obtained by picking up a flyer
at any of the participating merchants. I strongly encourage everyone to
wander over to Fremont Street and take part in the festivities. It is
a great opportunity to meet neighbors both old and new, browse the shops,
eat some fantastic food and have a little fun!
I know this neighborhood is a great place to live. However, I had no idea how popular we’ve become to others around the city. Lately I have realized that we are a sought-after area for people looking for a place to settle. For example, I like to read real estate listings for our neighborhood, and now the ads all comment on the “desirable Beaumont location,” close to “great shops and fine dining.” It sounds so impressive! A good friend of mine who lives near Wilshire Park is moving out-of-state, and her house just sold in only six days! It seems our neighborhood is a hot location. I think we may also be unique in our neighborliness. Some members of my family came over to our house from Beaverton for the Fourth of July. We went for a stroll and saw that the four streets closest to ours were all blocked off at different sections for block parties. People were out congregating in the middle of their streets, talking and grilling and waving their sparklers. My family was amazed. Not surprisingly, it seems that in addition to the real estate, shops and restaurants, it is the people that make this neighborhood so special. Keep up the good work, residents of Beaumont-Wilshire! With that in mind, I encourage all of you to come to our National Night Out Picnic in Wilshire Park on August 5. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy a summer night and meet new people. Soft drinks and burgers (beef and veggie) will be provided, and you can bring something else to share or just bring yourself. There will also be lots of door prizes from our local merchants. It’s a great event every year. Please join us.
National Night Out celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. And this year as for many years in the past the Beaumont Wilshire Neighborhood Association invites you to the annual BW picnic in celebration of this event. Everyone is invited to this biggest neighborhood event of the year. Bring a salad, side dish or dessert to share. Local businesses and the association will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, drinks, plates and utensils. There will be door prizes and surprises. Please mark your dishes on the bottom so they can be returned to you if they get left behind. Don’t miss this neighborhood get-together on Tuesday Aug. 5 from 6:30 to 8:30pm at Wilshire Park.
The BWNA land use committee met with developer and BW resident Tim Ray on June 23rd to discuss his plans to develop the empty lot at the corner of NE 46th and NE Fremont Streets. Mr. Ray plans to construct a “state of the art” two story building with storefront retail on the first floor and offices on the second floor. He will incorporate energy efficient and environmentally friendly features that he hopes will qualify the building for a ‘gold’ rating under the LEED rating standards. LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”, and is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance and sustainable buildings. The corner may look like a lot in west Texas during the first couple weeks of construction, for there will be a drill rig on the site drilling a 900 foot deep well. Mr. Ray is not hoping to strike it rich by drilling for “black gold”. He is will be drilling to reach ground water that will be used in a heat pump to generate energy to heat and cool the buildings. The plan is to construct two 3,600 square foot buildings with a twenty-four foot wide courtyard between the buildings. The courtyard will face NE Fremont and will have a clock tower at the back which will house an elevator. The storefront retail space will have roll up style glass garage doors that will allow patrons to spill out onto the sidewalks. The design does not incorporate any parking into the site. Customers of the storefront retail and individuals that conduct business on the second floor will be expected to search for parking along NE Fremont and along the side streets. If all goes as planned with the City building department, Mr. Ray expects
to break ground on the new development sometime in August. The construction
is expected to take approximately five to six months. Baghdadi from Grant High
alternate rep to CNN by Ted Perkins The BWNA board has appointed Grant High School Sophomore Jamal Baghdadi as its alternate representative to the board of Central Northeast Neighbors (CNN). In his new role, Baghdadi will attend both the BWNA board meetings and the board meetings of CNN. Central Northeast Neighbors is a community-based non-profit organization, serving the neighborhoods of Beaumont-Wilshire, Cully, Hollywood, Madison South, Rose City Park, Roseway, Sumner and Sunderland. They provide a communication and services network to solve problems and promote citizen input in the affairs of neighborhood associations. Jamal is a very busy young man. He plays flute in the school band and
also plays piano and guitar. He is involved in the theater program at
Grant and works at a dance studio where he studies Tap, Jazz, Ballet and
hip-hop. Jamal is an animal lover and is involved in a fostering program
through the Oregon Humane Society. He is currently caring for a Chocolate
Labrador that has just had ten puppies. When the puppies are healthy and
old enough, they will be returned to the Humane Society for adoption.
If you have ever walked past the Wilshire United Methodist Church on a Wednesday evening and thought you were in time warp – it’s just the Rose City Timberliners Barbershop Chorus practicing old time tunes! Beaumont Wilshire is well represented in the Chorus by BW residents Jay Bateman, Ralph Bateman, Richard Crockett, Andrew Kent, Josh Marple and David Marple. The Chorus performs throughout the Portland area at retirement and assisted living homes, neighborhood celebrations, as well as city, county and state park events. They rehearse at 7:30 pm each Wednesday at the Wilshire United Methodist Church at 3917 NE Shaver and folks are welcome to come by to hear them practice. Chorus director Gary Shannon has a BA in composition and music theory
with a minor in barbershop style music arranging from San Jose State University.
Chorus members say they particularly appreciate his teaching sills.
If you have friends or relatives back east, in the Midwest or just somewhere else and you want them to see why Beaumont Wilshire is a great place to live, but they can’t come to visit- the next best thing is for them to check out the neighborhood website www.bwna.org Besides being full of useful information such as upcoming neighborhood events, links to other services like the library, art museum, schools, and bus service, the website includes a photo gallery of past neighborhood events, works by local artists and past newsletter articles. If you missed the Beaumont Middle School 75th Celebration, you can click on the photos from that event to see if you recognize any of the teachers or classmates who were there! The website has an on-line art gallery of work by fourteen neighborhood artists: watercolors, photos, sculptures, books, and mosaics. The newsletter section contains articles, which featured old-timer residents such as Anne and Orval Davis who bought their house in Beaumont Wilshire in 1937, focuses on old and new businesses such as Americana Frame, Bella Flora, Cool Runnings, Kidz on Earth and others. Easy to access and use, www.bwna.org is a handy neighborhood resource.
OASIS is an education-based organization for adults ages 50 and over. Its intergenerational tutor program matches tutors with children grades K-3 who need one-on- one help in reading. This successful program promotes the enjoyment of reading while increasing a child’s self esteem. It is a very rewarding volunteer opportunity.
For more information call OASIS at 503-241-3059 or leave message on tutor program voice mail 503-833-3636.
Here in the Beaumont Wilshire neighborhood, we are privileged to live with a wide variety of trees from towering Douglas firs to graceful elms and stately oaks, some of them a century old. How do mature, established trees and the saplings we plant today benefit all of us? Life survived (on earth) by courtesy of photosynthesis, and modern life could not endure without it. That means all that raking of tree leaves that we do each fall is part of a process essential to life on this planet. We sometimes forget in the rush of modern living that trees are major producers of the oxygen we breathe. Without them, there’d be no “us.” Trees also convert into oxygen the pollution caused by automobiles and other machinery and absorb chemicals that pollute the ground. Trees help with noise pollution by absorbing urban street sounds. On hot days they are natural air-conditioners for our homes and parked cars and protect pavement and streets by shading them. What about those expensive water and sewage bills? By absorbing stormwater in leaves and roots, established trees help prevent runoff from overwhelming city sewers. They also prevent the loss of topsoil, help control flooding, and protect fish habitat. “Hot water” from urban areas can raise the temperature of streams and make them unlivable for salmon and steelhead, two threatened species. Trees enhance the aesthetic appeal of a neighborhood by recreating the lush Northwest in our backyards. Try to imagine Wilshire Park or Alameda ridge without their stately trees. This past Arbor Day in April, Commissioner Jim Francesconi said, “Trees give us hope,” reminding us that each spring life renews itself with the help of our urban forest. For information on how to properly care for trees in our urban forest,
call Karl Dawson at Urban Forestry, 503/823-1650. Recycle those cartridges
Bluegrass Gospel Concert
YARD SALE
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