Dear Liza

Dear Liza,

It was a pretty day today, much different from the chilly winds yesterday. I was feeling restless, so I went to visit the dead people.

Spring always makes the cemetery fresh and beautiful, allowing us to think about the permanence of death and the changing of the seasons. And besides that, it’s just pretty… the pinks and greens against the blue sky.

Today, since a large dogwood was blooming, I got a very nice photo of the Soldiers’ Memorial from the Civil War. This young man carrying a flag is usually in shade, but the white tree behind him let him show up better.

I found this sad little headstone, a marker for two little sisters, ages 12 and 9, who died within days of each other in 1880. Was there a flu epidemic? Measles? We may never know. Children died much more often in those days, before vaccines, antibiotics, car seats or sewage systems.

Walking around the back of the cemetery, I found two columns dedicated to David S. Stearns, who donated the money for this back entrance to the cemetery, which isn’t used anymore. I have found Mr. Stearns in articles in the Oregonian newspaper of the 1900s, where he is mentioned as building large structures downtown and negotiating all sorts of land sales. He and his family also took vacations with other prominent Portland families. He was what we call a “mover and shaker”…. he got stuff done.

I always learn new things at Lone Fir.

Love, Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

I know you and your daddy listen to lots of music together, so I imagine you have heard of The Beatles. They were four musicians from England who were very popular when I was a girl, in the 1960s and 1970s. Their music is still studied and listened to today, and listening to it was the second part of our adventure in Alberta.

This year is the fifty year anniversary of the Beatles’ most popular record album, Abbey Road. To celebrate, a group called The NowHere Band were performing the entire Abbey Road album, live at the Alberta Rose Theater! Grandpa Nelson had bought us tickets.

We got there early, because the show was sold out and we wanted good seats. Waiting in line, we enjoyed some more of the quirkiness of Alberta with this sign.I didn’t take any pictures during the performance, because that is a very rude thing to do. I even asked an elderly lady to get off her phone, but I felt bossy doing it.

What surprised me most, at first, was that The Beatles only had four guys, but The Nowhere Band has eight regular band members, plus a few extra female singers, two violins and a cello, a few saxophones and a trombone. This is because for a lot of their later music, the band used orchestras to help give their music more interest and depth.

Also surprising was that since performing the whole album would only take 45 minutes, and that’s not much of a show (so they said) , the band performed a random and wonderful collection of Beatles songs first.

The music was wonderful! The website for the band is very vague about giving the members’ names… there will be a photo of ten people and a list of 20, in no particular order, so I can’t tell you who sang what. But they were all very good. The bass player, and drummer, as well as all the vocalists, have serious rock and roll chops. They kept the original arrangements, but seeing and hearing it live, with the room vibrating with drums and bass guitars, made every song more special.

The group said that some music just needed six voices, and when they sang Paperback Writer, it did. In My Life, a simple song about remembering, only needed three voices, but kept the original harpsichord piece which made it so special.

The group took a well- deserved rest at intermission. The woman who sang most of John Lennon’s most difficult parts, like She’s So Heavy, worked her voice very hard and needed recuperation time.

The second part of the show was, as advertised, the Abbey Road album start to (almost) finish, from Come Together to The End. The orchestrations, complexity of sound and harmonies were almost perfect. Because has really close harmonies, and they were just off enough to rattle my ears a bit. But the drum solo was amazing.

When the band took bows and left the stage after The End, several of us turned to our partners and said “They’re not done…where is Her Majesty?” And of course, the audience clapped and hooted until the band returned, singing the adorable 45 second love song, to finish the show.

We were all happily full of music and memories as we walked out into the really chilly evening, to find the car and head home.

What a wonderful day of art, music, food, and the company of my people!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

On Saturday, Grandpa Nelson, Auntie Bridgett and I drove up to the Alberta neighborhood again. It was chilly and almost trying to rain, so we took our jackets.

One thing we love about Alberta is the artsy feeling of the place. There are lots of art galleries, but even outside, on roofs and walls, there is art. All sorts of murals and even this skeleton on a ladder keep you looking around.

We stopped in at Monograph Bookwerks, a small, independent bookstore. Today was actually National Independent Bookstore Day, but we didn’t know it at the time. Since the last time we were in, John had collected some wonderful old maps! Maps are one of my favorite things, and old maps are even better! I got a 1948 map of the state of Oregon, and a 1965 map of downtown Portland. I will enjoy staring at them!

We wondered some more and got hungry, so we stopped in at Bunk for really tasty sandwiches and French fries. It has this wonderful mural on the wall, and though I have no idea who it is, it was fun eating lunch near him.More art that we saw was this not-very- flattering, but very amusing, portrait of Mr. Trump, and this mural of a squirrel and his dog friend skateboarding.We visited the Guardino Gallery and saw wonderful pieces of art, including some by people we know from The SideStreet Art Gallery. It was like seeing old friends.

By then it was time for the second part of our adventure, so off we went!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

It was another lovely sunny day today! Auntie Bridgett had to work at the SideStreet Arts Gallery, so Grandpa Nelson and I walked her there, then got snacks at Whole Foods up on Burnside, and walked back through Laurelhurst Park. We found a lovely piece of grass close enough to the lake to hear the ducks, and stretched out on your striped blanket with our books.

The theater of life that is the park played out around us. Since we were lying on the ground, our perspective was a bit odd.

We heard the osprey dive into the lake and hit the water, causing ducks to fly in all directions, and seconds later flew we saw him overhead with a good sized fish in his beak.

A trio of girls played cards and chatted on the grass, visiting with all the dogs that passed by.

The sun had a halo, which means that somewhere in the atmosphere there were ice crystals. The barking of dogs and encouragement of their owners echoed from the dog park area. “Don’t go in the lake, no, please don’t….” Seconds later, “Oh, good girl!”

A couple practiced their circus/yoga/ acrobatic moves, much to everyone’s enjoyment, while another young lady played on her bongo set.

The grass was so soft, Grandpa Nelson fell asleep, and I sat up on a picnic bench to look around. Kids negotiated with moms about when it was time to leave.

It was a lovely day, and we were sad when we had to head for home, but we can go back again tomorrow, when a different cast of characters will act in their own plays.

As we got home, I got good news on the patio! The maple and birch seeds I stuck into flower pots last fall have opened up, and I now have the beginnings of of fine bonsai trees! I will keep an eye out at thrift shops for some traditional pots for them.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

We had a perfect, sunny day yesterday! So after we had a visit from a lady measuring for our new window blinds, we headed out for a walk.

Auntie Bridgett has been telling me all winter how bright and colorful the spring is here, and now I know she wasn’t exaggerating. As we walked north through the Laurelhurst neighborhood, we saw layers and layers of color from azaleas, dogwoods, maples and camellias. It was amazing.

Our goal was Coe Circle, which was the end of the streetcar line back in the 1900s when this upscale neighborhood was developed. Once the streetcars were removed when cars became popular, the circle of lawn became a traffic circle, controlling the flow east /west on Glisan, and north /south on 39th.

Into this circle, in 1925, was placed a gold covered statue of Joan of Arc. This is a copy of Emanuel Fremiat’s “Jeanne d’Arc”, which is in France. It was paid for by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe as a gift to the city in memory of the Doughboy soldiers of World War 1.

In the traffic circle is also a huge cherry tree which has been blooming with great exuberance. This combination of statue and tree had been what I wanted to see…it was why I wanted to walk there.

And this was a bit of a let down, and a lesson. The statue was beautiful and shiny, as it always is. But the tree had faded a bit, as all spring blossoms do. It was lovely, but not at its best. Next year I won’t wait to walk up.

I have always heard the line “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may”…now I know the same goes for photographing cherry blossoms.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

In the story I am writing, the main character is a girl named Clara who has moved from Brownsville to Portland, a distance of about 100 miles. Yesterday, Grandpa Nelson took me there so I could learn more about it.

Brownsville is an old town, founded in 1846 as a place for Kirk’s Ferry, a way for folks to get across the Calapooya River on their way to and from Portland. Compared to the Willamette or the mighty Columbia, the Calapooya is tiny…but if you wanted to cross it before there was a bridge, you would need a ferry.

Since my story takes places in 1903, I was most interested in buildings that would have been standing at that time. I wasn’t disappointed! There is the Moyer Mansion, built in 1881, on the way into town from the train station. The Masonic Hall was build in 1865, and the Starr and Blakely Drug Store was built in 1875, so my Clara would have known them. The City Bank was built in 1903…it would have been the newest thing in town.

I found a nice mix of housing styles, some stylish and majestic, some small and cozy. I found one that I will use as a pattern for Clara’s house, though I don’t know when it was built.

The buttes that loom above Brownsville give it a snug feel, not like it is out on the wide flat land, but nestled and comfortable. They seem to be too small to have names, at least on the maps I have found online. Washburn and Ward buttes, way far out of town are bigger, but don’t have any effect on the feel of Brownsville. I will keep looking.

The Brownsville Ditch is an offshoot of the Calapooya River, hand dug in the 1860s to power the woolen mills of the town with water power. It was great to get a sense of where my girl is from, the place that would have been her homebase.

Dear Liza,

While I was having a nice visit with Aunt Bea, Grandpa Nelson did some exploring on the internet and found interesting things close by.

In Albany, just ten miles from Corvallis, is a Carousel…. a BIG one.

This beautiful piece of art, history and fun is the passion project and brain child of Wendy Kirby.

Ms Kirby wanted to have a carousel for Albany like one she remembered from her hometown of Missoula, Montana, so in 2002, she gathered support from friends, local artists and businesses, and started creating this wonderful thing. It opened to the public in 2017. At the opening, she was overwhelmed by the support she had received, and said “This is what six millions dollars can get you.”

The mechanism that turns it is 110 years old, originally from a 1909 Dentzel Carousel in New Jersey. It has been completely restored by volunteers. The 30 animals are hand carved and painted by local craftspeople and sponsored by local people and groups. These are one of a kind, because the sponsoring folks get to decide what they look like!

The singing elephant, Daisy, is a memory of the joy of music. The salmon, Chinook, was sponsored by grandparents to remember fishing with their grandson. The whole creation is a noisy, happy testament to the town of Albany and the people who live there.

And as if the carousel isn’t enough, the town built a building to protect is, as well as to house a gift shop and carving and painting shop to make more animals, and a museum of old carousel-related goodies.

We walked around and chatted with the ladies who volunteer at the shop, who call it “our happy place”. Their joy is contagious! We walked down to the Monteith River Park, where we got views of theWillamette River and some bridges. It was moody, lovely, and peaceful.

As I was preparing myself for the long trip home, feeling a bit sad that our day out was ending, Grandpa Nelson said, “How far is it to Brownsville?” And off we went!

More about that tomorrow!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

Your Great Grandpa Lowell had nine brothers and sisters, so I had lots of uncles and aunts. But I think my favorite is my Aunt Bea. She is funny and sweet and we have always gotten along. Her voice always sounded like everything was going to be all right.

Aunt Bea used to run a flower shop in Salem, and when she got tired of doing that, she taught flower arranging classes out of her house in Silverton. She put on flower shows there.

At the top is a picture with my Uncle Bill, Aunt Veralene, with Aunt Bea in the center, taken at a big party. The bald fellow is Veralene’s husband and the one wearing the tie is my Uncle Benny. Aunt Bea was always in the middle! We always said that she didn’t leave a party, she took the party with her.

This Easter Sunday, I decided it was time to go visit her in Lake Oswego, which is part of Portland. Grandpa Nelson offered to drive me, so I got in touch with Bea’s oldest son, Larry, to find out where she was staying. But she’s not here anymore!

She has moved to Corvallis, and is currently in the hospital there, after a fall. Well, poop. But Grandpa Nelson said he would enjoy a drive through the country, an hour and a half to Corvallis, so we packed some haroset and some Peeps (it’s Easter, after all) and headed south.

There is a lot of country, millions of grape vines and thousands of filbert trees, between here and Corvallis. But it was all spring lovely and almost sunny. We drove in quiet or chatted for an hour and a half, and found the hospital.

Bea is eighty seven, and no one looks their best after a stay in the hospital. But once she woke up (I had gotten there at nap time) and had some lunch, we had a nice conversation. We remembered funny stories about her kids, and what they were doing now. It was a good, two hour conversation.

I could tell Bea was getting tired, so I took a picture and hugged her tiny frame, and said goodbye. Aunt Bea is small and frail, but she is still sweet, funny Aunt Bea. I’m glad we went to see her.

I’ll tell you what happened next, tomorrow!
Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

Yesterday was warm and sunny in Portland! After weeks of cold clouds, it was like seeing an old friend. Auntie Bridgett was working at the gallery and Grandpa Nelson was reading, so I decided to go for a walk to do some neighborhood looking for my story. I took the number 20 bus to Burnside and 14th to get in the right area.

In my story, which happens in 1903, I have a working class boy named Henry and his slightly better off friend, Frank. They need to live within a block or two of each other, a few blocks from rich old Mrs. Schumacher, and close to the old North Central School. Yesterday, on my walk, I found what could have been their homes!

It was fun to stand where the school used to be, which is now a parking lot, and imagine the views of the Willamette and Mt. Tabor, and even Mt. Hood, that my Henry would have seen while he was thinking about how to change the world.

When I had seen all I could see, I walked past incredible tulips and dogwoods down to Belmont Street and caught the magic number 15 bus home. We call it the Magic Bus because it is one of the few busses in town that runs from way east, through downtown, and way west, all while staying the same number. It can take you everywhere!

When I got home I put some of the descriptions in my story and printed it out so Auntie Bridgett can read it and give me feedback. She is traveling to see family for Easter, and I wanted her to have it in an easy-to-read format.

We had a chat with you, birthday girl, after dinner. You turned six today! I miss you very much.

The day stayed warm, so after dinner we walked down to the Pied Cow for dessert. The garden is getting leafy, the traffic sounds were soft, and the people watching was fun. We had a blueberry and lavender pie…fabulous!!! And Grandpa Nelson had his beloved ginger cake.

When the sun had gone down we said goodbye to a perfect day and walked home.

What will happen tomorrow?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dear Liza,

Today was a busy day! I worked on the story in the morning, putting in more details about sidewalks downtown and what games kids played back in 1903. Did you know that another name for Hopscotch was Potsy? And that it has been played since the 1700s?

At lunchtime, Auntie Bridgett and I walked down to Hot Lips pizza on Hawthorne. Since it is officially National Pizza week, many pizza shops in town are offering slices of really good pizza for only two dollars!

When we had finished, Auntie Bridgett walked back to Luke’s Frame shop and I walked down to Auntie Katie’s new building to help her with some furniture. I got her dresser drawers finished and then she came and we got a nice tall IKEA bookcase assembled, put up, and attached to the wall so she can load it up.

Then Grandpa Nelson came by on a walk! He helped with the bookcase, then headed off to get some lunch at Double Dragon while Auntie Katie and I drove to a shop called Artifact for a delightfully quirky new/ old table for her dining room. It is painted the same blue as her new building, and has drop-leaves so it can be big enough for company or small enough for just Katie and the kids.

Once that was done, Grandpa Nelson and I walked back home, enjoying all the wonderful blooms in the neighborhood, and boy, were we tired! It turns out, it is almost two miles to the new place, so we both walked four miles. Pretty good exercise for a couple of oldies.

Now for a quiet evening.

Love,

Grandma Judy