We spent the first part of April in residence at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. It offered a chance to reconnect with students, faculty, and staff who I met last summer when I joined them in Northern Ireland. It gave me the opportunity to work a little closer with Kaitlin, Kate, and Sawyer, who are finishing up their junior year at Willamette and will join … Continue reading Willamette
I spent a week in Corvallis, Oregon gathering stories of belonging. It was a broad coalition of campus and community organizations that brought us to town and as a result, we were able to include a broad range of voices. It’s important, especially when we talk about belonging, to have a big tent, to include as many different voices as possible. We all tend to … Continue reading Belonging
Donald Dow, was the first person to get a new home in Blue River, Oregon after the Holiday Farm Fire destroyed the entire community in late summer of 2020. I interviewed Don the day after his home showed up, ten months after his last home burned. “I’m stronger than I gave myself credit for.” “Back on September 6th or 7th, we had a major wildfire … Continue reading Donald Dow
Melanie Stanley lost her home and business in Blue River, Oregon in the Holiday Farm Fire of 2020. The Meyers General Store and Liquor Shop had been in her family for 29 years. I interviewed her on the cement slab that remained. We talked about the fire that devastated the town of Blue River, her commitment to rebuild and both her dreams and fears about … Continue reading Melanie Stanley
Jackie Davis is 12 years old and lives in McKenzie Bridge, Oregon. She likes to catch snakes and salamanders in her yard. She’d like to work in claymation when she grows up. In late summer of 2020, the Holiday Farm wildfire swept through the valley where she lives and they had to evacuate. Her house wasn’t damaged by the fire, but more than 500 other … Continue reading Jackie Juniper Davis
Jackie Herman is a retired hair dresser from Brooklyn, New York. I met Jackie in Mackenzie bridge, Oregon, where he was spending time with his daughter, Kelly, after losing his wife of 59 years. We talked about his first date with Sheila, the business they ran together, and his journey of learning how to live without her. Fair warning, if the f-word bothers you, it … Continue reading Jackie Herman
Kelly Britt Davis works in a rural health care facility in Blue River, Oregon. After navigating the first six months months of Covid, the clinic burned to the ground in the Holiday Farm Fire, a wild fire that consumed 175,000 acres and more than 500 structures at the end of Labor Day weekend. Our interview started by talking about the wild fire and moved on … Continue reading Kelly Britt Davis
Darcelle is the oldest working drag queen in the world, at 92 years of age. Also the owner of Darcelle XV Showplace in Portland, Oregon, Darcelle’s entertainment career has spanned more than five decades. “If you’re not happy with your family, with your friends, with your job, where you live, the city you’re in, move on. Find the place where it all works for you. … Continue reading Darcelle
Derek Thompson is an activist in Portland, Oregon and the founder and Executive Director of Voices4Justice, an organization dedicated to bringing together concerned community members…clergy, law enforcement and elected officials…to engage in meaningful conversation that can change the relationship dynamic between opposing parties and factions. “Even if we don’t get along, if I saw you fall in the street, should I laugh at you? Or … Continue reading Derek Thompson
Nathan Sheppard is a Lieutenant in the Portland police bureau. He is a father. Both he and his wife of 21 years are Army veterans who were psychological operation specialists. Nathan was happy to share his story, but he made a clear distinction that although he worked as a police officer in Portland, he was not talking to me as a representative of the police … Continue reading Nathan Sheppard
