Parkrose Community Archive: It’s Tuesday, April 9th [2024]. We’re in the Parkrose Heights neighborhood of Portland, Oregon with my parents, Mark and Jeannie. To start, could you state your full name, each of you?

 

Mark Krening: Mark Robert Krening.

 

Jeannie Krening: Jeannie Lynn Krening. 

 

PCA: Great. I think we should start with Mark, because your dad also grew up in Parkrose, so I feel like that’s a good place to start.

 

MK: Mmhm.

 

PCA: First, when and where were you born?

 

MK: I was born in Corvallis [Oregon], November 2nd, 1968. 

 

PCA: Nice. And when did your parents move to Parkrose?

 

MK: I am not sure the exact date, but I was a toddler, and we first moved over to around 90th [Avenue] and Sandy [Boulevard], into a house. And then around kindergarten time, my grandparents—my dad’s parents—gave them some land adjacent to their existing house in Parkrose, and that’s where dad built our childhood home, which is kind of cool. We were right next door to my grandparents on his side. And so, probably I would say overall, from the time I was three to now, I’ve been in Parkrose. 

 

PCA: In thinking about the house, because it was built by him—I’m kind of curious what the house looked like to you at the time, and kind of what the neighborhood looked like when you were a kid. 

 

MK: The house was very utilitarian. 

 

PCA and JK: (Laughter) 

 

MK: Because—well, no, the first house—because there was the second house, too. The second house was utilitarian. The first house was idyllic middle-class—really a neat house, actually. It had three floors, a basement, two other floors. All the bedrooms were upstairs, and there was a family room downstairs. It was very 1970s, you know, really neat. It was a really neat house.

 

PCA: And then the other one was utilitarian? 

 

MK: Well, when my parents got divorced when I was about 12, dad bounced around some apartments for a while, [my grandpa had died when I was five and my grandma was living alone], so he wanted to take care of grandma. So he built a house that was basically a two-story—with a basement—duplex, and he lived on top and she lived down below. And that was a utilitarian house, because it was just a box. But it was very functional, yeah. 

 

PCA: Yeah. How long did it take him to build that?

 

MK: Well, he didn’t build it, he had a contractor build it. But he was, you know—

 

PCA: Yeah. Involved.

 

MK: —involved in it, yeah. And he did a lot of the finish work and stuff, but he had the contractor put the structure up. 

 

PCA: So, being over where you were for that house, you went to Prescott [Elementary].

 

MK: I did. 

 

PCA: What was that experience like? Prescott in the 1970s?

 

MK: You know, it wasn’t bad at all. It was a lot different back then. Down in that area, it was always a little bit lower socioeconomic, and Prescott was really old. And I drove by it the other day and I was amazed. I just thought about it and I’m like, I can’t believe that people—students, kids—still go to school there. It was old when I was there, but it was quaint, it was small. It had a huge yard. Recesses were fun, you know. It had a covered shed that you could play in when it rained. It was good. 

 

PCA: Nice.

 

MK: Yeah. 

 

PCA: And in terms of the neighborhood around you—in the second house, because you spent the most time there—what was the neighborhood like and what did you do for fun as a kid?

 

MK: So much. 

 

PCA: Yeah.

 

MK: It was, again, kind of an idyllic neighborhood to live in. There was a lot of kids there at the time. We all hung out together. We all did things together. We all met on the corner across the street from the house. And there was so much to do, because the city hadn’t encroached on it yet, so Parkrose was really a community that was defined. I mean, you could do anything from—you know—head north and go fishing and catch crawdads in the Columbia River or Slough. You could head west and go hike in the woods at Rocky Butte, which is also pretty iconic in the neighborhood, especially before the freeway was put there. We had one family in the neighborhood—not family, because the kids had moved out and it was an older couple—but had a big house and a big yard. And at the end of this really deep, long yard they had these arborvitae, and I was telling your mom about this the other night—they actually said we could play in that yard. So we spent many, many summer days basically playing baseball in their yard with a tennis ball. And they would just let us play in the yard. And then they had rows of strawberries, or some type of berry, that they let us go eat them all and pick them all. So it was very communal, kind of—I don’t know if communal is the right word. But there was always so much to do. You had a bike, you could do anything, and it was safe. It wasn’t busy, it was quiet. 

 

PCA: Yeah, I was kind of thinking about that, in terms of thinking about your early understanding of Parkrose as a place, mainly in comparison to the rest of Portland. Like as a kid, did you feel—I guess you kind of mentioned already that it feels like you were a little bit like your own community, because the city hadn’t annexed Parkrose. But how did you see the rest of Portland at the time, when you were a kid?

 

MK: The big city.

 

PCA: Yeah. 

 

MK: It used to be you head down the Banfield, and you’re 8-10 miles from downtown Portland. And back then, it felt like 8-10 miles. 

 

JK: (Laughter)

 

PCA: Yeah, yeah. 

 

MK: You could see it, you knew it was there. You went there for special occasions. But it was—in between there, there wasn’t a lot of growth at that time. It was just older, established communities. So everybody kind of had their own community identity, I guess you could say. Whereas now, you just feel like we’re all Portland, and then it's Gresham. Back then it was like, no, we live in Parkrose, and that’s the big city.

 

PCA: What did you think about the farming communities around you growing up? Like the Rossis are a big one, but there’s quite a few.

 

MK: I didn’t appreciate it as much then as I do now, looking back on it, though. But it’s really distinct. It really distinguishes the neighborhood and the community. It also provided employment opportunities for kids, you know, child labor. 

 

PCA: (Laughter)
 

MK: We would go—I tried it for a while, you could go pick—what was it, raspberries? What did we pick there?

 

JK: I did strawberries, actually, yeah.

 

MK: Strawberries, yeah. And you’d get on a bus, they’d take you there, and you’d pick strawberries for the day and you’d get a little money. 

 

PCA: Take you where?

 

MK: To the farms! (Laughter) They would drive you to the farms. I mean, some of the farms I guess were a little farther out than Parkrose. But it was all the same kind of feel. 

 

PCA: Yeah. How much did you get paid for that?

 

MK: Not much. 

 

PCA and JK: (Laughter)

 

MK: Not much at all. 

 

PCA: That’s funny. So, turning a little bit to your dad [Larry Krening], because he also went to Parkrose. Can you talk a little bit about his background, and when he first got to Parkrose, and his family, and why he came?

 

MK: Yeah. Well, my grandpa moved out here in the early ‘30s to go to work in the shipyards. And my grandma followed him out here, and my dad was the first of five boys that were born, and they moved out here when he was young. I don’t remember how old he was. But he was probably a toddler, too. That’s when they built the house on the corner [of 109th Avenue and Beech Street], which my dad eventually tore down and rebuilt into the [duplex], and where the property was where the other house where I grew up. So, he lived on that corner with my grandparents and his brothers until when he was 17—I think he was 17, he might have even been younger than that—he wanted to join the National Guard, and he had to get my grandma to sign off for him so he could join that early. And after that, he joined the Air Force after a year. And then he spent, you know, twenty years in the Air Force traveling the world. He went to Vietnam and survived that, came back. And when he came back, he moved back to Parkrose. So I think that he was very fond of where he grew up, and like we talked about earlier, he wrote some memoirs about how it was back then, and you can really see why he enjoyed it and what it meant to him. And for him to come back and spend the rest of his life [in Parkrose] until he died, you know—in that house, on that corner. We call it “Krening Corner.” So yeah, he was very—I don’t know. He was very fond of this area. And I can understand why, coming from where he started, his childhood, and then coming back and it was still really a neat place to live. Good place to raise a family.

 

PCA: Yeah. I always loved going to his house growing up, too.

 

MK: Yeah.

 

PCA: Yeah. I think another thing I was thinking about is the fact that he played baseball, and even at my age and my brother’s age—Sage [Krening], shoutout—he was still so involved in the baseball community, I feel like, even when we were kids. Maybe you could talk a little bit about that—just playing baseball in Parkrose, and also his involvement and your involvement in that.
 

MK: Yeah. Well, baseball was his thing, and he handed that down to me, and it became my favorite thing, too. And he started coaching me at an early age, so he was really involved in Parkrose Little League. Yeah, and he even—as I got older—he even got an assistant coaching job with the high school. The head coach back then was—what’s his first name? It was Mr. Bettendorf. 

 

JK: Mmhm.  

 

MK: And he actually played baseball with my dad in high school. So they knew each other. 

 

JK: Wow. I didn’t know that. 

 

MK: Yeah. So dad coached the high school team, which I can’t say was the most fun I’ve ever had. 

 

PCA and JK: (Laughter)

 

MK: A little contentious sometimes, you know, growing up. I’m a teenager, you know. 

 

PCA: Yeah, yeah. That tracks. 

 

MK: But, I always appreciated his involvement. He was very involved in it. He loved baseball. I mean, when he died, all the kids that he coached—they referred to him, still, as “Coach Larry.” He meant a lot to a lot of baseball players and kids that grew up in this neighborhood. He spent so much time coaching them and mentoring them that they had a serious, deep respect for him, yeah. 

 

PCA: Totally. Do you have any specific memories with him in Parkrose? It could be baseball-related, or just anything that you used to do together in Parkrose. 

 

MK: One of things about Parkrose that’s great, also, is that the Columbia River is so close. And I know that even when you and Sage were young, you did a lot of the things that my sister Michelle and I did when we were kids. And that’s just walking along the beach of the Columbia River. Going to Blue Lake Park. I mean, all those things that you guys did—he kind of just re-did them with you guys. 

 

JK: (Laugher)

 

MK: I think he really missed that. And it was fun! We spent a lot of time just out with dad kind of exploring. We used to—you know about King’s Chair, right? On Rocky Butte? You don’t know anything about that? 

 

PCA: I think so. 

 

MK: Well, you can’t really see it right now. But you know how there’s cliffs at Rocky Butte?

 

PCA: Yeah.

 

MK: Well, there used to be this spot where you used to be able to hike up and there’d be this rock, and it was like a throne. And it literally looked east, and everybody called it King’s Chair. So we would, all the time, hike down, hike up, go sit at King’s Chair. It’d be a destination, and we’d do that. So I think as far as doing things with dad, we were always doing things like that. Exploring Parkrose and the areas around it.

 

PCA: Yeah, that’s so true. It’s funny that you mention that because I was thinking even about Sage and I spending time with him, and it is true that we kind of—(laughter) we did all do—like, we spent a lot of time at the Columbia [River]. I remember walking along the Columbia a lot. I remember going to Rocky Butte a lot. And also, just like spending time in his yard [on Beech Street] in the neighborhood, and meeting people around the neighborhood. Going to Elmer’s, on Sandy [Boulevard]. Lots of Parkrose! I mean, he was great about taking us around Portland in general, but a lot of it—he did like to show off Parkrose in that way, which is cool. 

 

MK: Yeah. And there’s still a lot to do in Parkrose, it’s just—you know, it’s just a little busier. 

 

PCA: Yeah. I guess we can transition to Jeannie now, and do a little discussion. Ultimately, these storylines will collide. So, we can start with you—

 

JK: (Laughter) Well said. 

 

MK: Is it “collide,” or “merge”?

 

PCA: Either! It is a little more of a merge. Okay, we’re moving to Jeannie then. Jeannie! My mother. Where and when were you born?

 

JK: I was born April 8th, 1968, off of 105th [Avenue] and Knott Street. 

 

MK: Just up the road!
 

PCA: Very close to where we are right now. 

 

JK: Which is crazy! Yeah. 

 

PCA: Yeah. Okay, I guess we can start by saying, what was the first house like that you were in growing up, and then what was the transition to the house that you spent your entire childhood in like?

 

JK: Right. The first house off 105th [Avenue] was small, but I have really fond memories of it. It was like a two bedroom, one bath—so my brother and I shared a room. But it had this huge yard, just like, classic Parkrose lot. And my dad built a fort back there, and all of the family and friends would come over and hang out there. I loved that neighborhood up the street on 105th. It was just—it was so quaint. I had so many friends. The neighborhood was really just in that one block—yeah. So many friends there. We’d have block parties, close off the roads. Yeah, it was great. 

 

PCA: Did you spend a lot of time at Knott Park, then, growing up?

 

JK: Yeah, I actually went to Knott—

 

PCA: That’s right, yeah. 

 

JK: —this is crazy for me, to see Knott now. And dad and I were talking about this other night, too, because I used to walk to school. And uncle Greg [Jeannie’s brother] went to Knott, too. There was an iconic play structure called “The Frog”—has anybody talked about The Frog?

 

PCA: (Laughter) No. 

 

JK: I would love to get a picture of the frog someday so you can see it. But that was kind of an iconic Knott—

 

PCA: I’m sure there’s one out there.

 

MK: It was literally a frog made out of concrete. 

 

PCA: (Laughter) Why did they get rid of it?

 

MK: Probably because it’s sort of dangerous.

 

JK: (Laughter) But I loved Knott! I love this neighborhood. And then when I was in the third grade, my parents decided that two bedroom, one bath house was a little too small. And we moved over to Russell, which was heartbreaking to me, because I felt like I was going so far away from Knott, which was crazy. And losing really, really close friends. 

 

PCA: Yeah. So what age did you move over to the other house?

 

JK: I graduated—well, graduated (laughter)—I went through third grade and then started fourth grade at Russell [Elementary]. So fourth through sixth at Russell.

 

PCA: Okay.

 

JK: Yeah. 

 

PCA: Maybe before we talk about Russell [Elementary] we can talk about kind of what that neighborhood in the Russell area was like growing up, and also what your house was like growing up. 

 

JK: Yeah. The Russell area was newer, yeah. I mean, it was a much newer—even though it’s only, you know, twenty blocks or something away—it was a much newer house, way bigger. It seemed huge when we moved in. Same kind of feel, though. I mean, interesting enough is that, because it was such a community, family-based, I think people really did move to Parkrose for this kind of family-based feel of—we’ve talked about it before. There were older kids on our street, but same thing—just from grandma and grandpa’s house, just down to there, they block partied it off—closed it off and everybody in that one street would just have huge parties, same thing.

 

PCA: That’s cool.

 

JK: Yeah, it was cool.

 

PCA: I feel like even now, that area of Parkrose—and I don’t know if it’s just because it’s kind of removed from busier streets, but it still feels quieter to me than other areas—

 

JK: I agree.

 

PCA: —like, she [Jeannie’s mom] still lives in the house that you grew up in. 

 

JK: Correct, yeah. 

 

PCA: Which is off Eugene [Street], right? 

 

JK: Yeah, 131st [Avenue] and Eugene [Street]. 

 

PCA: And it just feels so much quieter over there. 

 

JK: It really does. 

 

PCA: I think it’s just tucked away a little bit.  

 

JK: It does. Yeah, just where she is, past John Luby [Park]—yeah. It just seemed newer. There were sidewalks—

 

PCA: Sidewalks make a big difference. 

 

JK: —big deal, big deal! Hello, city of Portland—

 

MK: We still don’t have them here [in Parkrose Heights], yeah. 

 

JK: —just kidding. 

 

PCA: Kidding but not kidding. 

 

JK: Yeah. But it was a big deal, it was different. It was different. 

 

PCA: Maybe you could talk a little bit about your experience in Russell [Elementary], because you mentioned the transition to a new school, which I know was difficult for you as a kid. But also just kind of what Russell was like at the time.

 

JK: Russell was a great school, though. Like I said, such fond memories of Knott, just because—I mean, I ran with so many friends that were so close, and we’d bike all the time together. Same kind of feel as dad had. Russell felt new. Like, take dad’s Prescott, to Knott, to Russell. You know, Russell was obviously a newer school. Across from John Luby Park, which was scary as a kid—

 

PCA: (Laughter) (Sarcastically) Why?

 

JK: Hood’s Woods! (Laughter) Everybody knows Hood’s Woods. But great teachers, yeah. It was a very good school. I mean, you think back to like, Mrs. Noonan—the fact that you had the same PE teacher that I had. 

 

PCA: That is wild.

 

JK: So I find that very interesting that Sage and you—ending up at Russell is such an interesting thing to me, too. 

 

PCA: I loved Russell. That was like, the time of my life. 

 

JK: (Laughter)

 

PCA: And it’s funny, because I wasn’t supposed to go to Russell because we live in Parkrose Heights. So I technically would go to Sacramento [Elementary], I believe? 

 

JK: Correct. 

 

PCA: I got lucky that I already knew friends who were all going to Russell—

 

JK: Well, what happened was that Sage did—

 

PCA: He did like a year, yeah, at Sacramento. 

 

JK: —kindergarten at Sacramento. But at that time, he went into Parkrose Little League, and so we met the Martins, of course. And there were just all these close baseball, little league families right out there, and I advocated to get him into Russell, because I agree—

 

PCA: All our friends were going there!

 

JK: —shoutout to Jeff Rose. It was a good school. So, I advocated to get him in and you kind of got grandfathered in because your brother went there.

 

PCA: I’m so glad that happened. 

 

JK: Oh, I am too, I am too. Russell was a really good spot for you two. 

 

PCA: It was a very unique—it’s funny, because I’ll talk to people who went to other elementary schools—or just like, other cities in general. I talk about some of the things we did [at Russell]—like, a four-square tournament where everyone stops class and watches it.

 

JK: (Laughter)

 

PCA: Or an M&M field day, where you earn M&Ms. Those were such fun memories. And even the publishing company that they had there.

 

JK: Oh, that was so neat. 

 

PCA: Like you could write a story in class and they would publish it and put it in the library.

 

JK: I did the same thing growing up. As a kid, we would get to publish our own books at Russell—

 

PCA: It’s so cool!

 

JK: —and same thing, we had field day, too. That continued on. I don’t know if that was, everybody—

 

PCA: [To Mark] You had Mrs. Noonan as well, right? Did she teach at Prescott at the time?

 

MK: I don’t remember. Well—

 

JK: No, I think she was full time [at Russell]. They didn’t have to split PE teachers back in the day.

 

PCA: They had the money for that?

 

JK: They had the money for that! 

 

PCA: I was gonna say because when I was a kid, she taught at both Russell and Prescott.

 

JK: Right.

 

MK: They might’ve split time, maybe, but not back in the day.

 

JK: No, no, no, I think she was full-time Russell, we didn’t have that. And I met some really great friends at Russell, too, and then it was kind of neat, because when I went into [Parkrose] Heights, my friends I knew from Knott—it was great. It seemed like a lifetime between third and seventh grade—

 

PCA: Yeah, I bet.

 

JK: —but it was good to see them all again. 

 

PCA: Yeah. Kind of a similar question that I asked dad, but what did you do for fun growing up as a kid in the neighborhood? Did you have any—other than picking strawberries—

 

JK: Well, that’s funny, because as you were asking about farmland, I’m like, I don’t if I had ever asked if you’d picked berries—

 

PCA: I didn’t know that. 

 

JK: —but I think all of us picked berries. I think I lasted one day. It was—

 

PCA: It didn’t last long for you?

 

JK: —eighty cents, I don’t even know how much it was.

 

MK: I think I did like, three days. 

 

PCA: The turnover rate was high. 

 

JK: (Laughter) The turnover rate was high! We all got onto buses, yeah, and you’d go down and pick berries for the day. It was just like a thing you did in the summertime, so it’s kind of a neat thing. For fun—a lot of bike riding, but also we’ve talked about that before. I grew up in a really close-knit friend group that my mom’s best friends that they made in fourth grade—they all had families at the same time. So they lived in all different locations.

 

PCA: All in Portland, though.

 

JK: All in Portland. But I spent a lot of time in the Franklin neighborhood and the Madison neighborhood where my two best friends lived. So a lot of time was spent around Portland, not necessarily as close to Parkrose stuff. 

 

PCA: Still like eastside Portland, though. 

 

JK: Definitely eastside Portland. 

 

PCA: I was kind of curious about that as well. Maybe you can talk to your parents' experience a little bit, because I know that your mom grew up—well, she wasn’t born in Oregon. But she grew up in—

 

JK: Rose City kind of, yeah. 

 

PCA: —Rose City area, yeah. So maybe you can talk a little bit about her arrival to Parkrose, and also where your dad grew up. Basically, how they ended up in Parkrose in the end. 

 

JK: Yeah. So, my mom came out here from North Dakota when she was three. They ended up in Rose City, your great grandma and grandpa. And so she grew up in Rose City where it was like, she went to Grant. They were the first class at Madison High School [now McDaniel High School], her and her friends. And then my dad grew up over—which was a very big immigrant community—over by kind of in Alameda, actually. Concordia High School. They came over from Yugoslavia. So they got married, ended up off of a duplex in Rose City, too, off 68th [Avenue]. It’s interesting that your parents did kind of the Rose City thing, too. I don’t know if it was just at that time a more affordable—

 

MK: It might’ve been, yeah. 

 

JK: —place for young families, or if it was just kind of a thing, but really neat houses and stuff. And then, talking to her, I think they just liked kind of the feel of Parkrose, and it was like the house and the small community feel, that they decided to move out here. 

 

PCA: I didn’t ask you this—referring to my dad—because [to Jeannie] your dad came over from Yugoslavia. Where did your grandparents come from?

 

MK: They came from an area—the area that used to be known as Prussia. But it’s kind of like, Russian-Germans right in that area. And then they moved to Fort Morgan, Colorado. I don’t know about my mom’s side as much as my dad’s side. So they moved to Colorado, and there’s still a lot of Krenings out there. And then he moved here to work in the shipyards, my grandpa.

 

PCA: Yeah, cool. So did both your grandparents come from overseas?

 

JK: My grandpa on my father’s side, yes—I think him and my grandma got married, she was Irish. But on my mother’s side, I think grandpa—your great grandpa—might’ve been born in North Dakota, and then they came out to work in the shipyards. They came out to work in the shipyards as well. 

 

PCA: That seems like a common theme in the early twentieth century.

 

MK: I think my grandpa was born in the states. I think his parents came over, and he was born here. So my grandpa didn’t come from here, but that’s where the family—

 

PCA: The family. 

 

JK: Yeah. I have one on each side—one came over and one was born here. 

 

PCA: Cool, okay. I was wondering about that. Your parents, moving to Parkrose, they liked the area? That was kind of the decision going into it?

 

JK: Yeah. It was very new. I mean, Parkrose was very new. So it was just this new—young families were moving in, middle class. Super quaint. Beautiful—I mean, beautiful. Yeah, it was beautiful.

 

PCA: It’s interesting that you guys kind of share similar stories in that you both grew up in Parkrose, but also your parents spent a lot of their adult life in Parkrose, and then stayed and continued to stay in Parkrose.

 

JK: Yeah. 

 

PCA: I mean, it’s so interesting that grandpa stayed in the house, you know, his entire life. And then grandma is still currently in the house off Eugene Street by Russell [Elementary].

 

JK: And yet, we’re here also! (Laughter)

 

PCA: You’re here as well, yeah.

 

JK: It’s wild.

 

PCA: I guess, in terms of thinking about both of you—you had to meet eventually, because you were both in Parkrose.

 

JK: Well, we didn’t have to! Well, we would’ve, eventually.

 

PCA: I think you would’ve eventually.

 

MK: It might not have been the same result.

 

JK: The same results, right. (Laughter) That’s true.

 

MK: We would’ve known each other. 

 

PCA: Yeah, so maybe you can speak a little bit to when you both met for the first time.

 

JK: Well, when we were both in the seventh grade, I guess Parkrose decided that—

 

MK: Well, we had two middle schools.

 

JK: —we had two middle schools. I went to Parkrose Heights, Dad went to Parkrose Fremont. Or was it just called—

 

MK: [Fremont] Middle School. 

 

JK: —[Fremont] Middle School. So they decided that they didn’t need two middle schools, we’re going to combine them. So in the eighth grade, we combined middle schools. And my best friend was on—

 

MK: Student council?

 

JK: —student council! And you were, also. So we had to meet. It was like a week before school started—

 

MK: That’s right. 

 

JK: —and there was like, a button-making project that all student council people had to go to and invite our friends and I walked in and dad was walking down the ramp—

 

PCA: Mr. Mark Krening!

 

JK: —Mr. Mark, walking down the hallway from the ramp at Fremont Middle School. 

 

MK: I totally pursued her. 

 

JK: (Laughter)

 

PCA: (Laughter) She was cute?

 

MK: Oh, yeah, she was super cute. I had a crush on her from the very start. 

 

PCA: Oh. So cute. 

 

MK: Seriously! And it never ended, so. 

 

JK: (Laughter)

 

MK: It’s true! It took a little while. It took some time. 

 

PCA: Yeah. Well, I’m curious—we can get back to that—but in thinking about the two middle schools. So, obviously, there’s a new middle school now that was put there a few years ago. Which middle school was that?

 

MK: Fremont.

 

PCA: That was Fremont? 

 

JK: Yeah. 

 

PCA: So, what did the other middle school look like, and where was it?

 

JK: Portland Christian [Junior/Senior High School]. 

 

PCA: Oh, really? I didn’t know that. 

 

JK: Oh, you didn’t?

 

PCA: I don’t think so. 

 

JK: Yeah. In eighth grade—crushing, crushing. 

 

PCA: Well, that was so close to you. 

 

JK: I know! It was great! I walked over and played tennis at Heights, and it was just so familiar. Yeah—so they shut down Heights and bused us all down to Fremont. 

 

PCA: I’m not sure you’ve been in Portland Christian since then, but I’m assuming it looks pretty much the same. 

 

JK: I have been to Portland Chrisitian since then, too, and it does look extremely—yeah. It’s a blast from the past for sure. 

 

PCA: That’s so interesting. I didn’t realize that.

 

JK: Yeah!

 

PCA: Wow. We went to the same middle school.

 

JK: Yeah. 

 

PCA: Because I went to Parkrose Middle School before the new middle school. So I know the ramps you’re referring to.

 

JK: You know the ramp right by the cafeteria, there? That’s the first time I saw dad.

 

MK: Exactly. 

 

PCA: What was that middle school experience like for you both? Because you were only there for eighth grade?

 

JK: We were just there for eighth grade, yeah. 

 

MK: Well, I was there for seventh and eighth grade.

 

JK: Right. But it used to be that you were supposed to go from seventh to ninth, I think, back in the day—it was seventh, eighth, and ninth.

 

PCA: It was, yeah. 

 

JK: And so when they combined the middle schools, it just became seventh and eighth grade. 

 

MK: Yeah, yeah. 

 

JK: We were talking about it the other day. Busy. It was very busy in the middle school in the first year. Because I mean, twice the students? Yeah, it was a lot.

 

MK: Yeah, I mean—middle school was a very awkward time for me.

 

PCA: (Laughter) It’s awkward for everyone!

 

JK: It’s awkward for everybody, I was just thinking that’s so true. (Laughter)

 

MK: Yeah. So, I mean, I can’t say that it was like—

 

PCA: A great time?

 

MK: —yeah. 

 

JK: I didn’t love middle school either. 

 

MK: No, I wasn’t a huge fan of middle school. But, you know, I acted liked it.

 

JK: (Laughter)

 

PCA: Like it was a good time? (Laughter)

 

MK: Yeah. But yeah—I just remember, I guess, really getting into sports, different sports. Like getting into football. Before, I was just soccer and baseball. And then like basketball—so getting into other sports was how I really look at my time back then. And just things like football daily doubles during the summer, things like that. That wasn’t fun either, so. 

 

PCA: (Laughter) There was nothing fun about middle school.

 

MK: No, not really. Yeah. I’m sure we’ll get to this—I enjoyed the heck out of high school. But middle school, no. 

 

PCA: Yeah. Before we get to high school, I was thinking about—have you been to the new middle school?

 

JK: No—ah, once when you and I went in when they were talking about the—

 

PCA: Oh, we did, we went in for like a meeting or something.

 

MK: I haven’t. 

 

PCA: You haven’t been in there? But you’ve seen it from the outside. 

 

MK: Yeah, it’s amazing.

 

JK: Beautiful.

 

PCA: So, I guess, what was your reaction to seeing the new school? Because even like—I think I was one of the last years to be at the old middle school—

 

JK: I think you were, yeah. 

 

PCA: —and it was not in its best shape. 

 

JK: No. 

 

PCA: I literally don’t think they had changed anything since you all had went to middle school. 

 

JK: No. It was surreal walking in when you two went to middle school the first time. It was just like, wow. 

 

PCA: Everything’s the same?

 

MK: Nothing’s changed. 

 

JK: Nothing’s changed. 

 

PCA: I bet we shared the same ladies’ locker room. (Laughter) I bet it was exactly the same. 

 

JK: (Laughter) I bet you it was. 

 

PCA: Crusty. 

 

JK: Not good, not good. But yeah. 

 

MK: It needed to happen. 

 

JK: It needed to happen, I agree. 

 

PCA: We can talk about this in relation to the high school, too, but thinking about where the high school is, and the fact that it’s on Rossis’ land, basically. Did you realize that growing up, or recognize that? Especially in playing sports and playing other schools—did you kind of feel like the area you were on was unique, or like, the view you had? Because the view from the middle and high school is so beautiful.

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JK: Oh, it’s so great, yeah. 

 

PCA: Like you can see Mt. Hood, you can see Washington to the north—

 

MK: Mt. St. Helens on a nice day.

 

PCA: —yeah, yeah. 

 

MK: I had no understanding or appreciation at the time.

 

JK: I agree. 

 

MK: I do now. 

 

PCA: Yeah. 

 

MK: But back then, it was just where we grew up, and where we lived. And it was just like, this is where we live. 

 

JK: That’s so well said, that’s so well said. 

 

MK: When I got into high school, I started to appreciate it more, to realize once I got out and started seeing other neighborhoods and realize how unique Parkrose was, and how much I liked the way Parkrose was laid out and how there was open farmland—just very unique. So the older I get, the more I appreciate it. I really appreciate it now. I’m scared of losing it. 

 

PCA: Yeah. Do you agree?

 

JK: Oh, completely. You can say the same thing for like, old Parkrose Middle School—when you were playing out, walking out those east doors some days and you’re just like, so gorgeous. Or even if you were up on the football field, where the track was. Yeah, the view from there. I agree, though. I always remember being aesthetically pleased by it, but I don’t think I really put in the bigger picture.

 

PCA: That’s true, yeah. I think even growing up at Russell. Even the view from—

 

JK: Oh, Russell is very pretty. 

 

PCA: —the recess yard at Russell is really pretty. You can see Mt. St. Helens super well on a really beautiful day at Russell.

 

JK: Absolutely.

 

PCA: And it’s so nice to have that kind of view, you know? I was thinking, too—because when did you both graduate from Parkrose High School?

 

JK: ‘86.

 

PCA: 1986.

 

JK: 1986. 

 

PCA: So, again, kind of like the middle school, you all went to the high school when it was in its older form. 

 

JK: Yeah. 

 

PCA: So, maybe you can kind of describe what the school was like at that time, since it’s different than what’s there now.

 

JK: I’d say imagine Parkrose Middle School, put it over in a high school form—

 

PCA: (Laughter) Put it across the street.

 

MK: With some bigger stuff. Like a bigger gym. 

 

JK: —bigger stuff. But the ramps were going on, three ramps.

 

MK: Yeah. It was the same concept.

 

JK: It was the same kind of—whoever designed, designed both, you think?

 

MK: Yeah. And it had like an autoshop, the woodworking—it was all in a separate annex, which became, when you guys were there—

 

PCA: The [Fine Arts Building], mmhm. 

 

MK: —yeah. It was actually laid out really well, but by the time that we got to it, it was just pretty dilapidated.

 

JK: Yeah, yeah. I mean, it was laid out well. The senior hall was always really neat, because it was just a dedicated senior hall. So I don’t know—you guys didn’t have like a senior hall, or anything like that?

 

PCA: No. 

 

JK: So senior hall was pretty cool, because you always were intermixed kind of, your lockers down up to senior year. Then you’ve got that top—

 

MK: Yeah, it was kind of like a promotion—

 

JK: —yeah! So it was like, all your friends, you just had the top hall. 

 

MK: —like, we’re seniors now. 

 

JK: And then you were just kind of your own people. But power went out in the senior hall. I think I found a cockroach in my locker. It needed probably—

 

MK: Asbestos. It had asbestos. 

 

JK: —I’m sure both schools were full of asbestos, oh my gosh, yeah. (Laughter)

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PCA: Yeah. What was the reaction—because Sage and I both went to the new high school—so what was your reaction, kind of coming back after some time and seeing the new high school, and being in the new high school, and having your kids also go to the same—even if it’s not the same building, the same high school?

 

MK: What was like having our schools go to the same area? Well, first of all, when the new high school went up, I was very impressed, and I thought, wow, our community really needs that. There were things about it that were pretty frivolous, and there was a lot of waste. Like that baseball field that they built that they never used—that’s a lot of money. So, there’s mixed feelings about the new one, but it had to happen. Because they made it a community center as well—which I understand—but I think that kind of made them do things that they wouldn’t have done, we could’ve saved some money there. But they had a bond, and they had an amount, and it was approved, so they were going to spend it all.

 

PCA: I will say when I went to the high school, there’s unfinished sections of it. 

 

MK: Yeah. 

 

JK: That’s right.

 

PCA: I don’t know if they’ve done anything since then, but there’s four different regions, and one of the regions is unfinished. Like they never put a classroom in, I think, where there was supposed to be a classroom. I’m not sure about the rest of the building, I can’t speak to the rest, but I know there’s kind of one unfinished region. But that baseball field, softball field, whatever it was supposed to be—

 

MK: Yeah, I guess it was a softball field.

 

PCA: —the reason they don’t use it I think is because it’s too small. 

 

MK: Yeah. 

 

PCA: Is that why?

 

MK: Yeah. The fence, because it butts up to the tennis courts—

 

PCA: Yeah. 

 

MK: —and so that had to be the outfield fence, and it was too short, and you can’t move the tennis courts, and you couldn’t move the home plate back, so you have an unusable field.

 

PCA: I don’t understand why. It’s still there, it just sits there—

 

MK: I know.

 

PCA: —does anyone use it?

 

JK: Which is really unfortunate, because now, looking back though, it is true. They didn’t do a great job of supporting some athletics—

 

MK: I agree.

 

JK: —they should’ve put a turf field in the football stadium, redone that. And that could’ve been soccer-based or football. And then refurbished the baseball to cross it over. 

 

MK: Yeah.

 

JK: But they didn’t send a lot of money out there. But, I will say, the theater—

 

PCA: Our auditorium is really nice. 

 

JK: —gorgeous. Love it.  

 

PCA: Our pool is super nice. 

 

JK: Beautiful. People come from all over, yeah.

 

PCA: The gym is pretty nice. 

 

JK: Gym is pretty nice, yeah. Vast improvement, yeah.

 

PCA: Is it a lot bigger than what you guys went to? Or is it pretty similar in size?

 

MK: The footprint seems about the same. But isn’t there upper levels to it?

 

PCA: There’s two floors. 

 

MK: Yeah, so they built it higher.

 

JK: No, we had an upper level, though—that’s where we went to AP.

 

MK: Yeah, that was just like in one little area, though. 

 

JK: That’s true.

 

MK: It was just one little portion—

 

PCA: Yeah, the current high school is two floors. The regions—there’s like two downstairs and two upstairs. Yeah. I guess, in just thinking about your high school experience, what was it like for you? What kind of things were you involved in, whether they’d be sports or clubs, and what was that high school experience like?

 

MK: Well, definitely sports. Baseball. I played football my freshman year—well, I played, I think in middle school, and then I played my freshman year, and then I quit that. I continued to play baseball. And then also, at that time, we had a club hockey team because we had the skating rink, which is also awesome about old Parkrose. We actually had a facility in our neighborhood that had an ice skating rink on one side and a roller skating rink on the other side. So, that was really neat. 

 

PCA: Where was that?

 

MK: That was just up across from where the Fred Meyers is in Gateway.