Mcglone1

MadiMcGlone
PortlandFRINQ
ProfessorKnepler
5thOfNovember

ContributingToTheExhibit

AsthecityofPortlandbegantogrow,itsdiversitydidaswell.Peoplefromalloverthe
worldheardofthegreatopportunitiesbeingofferedbytheupandcomingcityofPortland,
Oregon.ManyoftheimmigrantswhotookachanceonthecityhadbeenItaliansandEast
EuropeanJews.AlthoughbothgroupsofpeoplehadasimilargoalofreachingPortlandtheyhad
utilizedthecityinseveraldifferentways.
Intheearly1900sthepopulationofJewsandItalianswerecontinuingtogrow.The
OregonHistoryProject(OHP)statedthatthecitysJewishPopulationdoubledtoabout2,300
whiletheItalianpopulationgrewfivefoldtoover3,000.TwothirdsoftheJewishpopulation,in
whatisnowknownasSouthPortland,wasrepresentedbyfamilies.Almostalloftheliving
situationswerecommunitybasedintheJewishculture.TheJewshadbeenthefirsttoarrivein
Portland,hencetheirneighborhoodsandshopsbeinglocatedonFirstandSecondstreet.
DuringthesameperiodoftimelargegroupsofItaliansemigratedtoPortlandwiththe
intenttoaccumulatesavingsandreturnhometotheirfamilies(OHP).Manyoftheareaswhere
theItalianslivedwerevillagesclusteredtogether,butnevercoveredenoughspacetobe
consideredaneighborhood.75%ofItaliansweremales,andoverhalfofthemwereconsidered

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single.InEthnicityandStability:TheItaliansandJewsofSouthPortland,19001940
WilliamTollgivesthetermSingleanumberofmeanings,mostofthemenwereprimarily
singlemen,marriedmenwithouttheirwives,orcoupleswithfewornochildren(Ethnicity
167).ManyoftheItalianhouseholdswerekeptbythefatherofthefamily,whowould
sometimestakeinthreeormoreotherItalianmenasboarders,althoughmostareasweremadeof
districtsoffamiliesratherthanunattachedmales(Ethnicity169).MostoftheItalianslivedon
theEasternandWesternedgesofthecity.Eventuallysomefamilieswereabletogatherenough
moneytopurchaseahouse,butthemajorityofthepopulationremainedinthesouth.
OneofthemajordifferencesbetweentheItaliansandtheJewslivinginPortlandwas
employment.MostJewishmenownedorclerkedinstoreseitherintheneighborhoodorat
secondhandstoresalongthewaterfront(OHP).InTransplantedToTheRoseCity:The
CreationOfTheEastEuropeanJewishCommunityInPortland,OregonEllenEisenbergnotes
that22.5percentofEastEuropeanmenwereskilledworkers,whileover60percentwere
proprietorsorclerksinsettledlocations(Eisenberg83).ManyoftheBusinessesthatwere
ownedandoperatedbytheJewswerefamilyoriented.Fatherswouldbuildstoresthattheirsons
couldonedayrun,orevenpartnerwith.Jewsonaverageprobablyhadhigher
incomes(OHP)duetothefactthattheirfamiliesweremoreestablishedintheareasthatthey
livedinandtheirbusinessesthrivedoffofeachother.Byhavingfamilyownedbusinessesfuture
generationsweresetupforsuccessintheyearstocomeastheytookstepsintoadulthoodby
creatingtheirownfamilies.Communitybasedlivingallowedforacommunalworkenvironment.
Italians,unliketheJewswereverylaborintuitive.ManyItalianswerepeddlersthat
wouldtransportfruitandvegetablesfromthenearbyItalianfarms.VeryfewoftheItalianmen

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ownedshopsinthecity.Italiansdevelopedsmalltruckfarmslocatedalongthemainroads
whichmadeiteasyforpeddlerstotransportgoodstotheFarmersMarketthatbecamea
landmarkonthestreetsofUnionandMadison.
AnotherculturaldifferencebetweentheJewsandtheItaliansweretheirsocialvalues.
TheJewishpopulationheldthemselvestomanymoresocialstandardsthantheItalianshad.
MostoftheJewishchildrenmarriedyounginordertostartbuildingfamilieswithinthe
community.Anotherimportantvaluewaseducationfortheyounggirlswithinthecommunity.
Theideaofeducatedwomenwasntvaluedinallcultures,buttheJewswantedequal
opportunitiesforallchildren.FailingElementarySchoolhadagreatnumberofJewish
youngstersandShattuckhadagoodnumbertoo(Toll165).Theschoolsseemedtocompete
witheachotherwhichisaverysimilarculturetopresentdayschoolrivalries.TheItaliansvalued
education,buttheirbiggestprioritywassendingmoneyhometofamilyafterbeingsuccessful
throughtheirhardworkinthecity.
Oneofthemoreiconicbuildingsin
thecitywascalledNeighborhoodHouse,the
housewasbuiltin1905byagroupofJewish
women.Thepurposeofthehousewasto
serveasafacilitythatcreatedalearning
environmentforeveryone,althoughitwas
mostlyutilizedbytheItaliansandtheJews.
Thehouseprovidedmeetingspacefortheusualarrayofcooking,sewing,andenglishlanguage
speakingclassesaswellasspecialclassestoprepareimmigrantsfornaturalization(Toll172).

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ThehousewasalsoknownasaplacewhereJewishandItalianchildrenattendedclassesand
participatedinrecreationalsports.Neighborhoodhouselackedthefundstosupportresident
workers,thoughitdidhavefulltimesupervisorsofGermanJewishdescent(Toll172).
YoungerchildrenrememberedNeighborhoodHouseasaplacewherelanguageswerepassedon
totheirgeneration.Thefacilitiesspacebroughtbothoftheculturestogetherinanareawhere
theycancontinuetolearnandgrowthrougheachother.Thehouseprovidedmanybeneficial
needsforthecity,broughtpeopletogetherfromdifferentcultures,andprovidedseveraljobsfor
womenindifferentfields.NeighborhoodHousebroughttheJewsandtheItaliansintoa
community,whichallowedthemtoviewdifferentperspectivesandappreciateculturalviews
asidefromtheirownastheynaturalizedthemselvesintotheAmericanwaysoflife.
TheItaliansandtheJewsbothhadverysuccessfullivesinPortland.Bothpopulations
flourishedoffofthelandandbuiltcommunitywithinthecity.Althoughtheirvaluesandwaysof
lifehaddrasticallydiffered,bothculturesdidtheirpart,andservedthecityasitcontinuedto
growandprosperintooneofthebiggest,andmostdiversecitiesintheUnitedStatesduringthe
1900s.

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WorkCited

Eisenberg,Ellen."TransplantedToTheRoseCity:TheCreationofEastEuropeanJewish
CommunityInPortland,Oregon."Immigration&EthnicHistorySocietySpring19.3
(2000):8297.Http://www.jstor.org/stable/27502580.Web.11Nov.2014.

"OregonHistoryProject."OregonHistoryProject.N.p.,n.d.Web.13Nov.2014.

Toll,William."EthnicityandStability:TheItaliansandJewsofSouthPortland,19001940."
PacificHistoricalReview54.2(1985):16189.Web.12Nov.2014.