Native Portlander Charles Leon has seen a lot of change in his city.
His parents migrated west from the Omaha, Neb., area in 1940, drawn by a job for his father at the Shipyards of Swan Island. His father left the job, but the family stayed, eventually settling in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. Charles attended school in Laurelhurst until the family moved to Argay Terrace, and he attended Parkrose High School. Other than a two-year stint at Oregon State University, Charles has never lived anywhere but the Portland area.
Charles recalled that Portland had a lot of parking lots, and he has seen them gradually disappear, displaced by new construction. He also fondly recalled days spent at the Multnomah County library downtown exploring the world outside of Portland through books, as well as making his way to OMSI – back when it was in the Sylvan area – or the zoo.
“I wish I had taken pictures of how Portland has changed,” he said. “There’s a lot more people now, and a lot more spread to the suburbs. It has built up continuously. The parks are still there, but there are no more vacant lots to play in. I’ve seen OMSI move, two new bridges, more traffic. Prices are out of sight. There are whole areas of town I don’t recognize. There’s no Meier & Frank, no Lipman’s; The lunch counters are gone.
“I miss the old architecture from earlier days,” Charles said, pointing out the fine detail on a nearby building on Second Avenue in Old Town. “It had beautiful detail.
“On the positive side, I’ve seen more art. Our city has wonderful murals. Even the mural advertisements are beautiful.”
But it’s the books that draw him in and create the magical memories from his childhood. He recounts special days spent with his older sister’s mother-in-law.
“She lived in Ladd’s Addition. We’d go downtown to Lipman’s and eat at the lunch counter. I’d rummage through the bargain bin in the basement and buy dinosaurs. Later we’d go to the library, or sometimes wait for the buses that would take us to OMSI or the zoo. Or I’d wander into the old bookstores — that musty smell of the old books. I would lose myself for hours. Those days were special — when you’re a kid with people you look up to and when everything is new.”
Charles loves reading history, science fiction, mystery and old horror stories. He said he’s currently drawn to vintage natural history, especially juvenile natural history.
“I love the paleo art from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. Art is so fantastic.”
His top reading recommendation: anything by the English author William Hope Hodgson, but especially “The Night Land” and “The Ghost Pirates.”
Charles has been a Street Roots vendor since early 2016. Selling Street Roots provides him with the income for an important bill that other programs don’t cover: a storage fee. He left Street Roots in mid-2017 but returned in April 2018 and has been a regular vendor at Southwest Third Avenue and Jefferson Street.
He enjoys his regular customers, many of whom are government employees. But he said he also relies on some gimmicks to draw new people in.
“I used to be a clown, so I throw in some comedy, trivia, news, weather to get some interest. I try to stay away from politics. I also have some dinosaur figurines, and I have a bubble wand that I bring out for the kids.”
Charles has seen a lot of change in Portland. And he sees some challenges ahead.
“It’s hard to access needed mental health services, especially counseling,” he said. “Pills are plentiful, but not therapy. A lot of the programs deal with the result and outcome of homelessness, but not enough emphasis on preventing it. Homelessness is flooding the services. People want to get out of homelessness. Some of the substance abuse issues can take up all the resources.
“Anyone can suffer. It can happen to anybody. Economic downturns play a big role. Economic upheavals are occurring more frequently.”
Street Roots is an award-winning, nonprofit, weekly newspaper focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. Our newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
© 2019 Street Roots. All rights reserved. | To request permission to reuse content, email editor@streetroots.org or call 503-228-5657, ext. 404.
