first day

on our first day in the neighborhood, sandy, laura, and I walked to the alberta coop grocery. we chatted with a woman who had been working at the coop since 2001. She used to live close to the grocery, in the Alberta neighborhood, but she had to move to SE in order to live with and take care of her mother. She seemed to have a nice disposition and answered all of our questions.

we walked another block up on alberta and knocked on a door to a business called "Courtesy Janitorial Services". A woman named Marnella answered the door and warmly invited us into the small office. During a general introductory conversation with Marnella we discover that the business is family owned and has been family run since the 1950s. Marnella herself is not a part of the family that owns the business, but went to high school with a son of the man who started the business. She lives in the Alberta neighborhood, close to the office. We find that she is a student at PSU studying community development, if I remember correctly. She has taken a few classes on the history of Portland and through these classes has learned a lot about the city she loves.