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Richard Brown.
Richard Brown has been a resident of North Portland since 1976. He is on the board of directors of the Willamette River Keepers and the Black United Front. He has also been an advocate for environmental change in the community surrounding the Columbia Slough. Mr. Brown has been involved with both the effort to put warning signs on the slough and education regarding recreation on the slough.
Ronald Bunn.
Ronald Bunn owns property adjacent to the Whitaker Ponds. He has lived at this location for the past 48 years and retired from Oregon Printing Plates in Portland. He is an avid gardener and has viewed the increase in urbanization and commercial development near Whitaker Ponds.
Jim Douglas.
Jim Douglas is a life-long resident of the Woodlawn neighborhood. Born in 1905, Mr. Douglas has witnessed many of the changes in the N.E. Portland area. Mr. Douglas remembers the days when horses and buggies traveled the streets of Portland and raised streetcar trestles crossed the slough. He now lives next to the house in which he was born.
Tony Fazio
Tony Fazio is a long-time farmer on the Columbia Slough and Sauvie Island. His family began farming on the slough shortly after immigrating from Italy in 1921. Mr. Fazio recalls the effect of the 1948 flood on his family’s farm.
Tim Hayford
Tim Hayford was the manager of the Multnomah County Drainage District from 1980-1999. Mr. Hayford was the fourth manager since the conception of the drainage district. He played a key role in issues related to the slough, including urban renewal and the development of the Columbia South Shore area.
David Kasch.
Born in 1925, David Kasch has lived in North Portland most of his life. He worked as a riverboat and tugboat pilot on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers.
Bill Miller.
Bill Miller has lived in the St. John��s area since 1924, and recalls events such as fishing, boating, the filling of ponds and lakes, and salmon travelling up the slough. Mr. Miller also has mapped the previously existing wetlands that were in place nearby the slough.
Alta Mitchoff.
Mrs. Mitchoff is the author of the book History of the Kenton Neighborhood. She was raised primarily in Kenton, although she has spent time in the Portsmouth area.
George Mitchoff.
George Mitchoff grew up recreating on the Columbia Slough and recalls fishing and hunting in the area. As an adult, Mr. Mitchoff has been active in educating people about the Columbia Slough.
Mae Ninomiya.
Mae Ninomiya is a lifelong Kenton resident. Her father came from Japan in the early 20thcentury and purchased land along the Columbia Slough. The family owned a store in Kenton and farmed on the slough near the present-day Portland International Airport. During WWII, her family was interned at the Minodoka Relocation Center after an initial stay at the Portland Assembly Center.
Elsie Norris.
Elsie Norris is a longtime resident of the St. John��s area where she was born and grew up and went on to raise her own family. She remembers swimming in Five Mile and Three-Corner lakes, picking berries, and ice-skating on the slough. Her husband helped when Vanport flooded as a member of the Portland Fire Bureau.
Jim Regan.
Jim Regan and his wife Norma live on Sauvie Island. Mr. Regan went to Vanport College and participated in rescuing people and books from the college during the Vanport Flood. He recalls working as a welder in the Portland Shipyards as a teenager during W.W.II.
Ed Washington.
Ed Washington is a Metro Councilman and an African American man who lived in Vanport City. Mr. Washington recalls his experiences at Vanport City before and during the 1948 flood. He has been involved in many decision-making processes related to the Columbia Slough. Mr. Washington has recreated and observed environmental changes in the slough since early childhood.
