Front Street Weekly; 203
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[bars and tone] [opening music] [opening music] Operation Night Watch a ministry on Portland Skid Road, which does not try to convert but does attempt to convince the lonely that they too are loved. [Interviewer] It just doesn't happen, all the time that you've been here. [Interviewee] It hasn't happened within two and a half years. I've left and come back. Nothing's happened. [Host] It's a small town, one with strong community ties, and a special spirit. [Interviewee] People are left here. That's the very neat thing that we share right now.
Is the fact that All of us know it's rough. [Host] Portland's Native American community faces the cultural problems of a people that have not assimilated into society. We'll I have a story on Newport's most famous restaurant Mo's. [Interviewee] Mo almost sounds more like a man. Mo, you know, and I judge him to be a man, a jolly guy. [Host] Your Front Street hosts. Ben Padrow, Kevin McGovern and Gwyneth Gamble. [Gamble] Good evening. Welcome to Front Street Weekly. Recently, we learned of a ministry unique to Portland and Seattle. It's called Operation Night Watch. This ministry responds to people who likely would never set foot in a local church. It's a ministry of presence to those in the inner city, leading lives of desperation. Isolation and alienation prevail in Portland's inner city.
Here, the disruptive and often angry personality takes out his aggression. These can be mean streets. [Blues Music] On this gloomy Friday evening, many Portlanders will turn inward to the comfort and security of home, a family, but for the Reverend Gary Vaughan, the evening and early morning hours will take him away from his family's warmth. For Larry [inaudible], director of St. Stephens Episcopal Parish. This night could bring possible confrontation with danger as he visits the taverns on Skid Road. And why are these two men of the cloth found in the city's slum establishments? Because they are a part of Operation Night Watch. A unique ministry which seeks
to meet the physical, social, psychological, as well as the spiritual needs of downtown Portland's night community. A community reflecting the despair and loneliness of the poor in the inner city. For Vaughan and [inaudible], Night Watch is a bittersweet task. [Vaughan] The ministry that I'm involved in now has to do with what is called Operation Night Watch. And it's a ministry that focuses on people who are on the streets and in the taverns late at night. There are about 10 ministers and about five laypeople that are involved in this program, and they volunteer one night a month and generally go out on the weekend, Friday and Saturday evenings from 10:00 in the evening until 2:00 in the morning. [new speaker] The ministry is really a ministry of presence. And I don't mean just a presence that goes and listens. That's one dimension of it but that actively
responds to and affirms the people who are there on the streets or in the bars and taverns who may have a very low opinion of themselves or may feel guilty and when they see the clerical collar frequently will go and kind of make some kind of public confession or at least want to find out why a clergyman or a clergy person really is there down in the streets where you would not normally expect to find them. [Vaughan] I think that Steve is going to be on the phone tonight, and I told him that I'd [inaudible] [Host] Gary Vaughn is a gentle man, a loving husband and father who includes his family in his outreach ministry. [Vaughan] and I'll probably just walk the streets down third and probably go down to [Marlena's?] Without my family, this kind of thing would be really difficult. But there's an awful lot of security that I have with Janine and with my children.
[Host] Do you feel a sense of anxiety before you go out? [Vaughan] Well I, I have some measure of anxiety, I also have feelings that I don't want to leave here. [Host] Tell me about them. [Vaughan] Well I've gone out once or twice a month for a number of months now, and every time I go out I have the same feeling that I don't want to. I would much prefer to stay here. I would much prefer to, to visit with the kids, read or watch TV, put the kids to bed. Janine and I visit and talk. But I've made a commitment to go out on the street and so what I have to do is I have to set aside my feelings and not let them be the boss of me. But that doesn't mean that when I go out, I'm some eager beaver to get on the street because I'm not. There's never been a time in which I have really been excited to leave my home
and get out on the street. Although I would also have to add that there's never been a time in which after gone out going out, that I didn't feel really good about going out and feel very strongly that that's where I needed to be. [new speaker] So our task is clearly set before us as we look into our ministry ... [Host] Because he believes the problem of outreach to the poor is the major church issue of the '80s, Larry [Roulard?] commits himself to the Night Watch Program. He practices what he preaches. [Roulard?] Ministry, then, is synonymous with all of our lives. And so what we do here on Sunday morning is really a symbolic offering of our lives and all that we are, to be used by God in renewing the face of the earth. For the ministry means, for me, not only maintaining the sense, and deepening the sense of community and life within the parish among
parishioners, but also looking at the ministry to the people beyond the the walls of the parish or beyond the confines of the parish list and people. [Host] Has Operation Night Watch made an impact on this city? [Roulard?] It makes its impact because it is, it can't help but if it, if it reaches out and helps one person it's made an impact. It may not make all the news media or whatever or make a lot, call a lot of attention to itself but it will have made its impact. [Host] As the evening approaches and it's your turn to go out on the street, do you find yourself facing a sense of anxiety or tension? [Roulard?] Most times, yes. You never know what the city is going to be like and there can be times of tension and it just pervades and sometimes it's very laid back and very relaxed and very little happening so that you never know, it is that unknown and you are
going into a strange milieu for yourself. [new speaker] Hi, Dad [inaudible] See you tomorrow. Good night. Good night [inaudible] [Host] Having admitted his anxieties, still Gary Vaughan kisses his family goodnight and heads for his night watch duty. [background noise] Night Watch procedure includes a first stop at the office manned by a lay volunteer. Larry [Roulard] signs in, checks the logbook and heads for the taverns. [Roulard] Hi, Steve [new speaker] Hi, Larry, how are you tonight? [Roulard] Oh, I'm fine, how are you? [new speaker] It's going pretty good. [Roulard?] So what's on the docket for tonight? [music] [Host] Perhaps the bartenders are the real ministers says [Roulard?]. Marlena,
proprietor of the tavern bearing her name, is no exception. Confidant, nurse, bouncer, matchmaker, banker. Mother. Keeper of dreams. All describe Marlena. [Marlena] They need something or they wouldn't ask. They need something, you know very little, very little. Dinner. You know, a package of cigarettes. Their check is coming on the first. They'll get their check, they'll pay you back. But they don't want to feel embarrassed to walk in and say "can I have my watch". We don't take watches. You know. They want to be able to say "Mom, can I have dinner", you know and feel at home. Know that it's OK. [Host] It was Mother Teresa who said that loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted are the most terrible poverty. Night Watch priests and ministers try to alleviate pain. Reaching out can include playing pool with a tavern regular
or patiently listening to a hostile tough newcomer from the street. [new speaker] but you can't do with society cause they cut you down too damn bad. They cut you means you're down, you're a whore you're a prostitute or you're a tramp. You're not either one, you're trying to make a living [garbled] I make one life for [garbled] [newspeaker] Are you by yourself? Yes and I'm making my own life. Better. I've almost got killed a couple times, what did the cops say? Nothing. [inaudible] They don't do anything about it. They laugh about it. [music] [Host] Marlena, how would you describe this area? This ... is it pretty rough down here? [Marlena] Very, very dangerous area. [Host] What is the presence of the minister who's here on behalf Operation Night Watch do? [Marlena] The people that I have continuously have problems. And if they know that they can have someone that they can talk to, and explain something to,
willingly they'll talk to them. They talk to me but I can't get out from behind the bar. I can't sit with them, I can't talk to them for a long period of time. But to have somebody that they can sit with, tell their problem to, just so they get it off their chest and tell it to somebody. And a minister, there's no finer person in the world that everyone, that they can understand They understand that the minute they talk to him, it's OK. They can tell him. They can't tell it to me, they can't tell it to the other customers. They can tell it to that minister. He's not going to say nothing. But he's gonna understand what they're saying. [Host]And he's going to listen. [Marlena] And that's true, he does listen. [Host] Clergyman know the unexpected is the rule in Skid Row's bars and taverns. Sometimes the very sight of the cleric's collar will cause interaction. On this night a young man pours out his troubled soul to Larry [Roulard?]. He anguishes over his girlfriend's abortion. Larry listens and reaches out.
[Roulard?] and that is what we are about. We are about in our lives to make not only the lives of others fulfilled or a sense of completeness but also to find that in that very reaching out and caring that we, too, become more whole human beings. [Host] Despite their obvious impact, are these melancholy nights spent by the clergy truly rewarding for them? [Vaughan] One thing, is that generally the evening has gone very well and so I've had some real good experiences and sharing, and so I'm feeling good about that. I'm also thinking about in the morning sharing with Janine some of those experiences. And it's also nice when I either walk up or drive up my house is dark, but I know that there is life and there's loved ones inside there and it's really comforting to kind of come home and it's dark and climb into bed and just have that emotional security.
[Marlena] ... somebody. They all need somebody. All of us need somebody. [music] [music] [Host] The Reverend Gary Vaughan says Night Watch needs more clergy and lay volunteers. If you want more information or if you would like someone from Night Watch to speak to your church or civic group. Contact Gary Vaughan at 232-9353 Or write Operation Night Watch. Post Office Box 4005 Portland Oregon 97208. Last week, we asked Ted Kulongoski why he thought he could do a more effective job getting Oregon in better shape. Tonight Ben will pose some of the same questions to Governor Vick Atiyeh. Governor Atiyeh, a veteran professional in Oregon politics, regarded by many
as a pragmatic conservative leader, he has faced a painful period in our state's history. Several times he has had to summon lawmakers back to Salem to balance the budget. He has persuaded the legislature to make some hard choices. Services have been cut and some taxes have been raised. This is never an easy or a popular way to operate. But his strongest critics argue that he has been unable to turn the state's depressed economy around. They feel that if someone could provide more dynamic, compassionate leadership then most of our problems would be solved. Governor, considering the dismal picture which we have nationally today is there anything really that a governor in any western state can do about national monetary policies that affects the timber industry and agriculture? [Atiyeh] No, the major distress is coming about from all national events. The high deficit, for example, the money market that reacts to what the deficit itself is the one that's holding up interest rates, there's no confidence and and a direct line leadership from Congress
or the administration. Those are the things, and of course I might imagine the Federal Reserve Board. And all of those things are national scenes. That doesn't mean of course that a state can't do whatever a state can. [Host] Alright let's come to that. Let's come to Oregon. Let's turn to the four year tenure of the governor, of Victor Atiyeh. In the areas of timber and housing and agriculture, the Pacific Rim, tourism, what have you done in order to bring the state along? [Atiyeh] Well, we can kind of take them one at a the time. On timber itself, we have worked very hard at attempting to find solutions to the problem. Now the problem basically, we have to define it first. First, of course, the high interest rates went up and people stop building. And now that was then compounded by the bidding that was going on prior to all of this. The timber industry had depended upon a national policy of homeownership and it had been the timber industry was dependent on the typical sources of mortgage, which of course were savings and loan and deregulation took place. So now all of a sudden they were trapped when the market was
moving up and they were bidding up, there they were with three, four, five hundred dollars a thousand stumpage on logs out there and the market wasn't anywhere near it. [Host] The market had disappeared. [Atiyeh] That's right. And so we attempted to see if there was some way in which we could get a, first of all looking for suspensions of bids, not suspensions ... a moratorium to delay the cut because they all have time periods to do it. [Host] And were you successful in that? [Atiyeh] That we were successful in, but that didn't produce any jobs because all that did was just string out the contract a little further, it didn't produce any jobs and then we began to work for the whole idea of trying to get re-bids on it. Now that's still in the works at the federal level. Senator Hatfield's been working on it, Senator ?McClure? of Idaho, Senator Jackson of Washington. I went back and appeared three months ago on behalf of Senate Hatfield's bill. That's still working as far as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. [Host] But as you bring all these things together really what it seems to be coming as you read the media and you examine the issue, the big push at least seems to be essentially in the area of high tech. I notice that
constantly we are beginning to attempt to identify with the Carolina experience. How do we move into a high tech environment in terms of the way the universities and colleges in this state are put together in terms of their locations? How do you how do you make that kind of a balance? [Atiyeh] Let me ... I'll get to that in a second, let me just finish off on timber and I'll do it quickly. Actually we did - what I'm talking about rebid timber for the state of Oregon - that created 14-1800 jobs. On tourism we've asked for some more money, I doubled the budget, we got that one going. And I made the trip to the Far East and I'm sure you know about that because we do great work on our exporting of ... back to tech now. We actually asked for $500,000 matched with industry for coming a million dollars put together they called a consortium of people, private and public colleges, universities and the electronic industry and they came up with a specific recommendation which involved Portland State University, University of Portland, Oregon Graduate Center, Oregon State University. That is a first step. But we must remember we have some tremendous good work going on in community colleges and what we call electronic
technicians. That's been a plus for a long time. But the other thing we have to assure them that we really want them. [Host] What does that mean? [Atiyeh] I would talk to somebody mostly in casual conversation, whenever I get a chance I go to let's say a local meeting of the truckers for example, and we have people from out of state, and I say "hey, why don't you guys put a plant over here?" and they say "Oh you don't want us" ... you know it's a casual conversation. Oregon doesn't want business. That's what I mean. There was, in spite of what Tom McCall had done and Bob Straub, and they worked at it somehow, someway the message got out that we didn't really want them. [Host] Wait a minute, you are saying there are, that you have had to battle a series of mythologies regarding business coming into this state? [Atiyeh] I'm glad you use the word mythology, because in fact that's what it was. Yes that's true. And they kept saying you know this and it would come in casual and I was getting really frustrated by all of this. We had to tell them, in fact we were interested and of course that becomes involved in how our government deals with them, what kind of a economic development department we have, and we've done, you know, we've done some remarkable strides forward with that. [Host] Well, your opponent has raised a number of questions with regard to the nature of economic development and your
department, and it has raised criticism about both the quantity and the quality of the effort. What's your comment on that? [Atiyeh] Well, I make two. First I'm not sure what his criticism is. I am sure that it was not as strong as it should be when I became governor. I'm positive of that. And the first move I did make as many will remember is ask Glenn Jackson to move over from the Department Transportation over to economic development because I want to beef it up, I want to make sure it got turned around. He's entirely wrong now. There's no question in my mind he doesn't know the agency as it is today. It is really remarkably, I would say remarkably good, because it was deserving criticism I would agree with it. But the other comment, I said there's two, we always have to remember that he has been a state senator while I've been governor of the state. If he had some complaints about that department he should have expressed them during the period of time that he was not only a senator, but a member of the majority party, and I mean a strongly majority party. [Host] Let me turn that for just a moment because one of the wonderful things about gubernatorial or any other kind of
races is they are political. We really ought to look at. The number of commentators who have remarked that this gubernatorial race, as well as a number of other races have gotten pretty negative in some way. For example, the word dangerous has been used in terms of your opponent and such as that. Can you explain to me why that has come to pass? I think it bothers a lot of Oregonians. [Atiyeh] Oh, I think it bothers Oregonians probably more in terms of me than I would tell you that's ... I've tried to figure out what in the world they talking about you know tough ads or dirty ads or something. So I wonder what are you talking about? Whenever you talk about a record there's nothing wrong with the record. I think they're bothered say hey that doesn't sound like Vic Atiyeh and I think that's part of it. But dangerous, I guess dangerous is the way you view it. When you see someone that introduces a plant closure bill that really threw a chill out there and it wasn't the introduction of the bill and what it contained. What it did was it ... he didn't realize the impact that a kind of a bill like that would have.
A person that wants to use the public employees retirement fund for making loans where banks wouldn't make loans, in other words they're a little weak, but he was willing to do it. I have to consider that a little bit dangerous [Host] Well, you defined it, you've defined it satisfactorily [Atiyeh] thank you for allowing me the time to do that. [Host] Now ask you two other kinds of questions that apparently neither you nor Mr. Kulongoski seem to have yet addressed directly. You should expect a phase in January if you are re-elected or if Mr. Kulongoski is elected a deficit of between 400 and 500 million dollars in terms of the surtax. What are you going to do about that? [Atiyeh] Well I have because I've been questioned at great length on that subject, and I have come up with some answers and let me first tell you that I keep hearing about that projected deficit. I have to define it for you and I'll do it quickly. At the first guess, and understand that the process is I have an economic advisory council that meets and that they talk about where they think ... these are all economists and then we put all of that through a computer we call an econometric model and it comes up with an
answer. We've gone through none of that. But the first guess was we're going to collect two billion eight hundred million dollars. And then my budgets have come in and the base budget is 3 billion 400 million so now we have 600 million dollars, but you have to understand they're both guesses. So neither one are solid figures. Neither one. Let me just give you one ... couple examples in terms of the budget. When I gave them instructions for building the budget I said use a 7 percent inflation factor. I don't think we'll be using a 7 percent inflation factor. And so that makes it would be that much less, I can't give you a figure on it. [Host] But less than 7 percent. [Atiyeh] That's right. I also said to them on basic school support, figure how many youngsters are going to be in school starting July 1 next year to June 30th of 1985 and also figure what the budgets are going to be, then figure 40 percent. So you see what I'm trying to say to you, Ben, that it isn't all that solid. I will look at the budget, I'm going into it by saying I'm going let those those sunset taxes sunset, we promised them that I wouldn't ask for any more taxes.
That's how you go in. That's a that's my own frame of mind but I'm not a irresponsible governor and if it requires some further revenues, I'll see where I can get it. [Host] Well let me jump in if I may for two or three other issues that people want to know about, what your stand is essentially. What is your position with regard to measure 3, the so-called one and a half percent property tax limitation? [Atiyeh] I have been strongly opposing it everywhere I go. And you might find it interesting, as important as economic development is as I travel the state, three and six come up. And that's good. Everywhere, no matter where I ... what corner of the state I'm in or what group I'm talking to, and I'm opposed to three and I presume you're going to ask about 6 and I oppose that as well. I think those are both disastrous not only to our community and our well-being but disastrous to any opportunities we have for economic development. [Host] What about the issue of gun control? Even though it is not on our ballot at this time, what is your view of that? [Atiyeh] I don't support what we call gun control. Incidentally, my objective is the
same as those who are proponents of it, that is we want to reduce the commission of crime with a firearm. I mean, our goals are the same. However, it's not unlike I asked a young man one time he was telling me that we don't agree on the issue and I said what issue, he says gun control. I said OK I'll tell you what, you guarantee me that a criminal won't get a gun and then you know I'll think about supporting you. So you see what we're trying to get at. We're trying to get at safety with firearms. I believe very strongly, and have for a long time, that you really punish the person that commits a crime with a firearm. I mean, when I say, let me use for example, you're going to commit a burglary with a firearm, that's not one crime that's two. You serve a non-concurrent sentence. Now that's punishment for the use of a firearm. Well I think that's going to be more productive than what we call gun control. [Host] One of the fascinating factors with regard to measure number three is the argument of [??] a kind of a hidden agenda idea that if measure three passes, the legislature will pass out a sales tax. You're smiling because you've heard that all over the state.
[Atiyeh] It's so unreal. It really is, let's think about it a minute. Ballot measure three calls for a two-thirds vote of the Oregon Legislature to increase any taxes, pass any tax measure. Can you imagine a situation, and we have to understand that the ballot measure three if it passes calls for two-thirds vote of the Oregon legislature. I have had a lot of fun talking about this that you can't hardly get a simple majority for adjournment down there, let alone two-thirds for a controversial tax bill. Beyond that, historically the Democrats have been against a sales tax. A large number of people in their own personal history have been against it. I can't imagine them passing by two-thirds vote a sales tax ,but let's now presume they did. Doesn't seem likely but let's presume they did. Then can you imagine the people out there having just cut their taxes, property taxes and say Now folks would you vote for this neat sales tax to make a difference so practically it's not possible. [Host] Only in the land of the, the land of the wizard, really not in the land of reality. [Atiyeh] Yeah, it's not real That's right, you reduce it to where the real world lives. [Host] We have just a few moments left Governor, I'd like to ask you a question, two part final question. Assume for the moment that you are
re-elected. What would be the single most important thing that you'd like to be remembered for during your tenure in office? That's the first. [Atiyeh] OK, that's, you know, you ask a hard question, a very hard question because there's many things, but let me just maybe conclude by, you know, the overall thing that I want to accomplish is people's confidence in their government. I believe I ... believe in the system of government, and they do want to believe in their government, we haven't given them reason to do so, I would like to because government has to do many things, regulate many things. Oftentimes charge fees for many things that intrude in their lives. And I want them to have credibility of state government. That's sort of an overall. Now there's many other, other agendas, economic development, clean water, human resources, health, you know all of the rest of it. [Host] In a recent poll taken by the Oregonian, the question was asked regardless of who you would vote for who do you think will win the race for governor? The results were 52 percent for Atiyeh, 29 percent for Kulongoski, and 19
percent undecided. For many of us escaping to the mountains is one way to deal with the pressures of urban living. Blue River, Oregon is a special place to find peace of mind. It's not much different than other rural Oregon towns except for the extraordinary abundance of natural beauty. Unemployment is high and many can't find work. But even so, the people of Blue River aren't leaving. [music] A Utopia. A piece of heaven. God's country. Fresh air and beautiful scenery are plentiful in Oregon's McKenzie Valley. Fed up with the stress and tension of urban life, many people are leaving the city and looking for a more serene lifestyle. Blue River is one such place. Located about 40 miles east of Eugene. It was once a boom town here,
thriving in mining and logging. Now logging and Forest Service jobs are the main source of local income. But even those jobs are hard to find. The river is also a well-known recreational area. People come from miles away to fish and raft on the McKenzie and Blue River. The river is known for its incomparable natural beauty, but it's hard hit by high unemployment and many residents can't pay their bills. Unemployment and welfare benefits are the only income for a growing number of local citizens. Logging industry is the main industry up here and it is being taken away due to the depression and due to that there's a lot of unemployment up here, a large rate of unemployment. Personally, I'm a contractor that works mainly with the Forest Service and the logging clean-up and we can't find enough work to keep us busy all the
time and that's what we need to do is we need to stay busy to keep the economy, the local economy going. I'm on unemployment and I get 148 bucks a week so that helps. It's not easy for these hard working people to accept government subsidies and it seems only sensible for many to pack up and look for a more desirable day's pay. But it's hard to say goodbye to the river even when times are bad. We're happy living here that's about it. We're not happy with how much money we're making, we're not happy with our jobs, but we're happy here. Some don't leave because they remember how it used to be. My grandfather came here in 1895 with his family and they lived in a log ranch house that was one of the original homestead buildings for the for the property here. And he
later built a hotel, a store, a livery stable, a sawmill in what is now the little community of Blue River. The community sort of changed into a different, different type of community entirely. They became interested in catering to fishermen and recreation type activities, and quite a bit later the logging became important. Blue River's level of activity will probably never be the same. The boomtown days are over. However, Blue River is far from becoming a ghost town. The people here are too stubborn to give up something so important to them. The people that are surviving here, you have to give them credit for what they're doing because it's not an easy job right now. The reason they're here is
because they want to raise their families here, the place is beautiful it's a, to me, it's a it's one in a million, right here. One reason Blue River hasn't surrendered to the depression is a rather intangible quality that pervades this community. Up here you are what you are and that's it. People take you for what you are. There's a sense of closeness and interdependence and a strong community bond that has developed between the people here. Something that has grown through generations. You gotta stick together. That's one thing about a small community that we do pretty much. We don't let outsiders come in and run our town. I feel that if I lose the tavern, that I would be able to find a roof over my head the next day and I feel that because I love Blue River as much as I do and the people that live here are my peers and my peers are anywhere from
55 to 60 to 18 to 21 and that between them all that we'd bond together and I'd stay. Residents from Blue River have come to believe that it's not so important what kind of work you do but rather how you choose to live your life. They are willing to forego typical comforts for the sound of the river, the shadow of the mountain, and the solace that the region offers. [music ends] America has always prided itself on welcoming newcomers to its shores.
Historically it has been a land where immigrants could assimilate and create a new culture. Yet one segment of the population didn't need to be welcomed to shore. The American Indian watched the first white settlers arrive and then stake out their territory. To this day the values of American society still clash with the Indian culture and Indians are often left adrift in an alienated society. There are more than ten thousand Indians living in Portland. They are most visible in the Burnside area where housing is cheap, alcohol popular, and other Indians easy to find. Some came to the city for jobs. Others are still here from the 1950s when the federal government decided it was time to assimilate Indians into mainstream society. They were brought to the cities from all over the country for job training. Portland was one relocation center for reservation Indians. Often when individuals could not live up to the expectations of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and land a job they stayed here
anyhow and adapted to a different lifestyle. In effect, they became displaced persons separated from their homelands and their people. For many Indians who come to the city voluntarily, adjusting to white society is not easy. Citizens of both the U.S. and their own tribal nation, they often find the two cultures at odds. In order to survive economically, A person has to make some hard choices. For Alison Ball, Portland is not an easy place to live. She came here for a summer job three years ago from her reservation in Colville Washington. She stayed because of her marriage and child and now works for the Indian education program in Longview. Coming to the city, just on a personal level, it's really it's hard to be a place, you're not familiar with the city. At home it's you know a real small community. You know everybody, you come to the city you don't know anybody. Portland is still only a temporary home for Alison. I just accept
that while I'm, while I am living here there's nothing else I can do. It's just something that you have to accept and live with. I couldn't say that you know I was going to accept that the rest of my life. Now hopefully I will be back home [garbled] I don't want to stay in the city. I don't know if I want to go to [?] again. Like Pendleton and Klamath Falls also. Probably one of those three areas will wind up being It kind of depends on the jobs and the living situation. Tom Ball was born and raised in Portland. He didn't get out of the city until he was in the eighth grade. Tom is a Klamath Modoc Indian and he first learned about his roots in southern Oregon after he grew up. Tom has three children, Cheyenne and JT from a previous marriage and Seneca, his child with Allison. He envisions a different environment for his kids than the one he experienced in North Portland.
My one thing, reservation, I think that's real important that they have that feel for their country, their Land. People, you know, say just because you know you're raised in the city and everything else that you don't have them but I do know. That whenever I go home it's a good feeling. Just to go out and hunt, and know that this was our land you know this is where my people come from. It's a good feeling, makes you feel powerful. I would like Seneca. I would like him to marry another Colville. To me it's really important. To keep the degree of blood in the family and you know Seneca's Klamath too. I don't know how Tom feels. It's just something that we don't talk about. The Urban Indian Council in downtown Portland is a multi-purpose social agency for Native Americans. It offers assistance and job hunting, filling out
applications, legal matters, housing, and provides meals on a daily basis. It aims to meet the economic and social needs of Indians when they hit the big city. (music playing) Alex Stone is a drug counselor at the Urban Indian Council and he's well aware of the problems of city living. It's a small system. From where they came from survival technique out there is if they get lost in the wilderness or in the woods. City slickers I guess [?] gone. Put 'em out in the wilderness, they're not going to survive. It's the same with being a people coming out of there and putting 'em into a system where they must survive. And these little barriers or these little blocks that we must live in. If they don't get to catch the right bus they're not going to get the job. Or if they get the job and then they're late and the employer will think well what is he late for, because of drinking? There again you come back to the stereotype.
Urban Indians and the Reservation Indian, they're two different people. Alex is a Cheyenne from Oklahoma. He stopped in Portland 12 years ago on the way back from Vietnam. Right this isn't really, this isn't really home for me. It's someplace that I've stopped off and went to school here. It's easier for me here because I know this system. It was hard for me coming off a small community coming into Portland. I had problems with the bus system. I had problems in finding help, knowing where to go to help with employment other than the employment office. I had problems trying to feed my family, due to employment. That's one thing that most Native Americans don't want to do. And that's turn to welfare. The ones that do turn to welfare they have no other choice. There's no, there's nothing left. Having nothing left could also mean prison. For a small percentage of Indians, jail is one stop in a cycle of poverty
that leads from the reservation to the city to crime and to incarceration. Alex Stone tells people leaving jail what's out there. (gate slamming) I strongly feel that the economy the way it's sitting now, a lot of these guys coming out are set to fail. Because there are no jobs out there. Like Tom Ball, Gail [?Cheehack?] is a Klamath Indian. In the 1950s the federal government terminated the Klamath tribe along with more than 50 other tribes in Oregon. But with the loss of tribal status, Indians lost all federal entitlements. Gail [?Cheehack?] knows the effects of termination. She works for the Alliance for Social Change, a coalition of political action groups. You have a feeling of not having control. You have this feeling of having a government that watches over everything that you do ,over your life from as soon as you're born and you get your roll number too. Allotments and payments and all of those sorts of things you always have this feeling that somebody else is out there controlling. And then of course when termination
happened, the ultimate control. when they said we're not going to even recognize you from this point on. Ever since I can remember that every time I've seen a white person has always been behind a desk. And a lot of times I look at him as an authority figure, when this person sits behind a desk. The tie on. He represents to most Native Americans, an authority figure. I'd rather have them raised around other Indian kids. They see a lot of things already just from school that they're picking up that I don't like. A lot of talk about Jesus-this And god's going to strike you dead, and all this thing and there's devils and hell and, you know I don't want, to care for them to start learning that stuff at this age. Then thing is just their lack of respect. Like when you go to a school with a dance presentations. Kids reflect what their parents know and so they do a lot of stuff like [makes noise] and watch out the Indians are going to scalp us
and stuff like that. That's hard for these kids to take, you know. they'll be up there dancing or something like that they get made fun of because they have a long hair and there's a bndoy a. things like that. And he has long hair because he dances. So that's hard. It's real hard on the kids but if they're with other Indian kids then they probably feel funny having short hair. One of the biggest problems Indians face is discrimination. Takes a long time to heal. You know for other people who just hit town and don't have like, you know Alison and I can kind of support our ways you know and we have other friends and we can find support somewhere else you know but for these people who hit town and trying to find a place and can't find one, they'll wind up staying in their cars and just heading home. It's really gut wrenching, I guess, I don't know what it is. It just tears your insides up. Blue Allman moved from his Sioux Reservation in South Dakota to Portland during World War II to work in the shipyards.
He says he never made enough money to go back. But that doesn't mean I stayed all the time. Every chance we get we head . head back East, maybe just for a week or so, but that'll do it. You just got to do it, like the salmon come up the river every year. It's nature (inaudible). Blue worked heavy construction and he and his wife Violet, a Nez Perce from Idaho, raised six children. Today they live with their two grandsons. Both Blue and Violet actively maintain their cultural ties. Allison Ball teaches Indian schoolchildren about their native culture. She's a friend of Blue and Violet and works with them on cultural and academic programs helping Indians get in touch with their heritage. Her husband has a different priority. Tom brings young people off the reservation and into the city. He is a recruiter for the Northwest Portland area Indian Health Board. Tom shows newcomers the basic tricks of urban living.
These students hope to become health care workers and return home to work for their people. Alison Ball has no doubt she will return home. To me it's really important to work with my own people. I know Tom would like to work with his own people too and I'd like to work within mine and there is a friction there. We have these dreams of always going back home. And we've got to start recognizing that we're not all going to go back home. That we're going to stay and then many of us are going to live our lives here and then our children are going to live their lives here and that we need to become a part of the community. Take control. And that doesn't mean losing your cultural values, it doesn't mean losing the Native American community. Why lose your identity? I know who I am. I don't
I don't have to get out there and say I'm Indian. I live day to day life as I was taught. (music playing) Not everyone has found answers that work. Many are looking for solutions to the conflict between city living and Indian identity. The search can be difficult. It can be painful. Tom Ball knows this. I hear people I went to high school with, they're teachers and they say you weren't an Indian then, why are you doing all this. I can see how important that culture base is, not having grown up with it, and gone through that confusion, yeah I was confused. But anybody that gets away from their base and gets out of harmony with anything cause you to be mentally and spiritually sick. Puts you out of whack. Tom and Alison's backgrounds are very different. Yet neither finds the city a desirable place to raise their children. The fact that they are from different tribes or different nations
may force them to make a painful decision. They may not be able to reconcile their ancestral heritage with their family relationship. Mo's restaurant Newport has been a gathering place for Oregonians and out-of-state tourists for over 40 years. Yet surprisingly few people know who Mo really is. [?Tamara Thomason?] went to Newport to find out. The Oregon Coast. Beautiful, blustery, unpredictable. unpredictable. But no matter what the weather in Newport, Mo's restaurant is always busy. Serving clam chowder and other seafood specialties seven days a week 10 hours a day How's the chowder? Excellent Excellent today, really good. You like the spice? Oh I love it, I love it. My favorite place to eat. The quality of the clam chowder here is no secret but there's a bit of a mystery surrounding the identity of Mo, who is my Mo? Moby Dick. Mo, well Mo sounds to me like a man.
A Mo you know, and I judge him to be a man a jolly guy, unpretentious person, wants to be to serve people. I imagine her as a large, heavy-set woman, dark and extremely outspoken. Short for Moses? I don't know. I thought it might have been somebody that had been working on the boats or something at one time maybe. Could be I don't know. Somebody that's been working with fish and stuff and knows it but boy it's really good. I don't care who it is. See that lady sitting right over there in the red sweater. Yeah, that's Mo. That's Mo. How do you like that (laughing), wasn't even close. Mo's in downtown Newport is only one of six Mo's restaurants along the Oregon coast but this one was the first. In fact it's 40 years old and it's fondly referred
to as Old Mo's. Even though Mo is no longer involved in the day to day process of running the restaurant she just can't seem to stay away. In fact here she comes now. Mohava Niemi better known as Mo. A 70 year old great grandmother who just happens to drive a brand new Trans Am. I love it, kinda silly. Everybody looks at me and either grins or makes some smart remark. But I love it. There was to me never a satisfaction about anything I've ever done in my life that compares with standing there And looking at that room with 40 or 50 people in it. Everybody smiling and everybody else saying mmm gee isn't this good And I think. that people, and making people happy and. And making them able them to afford to take their family
family to eat out is very important. Mo started the restaurant business with a friend 40 years ago out of necessity. When both women were without husbands and had children to raise. Back then fishermen were the main clientele and then business men started frequenting the place. Then came [?their piece?]. And of course being Loosely organized as we always were and friendly and who paid for the coffee paid for it, if they didn't have the money they walked out. We used to find Everybody poured their own coffee in those days and we had a great big shell on the counter and everybody just threw their nickels and dimes and quarters in that shell. We used to get real some peculiar things in that shell, nuts and bolts. and all kinds of things. At the end of the clientele evolution came the paying tourists and they're still here. Mo's serves around 700 people a day in
Newport alone. So many people that they expanded across the street with Mo's Annex 10 years ago. But Old Mo's is still the customers' favorite. You'll almost always find people waiting in line for a seat. And since there are only 58 of them you usually wind up sitting next to someone you've never met. Some like it and some don't. But the ones that don't. If you watch particularly close, usually will get up from a table and say I gave you my phone number now. Next time you're in Salt Lake City be sure and stop. Or if you folks ever come to New York. It's a real pleasure. The clam chowder here is what really draws in the crowds. The recipe, however, isn't Mo's alone but a concentrated effort on behalf of a lot of good cooks. Several years ago, Nalley's Foods tried to capitalize on the recipe. Nellie's foods came in to Mo's and they said.
You know, we can make you a millionaire in no time at all. We'll can this stuff. This is just what we're looking for. According to Mo, Nalley's Foods wanted to substitute artificial ingredients for the natural ones and Mo refused to compromise. But now with the encouragement of granddaughter and restaurant manager, Cindy, the original Mo's frozen clam chowder base is being sold throughout the Northwest. Well she thought I was crazy to want to even bother with another project. You know why get another project going ,Geez don't we have enough to do here you know. And originally it didn't seem like it would have been a bigger project than it has turned out to be it's a big project. Forty years ago Moe never dreamed her clam chowder would be sold in stores or that her restaurant would become a chain. Does she feel like a success? What is success? I can go where I want to go and do what I want to do buy a new car every couple a years. As far as I'm concerned
I think I'm the luckiest old lady in the world. (music playing) Not only do the customers like the atmosphere at Mo's but the waitresses do as well. Several of them have worked at the original Mo's for over 20 years. (music playing) Gwyneth I was interested in your story on Operation Night watch. Do the clergy really help people. You know Kevin from what we saw the nights that we were with them it seems they really do. The inhabitants of Skid Row know that these men are there and that they're there to listen and that they do really seem to care and want to help them. There's no real attempt to convert them into the church then. No they're not there to
proselytize them. In fact, Larry Roulard said he told us that he never sees any of these people on Sunday morning in his church. They're there just basically to listen and help keep the lid on things. Ben, has Governor Atiyeh been hurt by Reaganomics and high unemployment? Initially he was hurt badly. But he is distanced himself pretty well now between Reagan and Reaganomics and he's in the ascendant pattern politically at this point. But you know, Ben, in this state, what can a governor really do, can he make a difference? Yes he can but only in the long range sense of doing at least two things.One is to put money into higher education or to bring about a highly diversified industrial operation similar to what they have been doing in the Carolinas for the last 20 years. Well whoever does win is certainly going to inherit a lot of problems. Although some of these problems are resolvable, quite frankly some of them are out of their control. It's like a business and let's face it politics is the complaint department. No no no you're mistaken. Politics is warfare without bullets. That's what makes it fun.
Next time on Front Street weekly, we'll talk to Kathy Douglas, widow of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. We'll meet three of Oregon's most notable film critics and we'll spend some time with two cattle ranching families in Eastern Oregon. Finally we'll ride with an Oregon stock car team that spends most of its time racing for its freedom. They want to show him that hey we're not just a bunch of worthless convicts in here and they got a car they're going out with it. They're going to take first if they can. Until next week goodnight.
- Series
- Front Street Weekly
- Episode Number
- 203
- Contributing Organization
- Oregon Public Broadcasting (Portland, Oregon)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/153-36547j47
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/153-36547j47).
- Description
- Credits
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- AAPB Contributor Holdings
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Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB)
Identifier: 113033.0 (Unique ID)
Format: U-matic
Generation: Original
Duration: 01:00:00:00
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Front Street Weekly; 203,” 1982-10-28, Oregon Public Broadcasting, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed September 7, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-153-36547j47.
- MLA: “Front Street Weekly; 203.” 1982-10-28. Oregon Public Broadcasting, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. September 7, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-153-36547j47>.
- APA: Front Street Weekly; 203. Boston, MA: Oregon Public Broadcasting, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-153-36547j47