Judy – Page 75 – Dear Liza

A Lone Fir Mystery

Dear Liza,

On one of my walks through Lone Fir Cemetery, I investigated this tall graceful monument near the east entrance. I first noticed it because of the name, FIMPEL, which I had never seen before.

As I walked around the monument, I realized there were four names, all with different dates of death, and only two that shared a family name. Curious, I took pictures for reference and headed home to do some research.

Besides George W. Fimpel, who died in 1899 at the age of twenty, the monument remembered his father, George B. Fimpel, who died in 1886, Samuel McDonald, who died in 1898, and Laura V. Mutch, who died in 1904. Why are they all here together? I was puzzled, and the Historic Oregonian website wasn’t much help.

Grandpa Nelson and his Ancestry.com membership saved the day!

As clearly as I can understand it, this is a story of Laura V. Howell, who was born in Oregon City in 1859. She moved to Portland and married George B. Fimpel, who worked as a fireman on the railroad. They had two sons, George W. and Charles Howell. Mr. Fimpel died in an accident at work in 1886, when his son George was 13 and his youngest, Charles, was barely six months old.

Laura put up this monument to him and soon re-married, to Samuel McDonald. I cannot imagine the emotional upheaval of bearing a child, losing a husband, and re-marrying, all within the span of a year!

Laura and Samuel had two daughters, Laura L. and Mary Virginia, bringing Laura’s total to four children. Sadly, her eldest, George W, died at the age of twenty, just seven years after his father. Laura buried him with his father and added his name to the monument.

Mr. McDonald died in 1898 leaving Laura with three children, ages 14, 8, and 5. She buried him with her first husband and her son, adding yet another name to the stone.

Laura re-married again, to Mr. Edward Mutch, one year later. Mr. Mutch adopted the girls, now ages 9 and 6.

A few years later, in 1904, Laura herself passed away at the relatively young age of 45. Her surviving husband and children buried her under her family monument, adding her name (shortened to just her first name, middle initial and final legal last name), to the remaining side of the stone. What a complicated life story she wrote in just 45 years!

To bring this family story forward into my lifetime, Laura’s youngest son, Charles, lived for many years after his mother died. He survived serving in World War I and then moved to Los Angeles, where he passed away in 1962 at the age of 76. This means he and I were living in Los Angeles County at the same time!

Laura’s daughter Mary Virginia McDonald stayed in Portland, married a man named Dotson, and is buried in Lone Fir, less than ten feet from her mother, father, and step-family.

To me, this story tells a lot about the times and the people. Laura, as a widowed mother of young children, had no way to support herself or her kids. She needed to be married, so she got married. Premature death was much more common then, caused by anything from falling off a wagon to eating spoiled meat to catching one of a dozen deadly diseases common at the time, and multiple marriages were very common. She persevered and raised her kids.

I am so glad to have learned about Laura V. Howell Fimpel McDonald Mutch and her family.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Time with Kes

Dear Liza,

Every now and then, I get to spend some quality time with your cousin Kestrel. She is ten years old and very clever. She likes animals and art and is very good at drawing.

Last week we got to make some art and care for her cats and snake, Sir Isaac Snooten. I haven’t fed a snake in a long time and was a little squeamish about handling the frozen mouse, but Kes had a steady hand and we got the job done.

The art we made took several days, and is still not finished. Kes found a large sheet of watercolor paper and sketched an ocean scene… eels and oysters below the water, sunset sky above. Together, we laid layers of purples and pink watercolors down, then sprinkled salt over the whole thing. We let it dry overnight.

The next time we got together, it was time for the water. Layers of purple and teal gave depth to the ocean, and Kes collaged tissue paper at the horizon for the setting sun. We cut small wave shapes from paint samples to glue down as the surface of the water, and that’s where the piece stands now, about half done.

I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Love,

Grandma Judy

An Evening at Suzette

Dear Liza,

Eating inside restaurants is only just now starting to feel safe. Covid chased us out onto patios and into the ”to go” line, but as Portland’s vaccinations have grown and more places are requiring proof of vaccinations to enter, we are more confident.

So Sunday, we spent a very pleasant evening at Suzette Creperie, one of the small restaurants just a block from our house. We met our new friend Judy (yes, another Judy!) for drinks and dinner.

The food is always tasty at Suzette, and the service is friendly. But what I really love is the ambiance. This word means the feeling of the place, the atmosphere…. how it makes you feel. Suzette, especially on a dark, chilly evening, reminds me of Paris.

And that’s always good.

Even Judy noticed it. This was her first visit and she said it felt like she’d ‘walked into a different world.’

For a few hours we had drinks, crepes, onion soup, and other delicious things, and shared stories. It was a warm way to spend a chilly evening.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Remembering Leroy

Dear Liza,

I love that our city has a Street Art Association that helps local artists create murals on the walls of our stores. The SSA has helped create dozens of murals filled with history and art.

And today I got to see a beautiful new example. On the west wall of our little Belmont Market, some folks were painting a memorial to Leroy Sly Scott, a homeless man who lived in our neighborhood for almost thirty years. In my conversations with him, we talked about life, God, and goodness.

Leroy and his bust sculpted by the late Jim Gion

This past year, Leroy became very sick and was taken in by some kind neighbors. In his last weeks he rested peacefully, in a warm bed with a roof over his head. He passed away knowing that he was not alone.

Leroy’s portrait was designed and painted by Kyra Watkins and the lettering was designed by Alicia Schultz and painted by some of Leroy’s friends. The lettering spells out Leroy’s favorite quote from a Digital Underground song, and says, “All around the world, same song.”

As I stood chatting with the painters, a traffic officer stopped by to tell them they had to move their vans, which were parked in a loading zone. Everyone was pleasant, but the officer was very clear. “I have to see you move them.”

Later, as the sun was going down, the work was almost done.

I will walk over today and see how it turned out, and think about Leroy, and God, and goodness.

Love,

Grandma Judy

New Art Comes Home

Dear Liza,

At the beginning of October, we visited SideStreet Art Gallery’s new show and bought a wonderful ceramic plate created by Rabon Thompson. We had to leave the plate at the gallery, though. It was part of a show, and moving it would make everything cock-eyed.

But Friday, we got to bring it home!

Of course, that led to the big question. Where should it go? Our walls are already pretty full of wonderful art, collected on our travels and from local artists. I plan on actually using the plate as a plate sometimes, so I wanted to have it close to the dining room. Bridgett found the perfect place!

Once we got the plate home, we realized that it has the same colors as our favorite painting, done by our friend David Gettman over forty years ago. Bridgett found the perfect place, where we can actually see the plate and the painting at the same time.

Of course, hanging it in that spot meant we had to move the Gary Carmody art, which meant moving other pictures. It was a domino effect of re-hanging.

But now, all is well. The pictures and new plate are handy and harmonious, and all is right with the world.
Love,

Grandma Judy

Some Serious Rain

Dear Liza,

In Portland, winter is wet and grey. That’s part of what I love about living here. But usually, the rain is slow and gentle… a few days of rain can total an inch or so.

But this past weekend, we had a STORM. The rain came thick and fast, blowing against the north, then the south, sides of the house, waking us all up. There were almost three inches of rain in just a few hours!

Luckily, Portland is designed for rain. The streets are properly built to make the water flow into the bioswales, which collect water and let it soak gently into the ground instead if carrying trash and pollutants to the river.

With a well designed city and a nice warm house, I can sit by the window and smile with the rain.

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Bonsai in Fall

Dear Liza,

My newest planting of The Hundred Acre Wood is starting to feel the effects of Autumn.

In the spring when they were new, the trees were pretty spindly, but they plumped up nicely in summer. The freaky cotoneaster got even freakier! But I’ll wait until winter to trim her.

Two of the trees, the tall larch and the cotoneaster, lose their leaves, so are doing the most changing. The larch, especially, is looking unwell, but that’s seasonal. The chubby evergreen juniper is just happy and green.

I love seeing all this change happening on my own balcony!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Ken, the Oak Tree

Dear Liza,

You know how much I love walking in Laurelhurst Park. I feel very close to some of the trees, especially the younger ones that I have gotten to see grow up.

This past Spring, several of our old giants fell in a big windstorm. This is a natural way for a tree to die, but it is still sad to see. This oak fell over with some of its roots still in the ground. The City cut most of the tree away to keep the paths safe and the dog park clear.

And someone decided that the remaining set of roots should protect a NEW tree, and planted one, right there. We named it Ken.

This summer we have enjoyed watching Ken grow. He has gained about a foot in height. He is growing almost as fast as you are!

And now it is Fall, time for Ken to change his leaves and have a nice long rest for winter. I can’t wait to see his new leaves pop out come March!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Party Food

Dear Liza,

For our Halloween party, we wanted some sweets, of course. Sugar cookies, using Auntie Bridgett’s mom’s recipe, are easy to make and good to frost. I have learned how to make and use royal icing, and Grandpa Nelson gave me a nice set of decorating supplies. Auntie Bridgett’s steady hands are helpful, too.

We created tombstones and vampire dentures using a walnut shortbread. It’s not too sweet, and the cookies have a nice ’stony’ look.

But we needed food that wasn’t sweet, as well. Our eyeballs were made from stacked slices of sausage, cheese, and olives. You eat them by stabbing them with a toothpick! Very satisfying.

I also tried ”finger sandwiches” that were supposed to look like… fingers. They were filled with cream cheese, dill weed, and cucumber slices. The only problem is, to make them structurally sound, they need to be very fat fingers! Anyway, they were fun and tasty.

There were also regular deviled eggs, which weren’t very photogenic, but were delicious.

All this food, along with friends, wine, and lots if conversation, made for a good evening.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Halloween

Dear Liza,

Believe it or not, the party was only the night before Halloween! Halloween itself was even busier.

We woke up slowly Sunday after the party Saturday night, but we had things to do. Grandpa Nelson needed his booster Covid shot and I wanted to visit Auntie Katie and the Cousins. A bright fall walk through miles of leaves and spooky decorations was just the thing.

Kestrel as a mushroom fairy, in her element

It is always fun seeing what Jasper and Kestrel are up to. Sunday, of course, they were putting finishing touches in their costumes. I took some cookies down, as we had leftovers from the party and no one needs that many cookies (not all at once, anyway).

We headed out to have some fun and take pictures in the glorious sunshine. A Mushroom Fairy, top-hatted ghost and stylish Loki were very photogenic! Even Nick, Katie’s second-in-command at Books with Pictures, got into the spirit.

When we said goodbye, I headed for home, taking the number 14 bus to get me up the hill. A nice quiet afternoon on the couch was in order, then a dinner of leftover finger sandwiches and salad.

Then it was actually Halloween night! Time to go see some spooks. I love the spectacle of a street full of costumed kids running through the dark past lighted up porches. It takes me back to those evenings of my own childhood, where Magic was definitely in the air.

One house in particular went all-out, feeling more like a ride at Disneyland than a front yard! Skeletons, witches and werewolves howled and menaced passers-by. It was stunning.

By the time we had seen as much as we could see, it was time for my Sunday night art ZOOM with you, dear Liza. I had a good time, drew a fine banana split, and fell asleep pretty soon thereafter.

What a fabulous Halloween!

Love,

Grandma Judy