May 24, 2004
Help Portland Preserve The Histories Of Its Neighborhoods
What follows is taken from information which showed up in two places today: an item posted to News4Neighbors and the ONI Notification electronic mailing list.
We pass it along because (as long-time readers will know) we have a mild obsession with Portland history and, in fact, have republished an old booklet from a previous neighborhood history effort.
The 30th anniversary of the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (alias, Associations) provides an appropriate opportunity to find, research, record, and document the history of our neighborhoods, neighborhood associations, and related subjects.
Portland has an international reputation for our neighborhood system. We need to document and publicize this history ourselves. If it is not done soon much will be lost.
Ideas for doing this are in the development stage so your thoughts about the subject are welcome.
This call for assistance comes from Don MacGillivray (who, not so incidentally, was involved with the original 1976 publication of the previously-mentioned neighborhood history booklet which we republished last year), who says he is working with Lee Perlman and others on activities for ONI's 30th anniversary.
It remains to be seen what can be done. At the very least a short summary of the history of ONI and the coalitions should be written. A bibliography of source material and a web-site might also be developed. It is hoped these resources would help others to do more extensive work.
Here's what MacGillivray would like interested parties to let him know:
- Let him know of your interest.
- Let him know of anyone else that might be interested.
- What historic resources are available that you believe to be important?
- What ideas do you have about how to do this?
- What ideas do you have about available resources and ways to do this effectively?
MacGillivray says that they expect to have a table with some limited material available at the June 19 birthday celebration outside City Hall, and interested parties are invited to come discuss the history project with them.
"We have accomplished so much over the last thirty years that few people involved today know about," MacGillivray writes. "It is crying out to be recorded and passed on to our new leaders and the community at large."
For our part, we believe that this project should arrange to take over the old ONI address on the Web to create a central repository of neighborhood history, along with lessons and how-tos on best practices which teach interested parties -- especially students, perhaps -- to gather their local history.
But we suggest a further possible component: Each neighborhood should be invited to maintain a portion of the site for themselves -- possibly run through weblog software such as that running PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE -- to which residents can add new pieces of neighborhood history as they are uncovered, discovered, unearthed, and/or written.
Regardless of such specifics, we encourage those of our readers with a penchant for local history to contact MacGillivray and become involved in this effort.