Russellville Lives J&B H

Joan and Bob Hatrak

Joan and Bob Hatrak are recent residents in the Russellville family of no-longer-young citizens and in addition to being a very nice couple, they have a terrific backstory.  One of these days you will be able to read all about it in a book the two of them are writing. They have a publisher and when it comes out it is going to get a lot of attention.

Between 1973 and 1979 Bob Hatrak was Superintendent (Warden) of the high security  Rahway State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey.  Two years prior to Hatrak’s arrival the convicts rioted causing horrific damage to the prison and almost killing its then warden.  Violence continued to be an issue as Bob Hatrak was sent in to clean it up.  The book will be the story of that restoration of order and the national attention it brought to that troubled institution.

At the time he became chief executive of Rahway he was the youngest prison warden in the nation and that complicated his mission as he introduced creative new programs that were not admired by many of the old boy administrators in other prisons.  Prophets of change are not universally loved

Bob’s a big guy, hard to miss (somewhere up his family’s genetic stream a grizzly bear might have been involved), and Joan the writer is alway by his side, ready to catch any slips in Bob’s memory. If you see them in the dining room, go over and say hello.  They are a welcome addition to our small village of former lives.

Dolores Taylor

 Missed the Saturday dance, heard they crowded the floor, couldn’t bear it without you, don’t get around much anymore.

Sometimes I think my life is dancing to the beat of old WW II songs.  Since losing Georgann in 2018 and moving to Russellville Park, I don’t get around much anymore.  But Dolores Taylor died a couple of weeks ago and the trip to Grants Pass from Portland for her memorial service was not given a second thought.

Dee was a member of the class of 1948 at Grants Pass High School.  As was I.  From that class of 300-plus in 1944, I know of only nine or ten who could answer, “Yo” to the roll call now. There may be a few others. But for us survivors,  Dee’s passing had a special sense of loss because among our classmates she was the central unifying force; the one who organized the reunions every five years and kept the trains running on time.

There were no students of color in our school because Grants Pass observed Sundown laws until the late ‘50s. One of the few beacons of light in our community was the Newman Methodist Church where the Reverend Ed Aschenbrenner preached sermons of racial enlightenment and where one of his sons, Lawrence Alden, was a classmate of Dee Braden and Bill Landers.  Who knows if Larry’s and Dee’s “going steady” in high school led to Dee’s lifelong membership in the church, but there is little doubt the preaching of Ed Aschenbrenner planted the seeds of social justice in the mind and soul of Dolores Braden. 

If you polled our class as to who the stars turned out to be, Dee and Larry would head the list. As a young lawyer in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Larry opened a law office in the belly of the beast, Jackson, Mississippi, at the height of the Civil Rights movement to defend African Americans. He ended his career in Anchorage, Alaska as an advocate for Native Alaskans (we called him Lawrence of Alaska).

In less dramatic fashion, Dee made public service the focus of her life. Standing tall in the shadow of the Reverend Ed Aschenbrenner, she lived her life in Grants Pass as a high school teacher of English, all the while taking active roles in a multitude of public service organizations.

So, on a warm autumn day in October, her friends and family gathered to celebrate her life well lived as a Christian soldier, marching as to war.  Dee and I were special friends with a bond that became closer over all those years. I will miss that girl a lot.

We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.

 

Russellville Lives. NP

                                                                                                  Nadine Patterson

There are probably few Russellville residents who lead lives as busy as that of Nadine Patterson.  Finding the time to honor her commitments is nothing new to Nadine because running on that hyper-speed treadmill has defined her life for as long as she can remember. Start with her childhood family where she had four brothers and three sisters.  That puts all the leaves in the dining room table and makes a social environment that is a powerful character builder.  The lessons learned from those interactions with her siblings translated easily to the social contract we have with our fellow citizens: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  You know, the Golden Rule.

It’s interesting that Nadine chose nursing as a career path. She is a RN who used her medical training to make people’s lives better but took it beyond nursing to organize programs that brought in other volunteers to expand the impact of what she could accomplish working alone. After Hurricane Andrew devastated Florida in 1992, Nadine led a movement from her South Carolina home that gathered quantities of rescue supplies that she and her son transported to that stricken state.

We should note here that Nadine Patterson did not spend her life on the left coast. Her home base was in Ohio and South Carolina for her first 81 years.  Nadine’s marital scoreboard during that time read:  Husbands 2, Sons 1.  That one son is why Nadine is in Portland.  He brought her here so he could know she was living well.  That was seven years ago and we are pleased to report she is doing just fine.

Meanwhile, back on the right coast in 2005 there was Hurricane Katrina, a huge Category 5 storm that killed 1,800 people on America’s Gulf coast and, again, brought Nadine into full action mode. When her rescue plans met obstacles, she went around them by renting a big truck with a 15-foot bed which she piled high with survival supplies.  She and a fireman friend drove the truck to a small Mississippi town overflowing with storm refugees.  Between hurricanes, Nadine was a perpetual motion rescue machine. She used church affiliations to participate in setting up a medical clinic in a church in the Ukraine. Just as she did working with medical missions to remote villages in Mexico.  It is not surprising to learn that a Fraternal organization in Ohio, in 2008, recognized Nadine Patterson as Co-Worker of the year.

Since arriving in Russellville Park,  Nadine never slowed down. She became active in the Community Services Board for charitable actives that included getting school supplies for students and staff, as well as support for Raphael House, the shelter for abused women and family members.  Also, HomelessVeterans is one of the charities they  took on.

Someone needs to film the Nadine banana bread operation in her small kitchen (background music of an orchestra playing the William Tell Overture) as pounds of flour fly into mixing bowls and the power blender assaults ancient bananas,  See the cooling rack on the counter that will welcome the hundred little loaves that will go on sale for $3.00 each.  And guess who paid for all those ingredients?

Our world would be a poorer place without the occasional Nadine Patterson who separates from the pack to show us the way to a humane life of meaningful consequence.  Nadine would make the point that in celebrating the completion of large projects we must not overlook the thousands of small individual contributions made by other helpers that ultimately wins the day.

The Secret Lives of Feral Aardvarks

A recent poll sponsored by the National Geographic Magazine found that the least interesting mammal in the world is the North American aardvark and a close second is the South African aardvark. This suggests why only 24 people in the world kept aardvarks as pets and four of those people were cousins. (Probably 28% to 46% of the people who started reading this column have stopped reading two  sentences back).  But there is more to learn about aardvarks.

The reason they make terrible pets (besides being gobstruck ugly) is that they are nocturnal and will keep you awake all night with their grunting and burrowing. Good luck with your backyard landscaping because that long pig-like snout of the aardvark will have it upside down in a matter of hours.

Also, the aardvark will eat anything from your shoes to your couch pillows and your good intentions. That last item, eating good intentions, is a mystical, almost unbelievable, supernatural gift the animal has for capturing people’s positive thoughts and converting them into aardvark sustenance.  It sounds crazy but the research that documents this phenomenon is indisputable.

Trying to make pets of aardvarks causes them to go feral, which leads to their full arsenal of bad behavior.  Another thing: they have notoriously bad breath and can’t see colors.

Russellville Lives. BG

                                                                                               Betty Greer

My next door neighbor, Betty Greer, was born in Portland, Oregon on the 20th day of October, 1919.  Yeah, do the math. The defining feature of Betty, however, is not her age but, rather, her warm, delightful personality.  The easy laughs that color her conversations lets you know you've found a person with whom you want to share some time.

As an only child, Betty Dunlap received the full loving attention of her father, which was probably an off-putting circumstance for her mother, who developed a contentious relationship with her daughter.  As a little girl, Betty recalls being forced to cut willow switches (no wimpy little ones were acceptable) for her own applied discipline.  This had the effect of making the bond with her father even closer.

The stock market crash of 1929 brought on a financial disaster for the Dunlap family.  Her father's construction business that had supported their privileged lifestyle was wiped out along with millions of others in depression-era America.  Betty attended the prestigious Ulysses S. Grant High School where now she wore clothing from low end stores.  But clothes don't affect the life spark that fuels the spirit and Betty didn't miss a beat. She and her friends weathered the storm.

Betty's parents couldn't afford college for her but they managed to send her to a secretarial school and she absorbed those skills and found employment as a secretary although those first jobs only paid 30 1/2 cents an hour. She later landed employment with a government bureau that paid better. A favorite colleague at work was a young, Japanese-American woman who, after the Pearl Harbor attack, was swept away to the holding area in the Portland Stock Yards for people of Japanese descent. This cruel treatment of American citizens enraged Betty's mother and even though the Dunlap family had little spare money themselves, she and Betty went on a shopping spree for groceries and personal hygiene items, filling two large bags, which they took to the stock yards for her friend's family.  After the Japanese families were moved to Idaho, Betty lost track of her colleague. 

Early in the war, Betty and her friend Isabell went on a great adventure to Baghdad by the Bay, San Francisco.  Both of their mothers were out of sync with their daughters so the girls, who were 19, just ran away from home. If you live in Oregon, San Francisco is California's magic city and it became  home for Betty and Isabell for the next three years.  One evening they visited the bar in San Francisco's iconic Palace Hotel and Betty noticed a group of seven soldiers checking them out.  An advance scout from the squad approached Betty and told her he and his friends were new to the city and wondered if the two girls would consider showing them the town?  A nervous Betty confessed that neither of them knew the city to which the scout announced that would be perfect with all of them discovering the charms of San Francisco together.

Can you see the movie?  Betty and Isabell escorted by a platoon of the U. S. Army's finest, dancing up and down San Francisco's famous Lombard Street?  Their limo negotiating those San Francisco streets with the occupants leaning out the windows, waving to the crowds?  Open up that Golden Gate for Betty and Isabell as they lift the morale of our country's warriors. 

In 1944 as World War II was coming to an end, Betty met and married Stan Greer.  Stan worked for Pacific Metal Company of Tualatin, Oregon, where, over the years, he became president of the company. During those years, Stan and Betty brought along two daughters and two sons to brighten their home and the family became active in the Rose City Presbyterian church. Stan's job as president of the company allowed them the opportunity to travel internationally which they both enjoyed.

A hobby of Stan's led him to becoming a skilled magician who entertained at children's birthday parties. In Betty's words, "He was really good."  Stan Greer became a popular city celebrity. 

Starting sometime wayyyy back in that other century, Betty Dunlap did something truly amazing: She started writing a journal in lined notebooks.  All those notebooks today occupy multiple stacks on her closet shelf and it is my belief the Oregon Historical Society would love to get their hands on them.

Break out the candles and stand by with the fire extinguisher.  October 20 is just around the corner.

   

Russellville Lives JG

                                                                      Jane Gregory

Jane Gregory talks to her plants but only the corn has ears. Wait a minute, she doesn't have corn, but she swears there is communication between herself and her botanical family.  She might be right because everything seems to be in harmony with her wishes. Jane's garden is simply a delight to ponder.  Kind of like the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, but without the admission charge.

Jane, Jane, please explain,

How does your garden grow?

Loving words, and stuff from birds,

And pretty pots all in a row.

Some people have the gift of communicating with vegetation and some people make flowers wilt. Jane comes by her talent honestly in that she chose to be born in Idaho, then when she was 3,  her education in Agriculture 101 began after the family moved to the big farm country near Ontario, Oregon.  The vegetable garden was her classroom as it was an important food source for her family.  In her later adult life wherever she lived, Jane would always grow vegetables and flowers. 

A graduate of  Eastern Oregon College, Jane took her degree in Education, met and married her husband of 45 years, moved to Portland, where she taught and with her Masters degree in Library Science from the University of Portland, served as a classroom teacher-librarian for 32 years.  Jane gave up her Mrs. degree when she and her husband went separate ways 21 years ago.

Jane is in her third summer at Russellville Park.  Her total focus when choosing an apartment was how it would fit her plans for an elaborate garden. How would the garden site relate to the rays of the sun during the changing seasons? The large second floor deck adjacent to her garden was a plus as was the high south wall that was acoustically enabling of Jane's conversations with her plants.  It would help her understand when they were happy and when they were sad.  To know when a hydrangea’s neighbor was creating too much shade or when a flowering maple tree needed a drink.  The long strip of real estate next to that wall would become her garden and that was the deal maker for Jane. 

Roy Garbarino is a friend who provides heavy lifting when needed as well as supplying encouragement for Jane's green spirituality.  Roy is considered the Electrician Emeritus for the greater Portland metropolitan area and he regrets his Italian heritage doesn't give him better gardening chops. He has provided a small greenhouse, which will allow Jane to work from seeds next season to add to the many plants brought from her Gresham yard.  Almost three years ago she went to a Gresham nursery and engaged the services of professionals to insure that her plantings would be in harmony with each other.  Then friends and relatives contributed plants while Jane continued to find just one more indispensable acquisition and soon .the magic of alternate life forms transformed a corner of her Russellville home. Jane welcomes visitor who come to view her green world and she asks everyone to help identify unknown species.

If Jane Gregory keeps her patch looking more and more like the Biblical Garden of Eden, Roy will be obligated to scout around and find her a serpent that speaks English.

             .

My Way With The Subway

We need to celebrate people in our society who get their concept vision right and then maintain the integrity of their accomplishment and resist the temptation to monetize small changes to increase profits. I applaud the owners of the Subway Sandwich franchise who have done that.  Their moderately priced offerings are fresh and delicious but the satisfaction of eating the sandwich can be enhanced if you know the secrets I have discovered by years of experimenting.

First, always order the full 12” option because the cost difference for the 6” one is minor and the fabrication process just results in a better product working with the longer bun.

The designers of the sandwich cleverly made the connection of the upper bun and the lower bun (let’s call it the  "hinge”) a good solid bridge that allows the backstopping of limitless additions to your basic meat or veggie option.  I prefer cold cuts (baloney in my mind) and then I load it untoasted with stuff. Cheese. Lettuce. Tomato. Onion. Cucumber. Olives.  The fabricator slams it all in there because that hinge withstands the pressure of the final folding over and the tight wrapping that keeps everything together.

Here's the final secret:  Do not eat it as if it’s a hotdog.  It will be cut in half so start at the cut end but take the first bite at the opening of the top and bottom bun.  Bits of all that stuffing will be pressing out along the length of the bun so by taking small bites you seal that edge, pressing everything against the hinge.

Now you have a sealed torpedo (or submarine) that you eat while always slanting slightly in, compacting the add-ons against the core ingredient and the hinge.  If you’re up to it, repeat the procedure with that other half or put the other half in the fridge for later.

Trust me.