Richard Brown.
Richard Brown has been a resident of North Portland
since 1976. He is on the board of directors of the Willamette
River Keepers and the Black United Front. He has also been an
advocate for environmental change in the community surrounding
the Columbia Slough. Mr. Brown has been involved with both the
effort to put warning signs on the slough and education regarding
recreation on the slough.
Ronald
Bunn.
Ronald Bunn owns property adjacent to the Whitaker Ponds.
He has lived at this location for the past 48 years and retired
from Oregon Printing Plates in Portland. He is an avid gardener
and has viewed the increase in urbanization and commercial development
near Whitaker Ponds.
Jim Douglas.
Jim Douglas is a life-long resident of the Woodlawn neighborhood.
Born in 1905, Mr. Douglas has witnessed many of the changes
in the N.E. Portland area. Mr. Douglas remembers the days when
horses and buggies traveled the streets of Portland and raised
streetcar trestles crossed the slough. He now lives next to
the house in which he was born.
Tony Fazio
Tony Fazio is a long-time farmer on the Columbia Slough
and Sauvie Island. His family began farming on the slough shortly
after immigrating from Italy in 1921. Mr. Fazio recalls the
effect of the 1948 flood on his family's farm.
Tim Hayford
Tim Hayford was the manager of the Multnomah County Drainage
District from 1980-1999. Mr. Hayford was the fourth manager
since the conception of the drainage district. He played a key
role in issues related to the slough, including urban renewal
and the development of the Columbia South Shore area.
David Kasch.
Born in 1925, David Kasch has lived in North Portland most
of his life. He worked as a riverboat and tugboat pilot on the
Willamette and Columbia Rivers.
Bill Miller.
Bill Miller has lived in the St. John’s area since 1924,
and recalls events such as fishing, boating, the filling of
ponds and lakes, and salmon travelling up the slough. Mr. Miller
also has mapped the previously existing wetlands that were in
place nearby the slough.
Alta Mitchoff.
Mrs. Mitchoff is the author of the book History of the
Kenton Neighborhood. She was raised primarily in Kenton,
although she has spent time in the Portsmouth area.
George Mitchoff.
George Mitchoff grew up recreating on the Columbia Slough
and recalls fishing and hunting in the area. As an adult, Mr.
Mitchoff has been active in educating people about the Columbia
Slough.
Mae Ninomiya.
Mae Ninomiya is a lifelong Kenton resident. Her father came
from Japan in the early 20th century and purchased
land along the Columbia Slough. The family owned a store in
Kenton and farmed on the slough near the present-day Portland
International Airport. During WWII, her family was interned
at the Minodoka Relocation Center after an initial stay at the
Portland Assembly Center.
Elsie Norris.
Elsie Norris is a longtime resident of the St. John’s
area where she was born and grew up and went on to raise her
own family. She remembers swimming in Five Mile and Three-Corner
lakes, picking berries, and ice-skating on the slough. Her husband
helped when Vanport flooded as a member of the Portland Fire
Bureau.
Jim Regan.
Jim Regan and his wife Norma live on Sauvie Island. Mr.
Regan went to Vanport College and participated in rescuing people
and books from the college during the Vanport Flood. He recalls
working as a welder in the Portland Shipyards as a teenager
during W.W.II.
Ed Washington.
Ed Washington is a Metro Councilman and an African American
man who lived in Vanport City. Mr. Washington recalls his experiences
at Vanport City before and during the 1948 flood. He has been
involved in many decision-making processes related to the Columbia
Slough. Mr. Washington has recreated and observed environmental
changes in the slough since early childhood.
To view other Columbia Slough Oral Histories, click here
