About the Project
Parkrose Community Archive is a restorative public history project that aims to rectify Parkrose’s exclusion from historical and contemporary conversations about Portland. It details Parkrose history through essays, archival documents, ephemera, newspapers, photographs, and oral history interviews. The materials on the website explore the historical founding of Parkrose, the impacts of local, state, and federal policymaking, the perceptions and responses of Parkrose residents, and changes in the Parkrose community over time. More than anything, this project is meant to highlight, celebrate, and make tangible the rich and often untold history of the Parkrose community: it strives to preserve Parkrose’s historical documents and make them broadly accessible to community members and public audiences. As a result, this project would not be possible without collaboration and materials from Parkrose community members. Parkrose Community Archive is a home for the creation of new knowledge about Portland’s history and an educational tool that Oregonians can use to learn about this corner of the state.
Author's Note
My name is Jada Krening, and I am the Project Director & Founder of Parkrose Community Archive. I was born and raised in Parkrose Heights and attended Russell Elementary, Parkrose Middle School, and Parkrose High School, where I graduated in 2016. My parents, Mark and Jeannie (Dimoff) Krening, are also PHS graduates (class of 1986). They, like me, spent their entire upbringing in Parkrose. Their parents moved to the area before they were born—my grandfather, Larry Krening, grew up in Parkrose and attended Parkrose schools, graduating in 1951, the year the Shaver Street high school opened.
Parkrose Community Archive began as a capstone project for a master’s degree in history at Oregon State University, which I completed in June 2024. Previously, I attended OSU as an undergrad, where I studied political science, sociology, writing, and journalism. The idea for Parkrose Community Archive stemmed partially out of frustration: even as a graduate student, I could not find any substantive examples of Parkrose history anywhere. Not online, not in local archives, not in Portland or Oregon history books. But as someone from Parkrose, I knew a history existed here—I knew community members had materials and sources they’ve held onto that reflect a rich history of the area. The problem was simply that no one had taken the time to organize it, display it, or make it accessible to a general audience. That is how this project began.
I’ve always been conscious of how profoundly Parkrose shaped me—not just my research interests but also my morals, my politics, my worldview, and how I interact with others. This project is ultimately rooted in my experience as an individual from Parkrose. In that sense, Parkrose Community Archive is both by and for the Parkrose community. It’s a collaborative effort to create a collage of life and history in Parkrose and uncover and make accessible the stories and experiences of Parkrose community members.
As Parkrose residents know, the community is incredibly diverse. Parkrose Community Archive is a living project, one that I hope will continue to grow for years to come. As a white woman with a generational background in Parkrose, I am keenly aware of the need for a project like this to include the area’s distinct and diverse voices, including immigrant communities and communities of color. My goal is to continue to partner with Parkrose residents, groups, and organizations to ensure that this project—this community resource—is truly accessible and representative of everyone.
If you have any questions or would like to contribute materials to the Parkrose Community Archive, please contact me at parkrosecommunityarchive@gmail.com.