Marsha Spellman new president of JGSO Long-time Portland resident, Marsha Spellman, has been named as the new President of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Oregon. Marsha became interested in genealogy after spending many years tracking down her family name. She discovered her last name was originally Kitrosser, as Spellman is a name that her grandfather…
***The deadline for nominations is Oct. 31.*** After nearly a generation, the Wexner Heritage Program makes its return to Portland with nominations now open for the 2020 Portland cohort. As part of its 2020 Centennial Celebration, the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is looking towards securing the future of Jewish life in Portland, partnering with…
As we celebrate the holiday of sukkot, we are reminded that many people in our community lack shelter and food. This year the Eastside Jewish Commons is holding a sukkot open house event each night of the holiday (October 13-20). Each night one or more eastside families will open their sukkot to the community for…
Photo: Oregon Holocaust Memorial. Photos courtesy of Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. Six Oregonian women – five of them Holocaust survivors and one the daughter of a survivor – gathered in 1994 to discuss creating a Holocaust memorial in Portland. It would honor all their lost family members and also the multitude…
Photo: Dr. Robin McCoy, daughter, Molly, and husband, Steve. In 1997 as a family friend, I visited Robin McCoy during her internship and residency at the University of Utah. When I saw Robin in her lab coat, I remember asking her how people reacted to her looking like a kid. When I repeated the question…
Shared with permission from The blog of Rabbi Joshua Rose of Congregation Shaarie Torah in Portland. All of us will look up in the sky Monday morning for a twice-in-a-lifetime event. The sun will be totally eclipsed by the moon (well, 99% eclipsed for those of us staying in Portland). What will we see? Actually,…
Photo: PDX Hillel Managing Director Shiran Halfon strategizes with PSU students before the senate meeting. From left are: JSU president Kelsey Kaplan, CHAI co-president Brennan Thorpe, Shiran and CHAI co-president Anthony Safir. On May 23 Portland State University’s student senate restarted an effort to divest from companies doing business in Israel. Following this first…
The Portland metro area is host to numerous museums, theaters, galleries, music venues and festivals including the Rose Festival every June and the Waterfront Blues Festival July 3-6. But the rest of the state also has well-known and unexpected festivals that enrich the summer options. Ashland serves up the popular Oregon Shakespeare Festival (osfashland.org). The…
In 1928 Ben Selling was the inaugural recipient of the Portland Association of Realtors’ “First Citizen” Award, honoring contributions to the city. His 70th birthday was celebrated throughout the town. And when he died on Jan. 15, 1931, the Oregon Legislature adjourned and flags flew at half-staff. “Ben Selling Dies; City in Mourning,”The Oregonian proclaimed…
Malka Osserman is the religious school administrator at Beit Haverim in Portland, and last summer she found herself in a situation she never could have imagined. With two master’s degrees, 25 years as a geriatric social worker in Florida and a job she enjoyed, she was struggling to make rent every month. Malka had moved…
