Freedom for dogs, one fence at a time

New Portland organization builds fences to increase happiness for owners and their dogs

By Nikki Jardin
The Portland Upside
December 2009

Photo by David Childs

Noah, a beagle mix, proudly surveys his newly fenced-in backyard domain.

The beagle mix is all tongue, tail and paws as he pivots and jumps, greeting the volunteers who arrive at the sedate Gladstone neighborhood on a Saturday morning. The dog stands on two back legs and happily licks the face of anyone who gets within range. Today Noah’s reach is hampered by a tether attached to a clothesline, his restriction highlighted by the well worn path beneath him.

People arrive to participate in a recently formed volunteer group called Fences For Fido (FFF), a nonprofit dedicated to relieving chained dogs of an isolating and unhappy existence. The group provides the materials and labor to erect perimeter fences around an owner’s property so that a dog may run freely.

This morning Noah is getting a fence, a doghouse and plenty of tender loving care from volunteers willing to sit nearby while activity buzzes around him.

One group pounds slender metal bars while others unroll and cut fencing wire. Three of the organizers discuss whether Noah is a “digger” and whether ground fencing might prevent him from escaping. Since many of the volunteers have been to a number of “builds” already, the operation moves smoothly, and the workers easily make themselves useful. First-timers are greeted warmly and immediately put to work.

Michelle Rouse, who drove from Beaverton this morning, heard about the organization from a local news broadcast. She called the group to report a dog she had seen chained in an unsuitable environment.

“This dog had no shade, no shelter, nothing. I called FFF and they went over that night to talk to the owner. I was floored that they would care that much. I helped build that fence and was hooked. It’s fabulous, some of these dogs have never been off chains and you can see their pure joy when they are let go. I feel like we are the voice for those who can’t speak.”

FFF began last May when a friend spoke to Andrea Kozil about a chained dog she passed daily. She felt the dog’s suffering but didn’t know what she could do. Kozil, who works for the Humane Society of the United States, approached the owner of the house and asked if he would allow her to build a fence so that his dog could be let off the chain. Fences For Fido was born.

Andrea, along with colleague Kelly Peterson, began recruiting friends and asking for donations from local companies. They estimated building about one fence a month. Twelve fences later they have a waiting list and weekly projects stretching from St. Helens to Salem.

The original inspiration came from a group in North Carolina, The Coalition to Unchain Dogs, which builds several fences a week for dogs in that state. A group from the coalition came to help FFF on their first build and to offer tips on how to get the job done most efficiently.

As more regular volunteers show up for the weekly fence builds, the work has become faster and more manageable. Andrea’s friend, Vince Baker, became hooked after building the first fence and hasn’t missed one since. Vince has become the de facto crew leader, a claim he shirks off with a humble smile. But he becomes animated and sincere when talking about his first experience.

“That first build was the ideal situation. Here’s this dog, six years on a chain and we go in and build this fence. After that, the owner cleaned up the backyard, set up his barbecue and starting spending time back there with his dog. And that’s what we hope for, that the fence improves the lives of the entire family. That was a perfect example of how people can see that there is a different way of interacting with their pets.”

Dogs are pack animals by nature and are normally friendly and gregarious. Years on a chain can wear a dog down psychologically, making them unhappy, anxious or aggressive. FFF gently educates owners on the importance of interacting with their animal by visiting with them, walking them and taking care of basic health needs.

Michelle Blake, FFF coordinator in Salem, says, “We really try to educate people about their dog’s need for companionship. When chained, they are so desperate for attention that they are obnoxious and it becomes hard to spend time with them. The fences do seem to make a difference in people’s relationship with their dogs.”

The fence is nearly complete, just a gate left to be installed. People have begun to clean up the yard and organize the tools. Noah happily engages the volunteers, who hang out with him in tether-range while he checks out his new doghouse, a custom-made insulated model with straw bedding and a covered deck.

Noah’s owners come into the yard and quietly observe the hustle and bustle with a mixture of awe and satisfaction. In many cases, dog owners want to do right by their pets but can’t afford to offer a better solution than a chain. Indeed, this couple is grateful for the assistance.

“I think it’s absolutely wonderful,” says Angela, Noah’s owner. “We’ve been wanting to do this but couldn’t pull it off financially. It pulled at our heartstrings this past year, having him like this. We actually thought about giving him up to a better home.”

The moment has arrived for Noah to be released from his tether. As the smiling volunteers line the perimeter of the yard, they are eager for the best part of the day.

Andrea bends down and calls Noah to her. He trots over and she deftly releases the tether from his collar. It takes him just a moment to feel his freedom and he bursts into a run, spurred on by the cheering group. He makes three lightening speed laps around the yard and then stands, tongue lolling, to admire his new domain. In a moment that seems scripted, he leaps onto the top of his doghouse and stands proud and happy, even posing for a few pictures.

While the crew clears out, the family’s children come into the yard. Along with their parents, they begin running and playing with Noah. Andrea looks on, pleased by the success of this build.

“It’s great when you see the family really get inspired about their dog. They see a side of Noah now that they’ve never seen before. This is a way to bridge a gap and help nourish the relationship between dog and family. That’s why we’re here.”

_____

For more info about Fences For Fido, visit their website, http://fencesforfido.org Contact them at info@FencesForFido.org

Nikki Jardin has written for The Oregonian, Street Roots and the recently launched id Magazine. She lives in Southeast Portland and is continually impressed and inspired by the creativity and gumption of her neighbors and friends.

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From caring hands to children’s shelves

Volunteers at the Children’s Book Bank distribute books to kids in need

Story and photo by Rebecca Ok
The Portland Upside
December 2009

Portland Head Start students take delight in exploring their bags full of community-donated books which they now proudly own.

A bell rings to announce the beginning of the lunch break. The once-quiet school halls erupt with the excited sounds of young children. In the gym, staff and volunteers from the Children’s Book Bank wait for the afternoon Head Start preschool classes to emerge from the blissful chaos in the halls. A few teachers arrive, their students following them in lines, for the special assembly. The students sit down in front of an impressive row of tote bags full of new and gently-used children’s books.

After a brief talk, the adults divide 60 bright-eyed students into four groups for story time with volunteer readers. Two of the volunteers, Tony McManus and George Josten of the Portland Timbers soccer team, read such children’s classics as If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Pancake to the rapt preschoolers.

When story time is over, each student receives a tote bag filled with 15 community-donated books to take home. The children are given time to explore the contents of their tote bags. They pull out alphabet books and counting books. They flip through animal books and look in awe at complexly constructed pop-up books. They show their books to their friends, pointing out gorillas and princesses. They laugh at dogs wearing hats and cows in pajamas. Occasionally, a triumphant squeal can be heard, announcing the discovery of a hoped-for book.

The book delivery at the Clark Head Start site at the Creative Science School on Southeast 92nd Avenue was one of several the Children’s Book Bank made on October 20. On that day, this new and growing organization distributed 780 tote bags filled with 11,700 community-donated books to all eight Portland Public Schools Head Start pre-schools. More than just children’s books, the bags contained promises of a better future.

The October distribution culminates two years of work by the Children’s Book Bank. Founder Danielle Swope first became interested in improving literacy among low-income children while serving with Teach for America as a high school math teacher in the early ‘90s.
Danielle says she “was surprised to find that the most significant obstacle to teaching math was that my students’ reading skills were so limited.”

This experience, in addition to startling statistics regarding the barriers to education faced by low-income children, motivated Danielle to create the Children’s Book Bank in Portland.

Book distributions are the final step in the process of closing the book gap. The term “book gap” refers to the astonishing fact that in middle and upper-income neighborhoods, the ratio of books to children is 13 books for every child. In low-income neighborhoods, on the other hand, the ratio is one book for every 300 children.

Kindergarten teacher Melanie Reaves affirms, “the most important thing to do to ensure a child will be a life-long reader is to read aloud to them.”

The lack of age-appropriate reading material robs low-income children of the opportunity to develop pre-reading skills before entering kindergarten. The result, Danielle says, is that low-income children “arrive in kindergarten lacking the foundational literacy skills on which to build their future educations” and have to play catch-up with their middle- and upper-income peers.

In order to eliminate the book gap and its adverse effects, the Children’s Book Bank facilitates the collection of books that children have outgrown and the subsequent distribution to children in need.

In addition to containing promises of a better future, each tote bag of books represents the dedication of many community members. Book distributions are only one part of the process of getting books into the hands of low-income children. As a nonprofit organization, the Children’s Book Bank relies on the participation of a large network of volunteers to achieve its goal.

Volunteers are essential to every part of the process. They organize book drives in their schools, congregations, businesses, and other organizations. Individuals from the community donate the books their own children have outgrown. Groups of volunteers come to the book bank several times a week to clean, sort and bundle the donated books. By the time of distribution, each book has been touched by many caring hands from the Portland community.

According to Danielle, the Children’s Book Bank began with a small mission and a big dream.

“I only thought we’d be able to help a few children,” she says.

The October 20 distribution shows, however, how dramatically this young organization has exceeded even its own expectations. Community response has been so overwhelming that the Children’s Book Bank was able to help a few children and then some.

Allyson Yoshiwara, Portland Public School Head Start Educational Supervisor, reports, “the children are absolutely thrilled to have books they can keep.”

Such response has enabled the Children’s Book Bank to dream bigger. The organization hopes to expand distribution to other sites in the near future. Each book donated, each volunteer, and each child who goes home with a bag of books under his arm, realizes a part of the dream of greater educational success for low-income children in the Portland community.

_____


The Children’s Book Bank is located at 1728 NE Glisan Street, Portland, and online at http://childrensbookbank.org Contact them by email at info@childrensbookbank.org or by phone at 503-753-4809.

Rebecca Ok is a recent Reed College graduate seeking to make sense of post-college life through children’s literature. She can be contacted via email at rebeccao@childrensbookbank.org

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Winter sunshine

Portlander finds warmth by following the story of a former Oregonian now living in Mexico

By Karen Munro
The Portland Upside
December 2009

Juanita Benedicto (center) with two of the madres from the Buen Pastor mission, where she volunteers offering massage therapy, education and encouragement.

Every weekday, like many other Portlanders, I sheathe myself in layers of Gore-tex and nylon and ride my bike to work. In winter my ride is cold and wet, grey and windy. I thread my way around puddles and try not to mind the icy rivulets running down my collar and into my shoes. Oregon in winter is a soggy place, and here in Portland we can go days or weeks without seeing the sun.

But there’s a little bit of sunshine waiting in my office. When I get in I towel off, fire up my computer, and point it to my blog reader, where El Sur Experiment tops my most-read list. There I might see a whimsical picture of a row of ceramic alligators in cowboy hats, a panoramic shot of the rooftops of a sun-drenched colonial city, or a portrait of a young girl walking alone through a courtyard, solemnly reading a picture book. Either way, I feel like my office just got a new window and a little more daylight.

El Sur Experiment is the photojournal of Juanita Benedicto, a former Oregonian who started remaking her life in 2004. While working full-time as an academic librarian and raising two daughters solo, Juanita began training for a new career as a massage therapist. During her summer breaks she traveled to Guanajuato, Mexico, to volunteer at Buen Pastor, a convent that assists poor, exploited, and marginalized women and children. Juanita started offering compassion, encouragement, education, and massage therapy to Buen Pastor’s clients. In 2008 she moved from Oregon to Mexico to volunteer at the convent full-time. She started El Sur Experiment to record the results of the experiment she was making of her life. In her own words, she wanted to find out what happens when “you follow your inner compass, enjoy where you’re at, don’t fret about the future, and remember that every day is another opportunity to practice grace.”

Buen Pastor offers a wide range of social services, including a shelter for victims of abuse, foster care for girls, and a middle school. Some girls come to Buen Pastor because of an abusive relative. Others come because their families can’t afford to feed or educate them. Many of the women at Buen Pastor have been beaten or sexually assaulted. Even the madres (nuns) themselves are growing old and feeling the pains of arthritis, rheumatism, and a lifetime of hard work. Juanita works with all of them, building trust and helping to release trauma through physical touch and attention.

For all that Juanita and the madres do, they’re ambitious to do more. They want to make the convent more sustainable, and are seeking grants to build an organic community garden and install solar panels. They’ve started a Spanish-language library and reading programs to encourage the girls’ literacy. (Olivia the Pig books are very popular.)

Juanita has set up a Buen Pastor website, where she invites readers to sponsor a girl’s education—so far every girl who finds a sponsor has improved her grades, without fail. There are dreams of a bigger, better computer lab and maybe, someday, a paid position for Juanita.
Juanita’s photojournal reflects all of this hard work and goal-setting. She documents the silly, joyful, and somber moments of life at Buen Pastor. In one post, Juanita writes about teaching Madre Patricia to pronounce “kiss my ass” in English. In another she quotes World Bank president Robert Zoellick:

“Investing in adolescent girls is precisely the catalyst poor countries need to break intergenerational poverty and to create a better distribution of income. Investing in them is not only fair, it is a smart economic move.”

And then there’s the rest of life in Guanajuato, filtered through Juanita’s camera lens: shots of incredible, vibrant street art, drawings, painted murals, a classic car show packed with gleaming, iridescent Volkswagens. There are photos of the bluffs and buttes above the city, massive red rocks floating against a blue sky.
Guanajuato is an old, European-style city replete with architectural flourishes, and Juanita’s camera finds every molded lion and scalloped ledge. She captures the brilliant colors of the houses—hot pink, teal, saffron, olive—as well as the crumbling edges of urban decay.

Juanita’s posts sometimes wax sublime, sometimes ridiculous. She has a sly sense of humor and a talent for skewering the absurd. “Tell her how you feel in paint,” she subtitles a photograph of street graffiti that reads, “Hey Alma Te Amo” (“Hey Alma I love you.”) Sometimes the full meaning of a photo only emerges from its accompanying text. A picture of a snowy egret in an alley mystifies until you mouse over it, and read the pop-up explanation. Increasingly egrets sojourn in urban areas like the nearby city of San Miguel de Allende, displaced from their native habitats.

From the posts that make up El Sur Experiment, a world emerges. Vibrant, complex, and fragile, Juanita’s world includes birthday parties, ancient ruins, fiestas and fireworks, sewing machines and saints. It’s a world where a garbage collector can win a muscle man competition, bulking up by eating out of the bins he empties; where a stub-eared guard dog peers down from a rooftop, surrounded by clouds; where rich and poor live next door to each other. In some ways, Juanita’s world is not unlike Portland.

Most amazingly the brightness and power fill me with optimism, even in the face of poverty and injustice. Juanita’s pictures of life in Guanajuato record her worthy work and refract light and energy all the way from Mexico to Portland. After a rainy morning commute to my office, the posts stream sunshine from her southern clime, reminding me that good works tend to send out ripples in all directions, like raindrops falling into a Portland puddle.

_____

Visit Juanita Benedicto’s El Sur Experiment at http://jblibrarian.wordpress.com Buen Pastor’s website, with more details about ongoing projects and ways to get involved, is at http://buenpastor.weebly.com

Karen Munro is a librarian who lives and works in Portland. Contact her at karenlibrarian@gmail.com

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Mother, comedian Jacki Kane gives parents TIME OUT

By Jillian Starr
The Portland Upside
December 2009

Photo by Deke Black

At the recent TIME OUT comedy show “Guess Who’s Messing Up Dinner,” Jacki Kane (top) worries her kids won’t know the meaning of a wildly dysfunctional holiday.

If Ellen DeGeneres’ and Steven Wright’s comedy had a baby, and the baby grew up to be a mother of two, it would be Jacki Kane. With self-deprecating humor and a big heart, she manages, produces and emcees “TIME OUT: The Mother of All Comedies,” a local show that invites others to take the stage and share in the grand comedy that is parenthood.

Last month at Northeast Portland’s Curious Comedy Theatre, Jacki joked about being a mom, a cougar, and growing up Catholic. Her comedy presence creates a comfortable, familiar atmosphere, like proudly watching your best friend perform. Welcoming six other mothers to the stage, it’s obvious she loves to share the spotlight with parents who see the laughter in their own lives.

Women like Nicole McKinney clearly agree that parenting requires humor. She joked about insurance policies for kids’ cell phones, asking the hilariously simple question “Did our moms ever call up State Farm to insure bikes and roller skates?”

Wendy Bax spoke of turning the food pyramid into a ranch-style house and Betsy Kauffman explained why Jewish people never see Bigfoot—“they would if he went to the half-yearly sale at Nordstrom’s!”

Looking at the theatre’s full house, it’s hard to believe TIME OUT started as scribbles on scraps of paper tucked absentmindedly throughout Jacki’s home. When the jokes outnumbered toddler crumbs, she debuted her new material during open mic at the family-friendly Airplay Cafe. A group of moms fell off the couch laughing, and at that moment she knew her honest comedy about child rearing resonated strongly with other parents. She immediately set up a meeting with the owner of the cafe and created her first TIME OUT show.

In January 2009, a crowd of about 80 parents buzzed with anticipation, wanting to laugh about the horrors of the holidays. The energized atmosphere—support group meets mom’s night out—allowed for regular moms to take the stage and speak comically about Thanksgiving Day childbirth, projectile turkey vomit and other holiday plans gone awry.

Since that first show, Jacki has performed monthly in Portland, Beaverton and Vancouver.

Shows feature monthly themes such as “Extreme Makeover Mom Edition” and “Honey I Shrunk My Libido.” Parent-comics joke freely about everything from diet plans to vasectomies. Local parenting businesses have lent support and performances have drawn standing-room-only audiences.

TIME OUT has attracted a diversity of performers including single moms, lesbian moms, moms with eight children, stay-at-home moms, entrepreneurs, dads and grandparents. Many performers are brand new to the stage while others have been professionally trained in acting, writing or stand-up. They go on stage because it’s a supportive way to joke about parenthood, because they’re trying to step back into a world of creativity and humor after having children, or because they welcome any excuse to get out of the house.

Kristina Martin, mother of three and former high school teacher, does the show to keep her sanity. She loves finding humor in all the nutty things that go hand-in-hand with parenting and she reports that surrounding herself with laughter makes her kids laugh, too.

Beren deMotier, mother of three and author of The Brides of March, finds the applause from the audience highly rewarding because her work as a writer is spent isolated, “hiding out in the basement trying to be funny.”

Debby Dodds, a professionally trained actress and improv artist, found TIME OUT to be the perfect way to step back into performing after her daughter was born.

Jacki herself logged three years of stand up comedy in Atlanta as well as writing comedy for television, advertising and radio before moving to Portland and slowing it all down to become a mother.

“After spending way too many hours wiping things, it’s really all about claiming something for yourself,” she says.

And what better way to self-nurture than to find the humor in life and make others happy?

Audience members find relief in laughing about the reality of parenthood. There are no airbrushed Hollywood parenting stories here, no nerve-wracking news reports, but rather a comical back-fence atmosphere of neighbor relating to neighbor, mama to mama.

One woman touched Jacki’s arm after the show and said, “Thank you for showing me there’s something more.”

In the isolation of homes, parents may not realize the bond they share with others, how common their own stories are. Fatigue, toddler tantrums, and the challenge of balancing roles within work, family and the home can throw anyone off kilter. No wonder straightforward parenting sitcoms like Roseanne, Everybody Loves Raymond and Modern Family are so popular. Many relate to the humor in everyday family situations and laughing is a great stress release.

Jacki might be a bit sadistic tackling two of the hardest jobs: mother and female stand-up comic. Yet she good-naturedly acknowledges the challenges. She laughs about the time she was introduced at a comedy club as “that middle-aged lady” by a man who was older and in desperate need of a man bra. And she readily admits that if there were a job application for parents, she definitely wouldn’t get hired.

Still, her two professions complement each other well. Her life is fodder for her comedy and her comedy is the creative outlet essential to her success as a mom. Hell-bent on turning TIME OUT into a show that continually fosters camaraderie among parents while not relying on thoughtless “blue” comedy, she’s determined to guide the show toward continued success.

Long term, Jacki wants to use the shows to assist moms in need as well as to establish a foundation for mothers who are struggling writers. Given all that Jacki can accomplish in a year, it will be exciting to watch TIME OUT prosper.

_____

For event schedules and more info about TIME OUT, see http://jackikane.wordpress.com or contact Jacki at 503-704-5737 or kane.jacki@gmail.com

Jillian Starr writes screenplays, poems and personal essays and is a proud member of TIME OUT’s board of directors. You can learn more about her at http://jillianstarr.com

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From the editors

By Sara & Rob Bednark
The Portland Upside
December 2009

They say “a picture’s worth a thousand words,” and while that’s true, one can never replace the other. Photos complement stories as much as stories complement photos.

Rebecca Ok’s article about Children’s Book Bank, (From Caring Hands to Children’s S helves, p. 1) and their Oct. 20 distribution of 780 book bags takes us to the school gym where eager pre-schoolers explore the wonders of books they now own. Rebecca’s accompanying photos let us see some of the curious faces that will benefit from the organization’s caring volunteers.

Nicole Morales (Coming Soon: Kids, Coffee & Community at Café au Play, p. 4) follows the years of planning and hard work put in by Kristin Heying and other community volunteers to bring life to Café au Play. The before and after photos help us appreciate how much change has taken place on the Tabor Commons site.

Building a fence never sounded so fun and rewarding until we read Nikki Jardin’s article (Freedom for Dogs, One Fence at a Time, p. 1). The photos by David Childs of Noah running along the fence, reveling in his new untethered freedom, captures the spirit of why the Fences For Fido volunteers do what they do.

Perhaps when looking at the photos from past issues (A Look Back at Our First Seven Issues, p. 5) you’ll be inspired to go to our website and read some of the articles that you’ve missed. If you’ve already read them all, we hope the photos will remind you that Portland is full of people doing wonderful things to help others in the community.

Happy holidays!

Sara & Rob

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All issues can be viewed on our website, http://PortlandUpside.com Contact us by email, editors@PortlandUpside.com, or by phone, 503-663-1526.

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Coming soon: kids, coffee & community at Café au Play

By Nicole Morales
The Portland Upside
December 2009

An old drive-thru is being transformed into Café au Play at Tabor Commons, an inviting community space and nonprofit coffeehouse on SE Division and 56th Ave., scheduled to open Spring 2010.

The vision: a nonprofit coffeehouse with plenty of play space for the kids as well as a place where parents can socialize or join community-run sessions about easy, tasty treats for the whole family. Students, honored citizens, and parents alike would be encouraged to interact via gardening activities, story time, budgeting classes, and yoga. Is this all possible under the same roof?

Kristin Heying definitely thinks so. She and two other mothers imagined a family-oriented coffeehouse when her daughter, Sophie, was only three. At that time, she and the other moms attempted to hang out at their local coffee spots. At every meeting, they got the feeling they just weren’t jiving with the coffeehouse atmosphere: solos on laptops, couples in conversation, people-watchers, and baristas behind the counters trying to ignore their children.

Seven years in the planning, Café au Play will open this spring. In keeping with the family theme, her own father, Charles Heying, fully supports the idea and continues to help plan, organize, and renovate. He initially suggested it be a nonprofit enterprise.

Come early next year, families will have their own place to mingle among Portland’s rich coffee house scene. Café au Play will offer ample opportunities to build community within a safe and diverse multigenerational setting.

In the three years leading up to the café’s opening, Kristin and team have been busy with renovations at the former ill-reputed Drive Thru Wake Up Deli building at 5633 SE Division St. in Portland’s Mount Tabor neighborhood. Today, the site is known as Tabor Commons, a project of the Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition (SEUL).

Altogether, over 75 board members, volunteers, and others have been involved in the Tabor Commons site renovation. There are countless community supporters who have followed the Café au Play story since its beginning, 700 readers alone, via the café’s listserv. Moreover, an estimated 25 local business owners, professionals, community groups, and artists have donated materials, reduced fees, or lent expertise.

Café au Play’s business plan is unique in three ways: it formed a partnership with the organizers of Tabor Commons, a community-owned building; it combines the coffeehouse air with the helping hands of a community resource center; its programs and services are patron-directed.

A true hybrid, the café will sustain itself through coffee bar sales while simultaneously offering a welcoming space for people with children and others looking to get involved in their community.
Says founder Kristin, “We wanted to create the coffeehouse environment, but our focus is on community programs, services, support networks—it’s not on the coffeehouse business.”

As for the marriage of Café au Play and Tabor Commons, Kristin believes it’s a happy one.

“The community wanted a positive gathering space for the Tabor Commons site, so Paul Leistner and I came together with our ideas.”

Paul Leistner serves on the board of SEUL—a coalition of twenty neighborhoods—to promote and foster citizen involvement for Mount Tabor neighborhood betterment. He was instrumental in securing the once neglected Drive Thru Wake Up Deli building and lot.

With so much work under their belts and a spring opening scheduled, there is still plenty of room for community involvement. Kristin reports that the Café au Play board will be planning, marketing and setting up their second annual Jingle Mingle Holiday Sale to raise start-up funds for the 2010 opening. The holiday tree and gift sale should help fund the final phase of renovations and the culmination of a 7-year-long dream.

“It’s not easy to be one person raising a child or children, but the part that makes that a little bit easier is to have a good support system. I realized I was not the only one needing support—all parents need support.”

_____

Looking to get involved and show your support? Start off by visiting the Tabor Commons Café au Play site on the northeast corner of Southeast 57th and Division during the Jingle Mingle Holiday Sale open weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. until Dec. 20.
Also visit http://cafeauplay.org for more information about the café including volunteering opportunities, a photo gallery, and a calendar.

Nicole strives to connect people via multicultural education and writing. She teaches ESL at a private university outside of Portland and welcomes your inquiries at nmorales.writes@gmail.com

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A look back at our first seven issues

The Portland Upside
December 2009


May '09: Portland - My Home

Nov. '09: Crystal spreads music

May '09: Warriors for peace

Aug. '09: Zadok's therapeutic fur

July '09: Youth seize opportunity with The Pangaea Project

June '09: Solutions at Project POOCH

Nov. '09: City Repair inspiring neighborhoods

July '09: Musical medicine from Children's Cancer Association

Sept. '09: Sautrday Academy feeds minds

Oct. '09: A passion for action at Springboard

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Green, healthy and friendly

Owner’s values show through at the Ladybug Organic Cafe and Bakery

By Kathleen Gabriel
The Portland Upside
December 2009

Photo by Gregg Morris

Angel O’Brien, owner of Ladybug Organic Cafe and Bakery in St. Johns, takes pride in serving an all-organic menu and producing the least amount of waste possible.

St. Johns, annexed to Portland in 1915, feels like a small town. Because of its geography, on the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers, it feels more like a destination than a neighborhood.

Angel O’Brien had classmates who lived in St. Johns when she attended St. Mary’s Academy as a girl. Four years ago when she decided to start the restaurant she’d wanted to own all her life, she remembered St. Johns. The just-right space with all windows on two walls happened to be for lease. Even gutted it had a good feeling to it. Since then Ladybug Organic Cafe has become a cornerstone in the revitalization of St. Johns.

Angel didn’t set out to have an all-organic restaurant with environmentally-sound practices. She simply brought her personal philosophy to her business. She eats organic food at home, and she hasn’t had garbage service in years. She couldn’t see giving customers food that isn’t raised organically, or generating garbage in her restaurant.

In April, Ladybug won the Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow award. While the average American produces over four pounds of garbage a day, Ladybug Cafe, full of happy eaters eleven hours a day, generates only about eight pounds per week. You won’t find a trash receptacle in the dining room, because they reuse, recycle and compost everything possible. Menus are made of organic paper and left at the counter. They offer nice, soft handmade cotton napkins. All of their to-go cups and straws are made of compostable plastic.

Ladybug Organic Cafe and Bakery is on Lombard Street at the intersection with Leavitt, just a few blocks from the famous St. Johns Bridge. The sign reads Ladybug Organic Coffee Company. Angel plans to change it, however, so that people know to expect more than coffee.

Ladybug bakes all of their breads and pastries, using recipes from many sources. Some are Angel’s family recipes, some are from cookbooks, and every employee has contributed something. Every recipe has been tweaked in one way or another to make it unique. Each day they offer at least two kinds of handmade pie (Angel’s take on a turnover), one filled with a savory vegetable and cheese combination, one filled with fruit. There are little peanut butter cookies for a quarter, and fruit-filled bar cookies.

Ladybug is a community gathering place. Knitters meet in front of the big fireplace. Writers and students sit with their computers and free wi-fi, laughing, typing, and frowning at the screen. Young families play and talk. Roosevelt Campus had a Writers in the Schools reading at Ladybug two years in a row.

Local art adorns the walls and windows, with Angel, an accomplished photographer herself, contributing. A special art event in September and October showcased local artists in other St. Johns businesses, but Ladybug has art all year long. Exhibits have included colorful art by the children of Serendipity School, Blue Moon Camera and Machine’s annual customers’ show, and Chris Clem’s photography.

Sure Ladybug is about food, coffee and tea. It’s also about people in their community.

Ladybug’s people are hardworking, friendly and articulate. Would-be employees must complete a job application five pages long, with ten essay questions written by Angel, such as “what is something you do on a regular basis to make the world a better place?” and “what is the most important thing you have ever learned, and how has it changed your life?” The New York Times ran an article last December about this unusually long application for a barista position.

It’s easy to qualify as a customer, however. All you have to do is show up and let this fine little corner establishment take care of you.

_____

Ladybug Organic Cafe and Bakery is at 8438 N Lombard St., Portland. Find them online at http://ladybugcoffee.com or call 503-715-1006.

Kathleen Gabriel, a library clerk and novelist, is married to Gregg Morris, the photographer. They live with their two ferrets, their dog and granddog. They visit Ladybug frequently. Contact her at KathyGab@gmail.com

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Voices around town

What do you do for fun in the winter?

The Portland Upside
December 2009

I like to go for a walk in my neighborhood, cozy up by the fire, read a good book, drink some tea, and relax with my wife.

–Craig V.
Woodstock neighborhood
Portland, Oregon

I like to knit and watch movies.

–Anonymous
West Linn, Oregon

Anything that doesn’t involve work, that gets my mind off of work and the economy and all that. Anything and everything that will keep me relaxed. I hang out with my friends, exercise, go fishing. I’m a big fan of the outdoors.

–Joe Edwards
Beaverton, Oregon

I enjoy going outside. I used to jog, now I just like being in the outdoors. I collect wines and do a lot of wine hunting, so I go out to the wine countries. Oregon has wonderful Pinot Noirs.

–S. J. U.
visiting Portland from the
San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California

I like to build snowmen.

–Heidi G., age 9

Centennial neighborhood
Portland, Oregon

I enjoy going cross-country skiing at Teacup Lake up by Mt. Hood.

–Suzi G.
Centennial neighborhood
Portland, Oregon

As a family we play board games and do video game marathons. We recently went and saw the new movie A Christmas Carol in 3-D which was fun.

–Morgan and Cori O.
Forest Grove, Oregon

We like to take walks in the snow and pull our two little kids on sleds.

–Hillary Klump
visiting Portland from
Bellingham, Washington

I enjoy playing World of Warcraft, a multi-player online game. I also read books, and like to sit at home and listen to music.

–Anonymous
Northwest neighborhood
Portland, Oregon

For fun, I like to tap dance.

–Kim
Gearhart, Oregon

I like to team dance.

–Alex, age 16
Gearhart, Oregon

I enjoy playing basketball.

–Mariah, age 14
Gearhart, Oregon

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Winter Smile

Photo by Aike Burger
The Portland Upside
December 2009

Aike is a sophomore at Lake Oswego High School. She started with photography when she was 11 years old. Aike uses humor and an unusual angle to get her message across. This photo was taken when she got bored being inside during the big snowstorm in December 2008.
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