08.11.2023

Today’s Forecast

86º | Hot and sunny | 5% chance of rain | Sunrise 6:06 a.m. | Sunset 8:24 p.m.

🧩 Puzzling out the past

Uncover the mysteries of your family tree at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon

Volunteer Laurel Smith pieced together her adoptive and biological family trees. | Photo by Cambrie Juarez, PDXtoday

Like the roots of a tree, ancestral lines run deep. They seldom take straight, easily traceable routes but following them back decades, perhaps even centuries, is possible — you just need to know where and how to look.

Portland is home to the largest society and library dedicated to genealogy west of Salt Lake City. Like those symbolic tree roots, the Genealogical Forum of Oregon (GFO) is headquartered below ground in the basement of the Ford Building, where it houses a vast, publicly accessible library of books and documents offering insights into generations of Northwest residents.

You’ll find original Multnomah County marriage registers dating back to 1855, cemetery records, Oregon Trail histories, land grants given to Oregon Territory settlers prior to 1853, and much more. Full shelves devoted to international materials can help you trace your family history over oceans and across borders. One particular section houses scores of old yearbooks, where one visitor in his 50s found the first image he’d ever seen of his father, who was killed in World War II. His parents had been high school sweethearts.

genealogical forum of oregon marriage record portland pdx — Researching your family tree often requires the ability to read handwritten cursive records, like this entry for Multnomah County’s first marriage.
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Photo by Cambrie Juarez, PDXtoday

“I think it’s important to know where you come from. It helps explain your family, and maybe why you look a certain way, why you behave in certain ways, why you think of certain things differently than maybe someone else does,” said longtime volunteer Laurel Smith.

More than 1,000 people are members of the volunteer-run nonprofit organization that’s been in operation since 1946. You can dig into GFO’s resources, access online databases like Ancestry.com and FamilySearch, join a special interest group, and get help from volunteers with an $8 day-use pass or a yearly membership.

Not sure where to start? All you need is the name of a parent or grandparent and a general idea of where they were located at a given time in order to search for them in census records.

Events

Friday, Aug. 11

25th Annual Elephant Garlic Festival | Friday, Aug. 11-Sunday, Aug. 13 | Times vary | Jessie Mays Community Park, 30975 NW Hillcrest St., North Plains | Free | Show your appreciation for the vegetable that zhuzhes up food and fends off vampires (and anyone coming in for a kiss) at this event featuring craft vendors, a car show, music, a parade, and more.
Public Unveiling of the First Troll | Friday, Aug. 11 | 4:30-7 p.m. | Nordic Northwest, 8800 SW Oleson Rd., Portland | $25-$85 | Be among the first to lay eyes upon a giant, hand-built troll created by internationally known recycled materials artist Thomas Dambo as part of the “Northwest Troll: Way of the Bird King” exhibition.
Madeline Kenney | Friday, Aug. 11 | 9 p.m.-12 a.m. | Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E. Burnside St., Portland | $17 | You’re in for a night of thoughtful indie rock with this Oakland-based musician whose bottomless well of curiosity shines through in her creative talent.

Saturday, Aug. 12

Scappoose Adventure Festival | Saturday, Aug. 12-Sunday, Aug. 13 | Times vary | Scappoose Veteran’s Park, 52590 Captain Roger Kucera Way, Scappoose | Free | Climb rock walls, test your ax-throwing abilities, watch wood carvers wield chainsaws with deft skill, and join a 1k, 6k, or 10k run at this adventure-packed event with food and a beer garden.
Historic Cemeteries Tour | Saturday, Aug. 12 | 12 p.m. | Gresham Pioneer Cemetery, SW Walters Rd., Gresham | Free | Take a turn through local history on this hour-long walk through Gresham Pioneer, Escobar, and White Birch cemeteries.

Sunday, Aug. 13

Providence Bridge Pedal & Stride | Sunday, Aug. 13 | Locations vary, Portland | $25-$60 | Join one of the largest community bike rides in the world for a ride or urban hike across various bridges, including the Fremont, which turns 50 years old this year.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

Drink

Food

3 drool-worthy food and wine pairings from Valo Winery

Presented by a PDXtoday Partner

If you’re not having a bite of this pan-seared duck breast at Wine Club, you’re missing out. | Photo by Valo

You know you’re an adult when you can successfully pair wine and food. But if you haven’t gotten there yet (or don’t even understand tasting notes), then Valo’s Wine Club is here to help.

Here’s a cheat sheet of three of the winery’s most popular pairings from past Wine Club events, where members get to learn more about wine + try curated small plates.

2022 Valo Sauvignon Blanc Conner Lee Vineyard

Tasting notes: lemongrass, gooseberry, fresh basil, wet stone
Mouthfeel: Mid-bodied and fresh

Food pairing: spinach and arugula salad with fresh figs, green apple, prosciutto, goat cheese, and toasted almonds with a Meyer lemon vinaigrette

2019 Valo Chardonnay Conner Lee Vineyard

Tasting notes: lemon custard, green apple, nectarines, Provence herbs, sea salt
Mouthfeel: Rich and flavorful

Food pairing: beet-cured Columbia River salmon, roasted golden beets, and candied fennel on toasted brioche

2020 Massalto Extravaganza

Tasting notes: raspberry, red currant, tart cherry, rooibos tea
Mouthfeel: fresh and vibrant

Food pairing: pan-seared duck breast, soba noodles, sauteed bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, miso, and yuzu broth

See upcoming Wine Club events

News Notes

Health

A Vancouver-based biotech company is teaming up with the California Institute of Technology on a project funded by Bill and Melinda Gates to develop affordable HIV therapeutic vaccinations. Absci Corp. uses AI to create new antibodies on a computer, which has the potential to slash preclinical development timelines for novel drugs. (Portland Business Journal)

Biz

Portland’s Widmer Brothers Brewing and Square Mile Cider Co. are changing hands. The craft breweries, along with six others across the US, are being sold by Anheuser-Busch to Tilray Brands — a New York-based cannabis and lifestyle company. The deal will reportedly make Tilray the fifth-largest craft beer company in the country. (Portland Business Journal)

Open

In other sudsy news, Migration Brewing has opened a new happy hour option for downtown Portlanders. A pop-up taproom is serving drinks, 3-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, on the first floor of the Wells Fargo Center on Southwest Fifth Avenue. It’ll stick around at least through the end of August. (Willamette Week)

Today Is

National Safe Digging Day. The date (811) also happens to be the number that Portlanders can call to have the location of underground utilities in their yard marked prior to landscaping or home improvement projects. The service is free — while an estimated $30 billion in damages occur annually. (KATU)

Travel

KGW is sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the new roof at Portland International Airport. The 9-acre, 18-million-pound roof crafted from PNW timber was moved into place in pieces, or cassettes, which were then bolted atop massive Y-shaped columns. The roof’s completion marks the halfway point in the PDX NEXT project. (KGW)

Eat

You’re invited to Batter Up’s 10th birthday party this weekend. Stop by the downtown Beaverton restaurant for giveaways, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and try its waffles and waffle sandwiches. Go for the chicken and waffles, or experience the Mac Daddy — a waffle sandwich made with mac and cheese. (KOIN)

Outdoors

Tomorrow, Aug. 12, is World Elephant Day. Visit the Oregon Zoo’s Elephant Lands to see its resident pachyderms swimming and participating in training demonstrations. There will also be special keeper talks (9:30 a.m. + 1:30 p.m.) on elephant care and species conservation.

Coming Soon

Restoration charges forward with big bucks

Historic elk statue to return to downtown Portland in 2024

A bronze statue in the shape of a bull elk with large antlers stands atop a white granite fountain surrounded by city buildings and trees.

The statue was intended to commemorate the elk herds that once roamed the Willamette Valley in large numbers. | Photo by Cacophony

Downtown Portland’s iconic elk statue is expected to return to its home sometime next year.

The statue that crowned the Thompson Elk Fountain on Southwest Main between Third and Fourth avenues was removed three years ago after being damaged during the 2020 protests. Cracks in the granite base sparked safety concerns, so the city hauled off the entire monument.

A restoration project, spearheaded by the Portland Parks Foundation, is now underway. Funded by $1.5 million from the city and an additional $160,000 from 65 donors, the project will return the fountain and bronze statue to their former glory — and then some. When work is completed, the structure will feature a seismic upgrade (previously, the 3,000-pound elk was weighed down by gravity alone), a recirculating pump to conserve water, and graffiti-resistant coating.

Historic preservation firm Architectural Resources Group started the design process this week. An exact date for the Thompson Elk Fountain’s reinstallation hasn’t been announced.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Cambrie

From the editor

Take a little road trip to Junction City this weekend for the 63rd Scandinavian Festival. I can say from personal experience that all ages will have a fun time watching folk dancing, browsing art exhibits, shopping for handcrafted, bespoke treasures, and eating plenty of fair food. Don’t want to drive yourself? Hitch a ride with Nordic Northwest on Sunday, Aug. 13.

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