A February Farewell

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Thebeerchaser

Steve Griffith – admired attorney and civic leader

External Photo Attribution at the end of the Post (#1)

You would think that a person who is a graduate of Harvard College, the University of Oxford and Stanford Law School, might tend to be a bit bookish or cerebral in their activities and dealings with others.

Notwithstanding his academic pedigree, Steve Griffith was the polar opposite. Besides his distinction as a litigator with a wide-ranging practice for thirty-seven years at Stoel Rives – one of the Northwest’s most prestigious law firms, he was esteemed for his reputation as a civic leader, friend and family man.

Steve was a very giving person demonstrating throughout his life that he should share his natural gifts with others. He taught school and coached for two years in Liberia as a Peace Corps volunteer and in 2015, he and his wife, Chris started a preschool in Gbarnga – the same town in which he served years earlier.

Steve was known for his athletic and musical talent (piano and vocal – singing with the Portland Opera and in the choir of his Presbyterian church). His interests, as reflected in his wonderful home library, ranged from art history, philosophy, architecture, environmental advocacy and outdoor adventure, to wit: mountain climbing.(Oregon Live)

Although he served several terms on the Portland School Board, he was known primarily as the unpaid and beloved teacher and coach of the Lincoln High School Constitution Team.

You will see from the photos below that he conveyed energy and joy when he taught and his legacy from that endeavor will live on as multiple news stories highlight. (#2 – #4)

“Griffith’s constitutional law class, which had about 36 students, was especially popular with the children of lawyers, and students often gained a deeper understanding of the U.S. Constitution than their parents. His approach emphasized civil discourse, decency, and the power of reasoned argument, and his students frequently volunteered for free citizenship and naturalization classes.

Under his guidance, Lincoln High’s Constitution team achieved significant success. The program has won the national “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” competition multiple times, including three national titles in the past decade.”

I first encountered Steve and his perpetual smile as part of a City Club of Portland research committee in about 2010. City Club is known nationally for its volunteer research efforts and before a report is published, it goes through a rigorous protocol and several comprehensive editorial reviews.

Our study was entitled, “Educating Citizens: Improving Civics Education in Portland’s High Schools,” and was motivated by our concern that the government and civics curriculum – not only in Portland – but across the country was neglected and even largely ignored.

We were inspired by the work of US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. When she retired, she told the National School Boards Association in 2008,“I will make it my primary focus now to work on civics education in America,”….We have some work to do.” (#5)

In 2008, she founded the non-profit iCivics with the mission to “ensure every student receives a high-quality civic education and becomes engaged in – and beyond – the classroom.” Of all her accomplishments, Justice O’Connor considered iCivics to be her most important work and greatest legacy.

We had an outstanding nine-person committee and labored for almost eighteen months before issuing our final report and recommendations in 2012 – with Steve Griffith as our primary writer (while he was concurrently managing a busy law practice and coaching the Lincoln Con Team).

One of our ideas was to collaborate with the Multnomah County Bar Association – which proved to be fruitful.

(Steve at top right in photo below and me at bottom right) (#6)

Pamela Hubbs, the Multnomah Bar Association Office and Foundation Administrator wrote to City Club upon hearing of Steve’s passing:

“I had the good fortune to meet Steve when City Club was developing the Civic Scholars program. Steve and Don Williams were exploring funding opportunities and partnerships to launch the program and arranged to meet with representatives from the Multnomah Bar Foundation.

Steve’s dedication, enthusiasm, and passion for the program and its goals was evident and contagious….(and it) was awarded funding through the Multnomah Bar Foundation’s Civic Education Grants program.”

We hadn’t seen each other in years and I raised a mug and reconnected last year after I sent Steve an e-mail complimenting him for a letter-to-the-editor he wrote. (He apologized for the delay in responding because he’d been on a backpacking trip!).

And I’m deeply thankful that a few months ago I attended a small City Club reception at his home where after reviewing some of the latest reads in his library, we had a great chat while strolling through his beautiful and expansive garden. His sudden death reaffirmed the importance of treasuring each interaction with old friends.

The wonderful video, below was produced in 2023, when he received the Sidwell Friends Distinguished Alumni Award and sums up his inspired life. Sidwell is a Quaker School in Bethesda, Maryland he attended.

Steve was climbing Chimborazo when he reportedly fell during the ascent.

“It’s the highest mountain in Ecuador and the 39th-highest peak in the entire Andes. The summit is the farthest point on Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center due to its location along the planet’s equatorial bulge. Chimborazo’s height from sea level is 6,263 m (20,548 ft).” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimborazo

You might ask why an eighty-year-old guy was climbing a mountain in Ecuador. Steve would respond, “Because I can!” His philosophy is reaffirmed in the above video where he stated:

“I think it’s a beautiful thing to be up on the side of a mountain and look around and say, ‘How did I deserve this?'”

Chimborazo – 20,458 feet (#7)

My friend and fraternity brother, Craig Hanneman, in 2019 finished climbing the Seven Summits – the highest mountain peak on each of the continents.

In response to my request, he sent me this picture of Steve, Craig and their three climbing companions in 2008 at the summit of Mt. Vinson (16,050 feet) in Antarctica – one of those seven. (#8 – #9)

Left to right – Todd Passey, David Markwell, Steve Griffith., Mark Morford and Craig Hanneman (Photo by Jim Walkley)

We will all miss Steve Griffith, but he would not want us to be maudlin. He would admonish us to remember that “In the heights of adventure, we find both glory and grief.” Steve would consider it a glorious remembrance if his friends gathered, raised mugs and reflected on John Locke’s quotes such as:

“With books we stand on the shoulders of giants.“

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1. Fordham Institute (https://fordhaminstitute.org/about/fordham-staff/stephen-griffith)

#2. Civics Learning Process Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1269747468143956&set=a.459287845856593).

#3. Lincoln High School Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1206886881317347&set=pcb.1206887684650600).

#4. Lincoln High School Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=744190267587013&set=pcb.744192527586787).

#5. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Day_O%27Connor#/media/File:Sandra_Day_O’Connor.jpg) This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Federal Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code. Author: Library of Congress – 29 January 2011.

#6. City Club of Portland Member Bulletin (City Club of Portland).

#7. Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimborazo#/media/File:Chimborazo,_aspecto_norte,_Ecuador._(26354503702).jpg) licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Dick Culbert – 28 January 2012.

#8. Wikimedia Commons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinson_Massif#/media/File:Mount_Vinson_from_NW_at_Vinson_Plateau_by_Christian_Stangl_(flickr).jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.Author: Christian Stangl – 8 December 2009.

#9. Photo by Jim Walkley – Courtesy of Craig Hanneman.

February Figuring – Part III

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Thebeerchaser

When is an Assist not Really That Helpful?

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post. #1)

Since 2013, the Portland Trailblazers NBA team and Moda Health Systems have promoted their Assist Program: “…using on-court assists to raise money for all-abilities playgrounds in Oregon where every BODY can play.”

It works like this. Each time a Trailblazer player records an assist, Moda and the Blazers each pony up a $10 donation to help a community in Oregon build a playground.

That goal sounds laudable, but I question whether our superb TV announcers, Kevin Calabro and Lamar Hurd, should be so effusive when they espouse it several times each game. (#2)

In my last blog post, I mentioned how two junior high teachers gave me a foundation to analyze figures. Earl Gipe in eighth-grade math and Don Gribble in ninth-grade algebra, taught me to dig below the surface when assessing numbers. Working with lawyers for thirty-five years also taught me to question assumptions.

Looking at NBA team statistics, the Blazers don’t fare well in assists. They ranked 27th out of 30 NBA teams in 2025 and have averaged just 25.4 assists per game over the last six seasons – 24.7 in 2025. If we assume 80 regular-season games, that accrues to a donation of $39,520 by the two corporations last year. (#3)

But what really irritates me is that the combined donation of $20 hasn’t risen since 2013. Let’s look at one inflation calculator:

“…$1 in 2013 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1.39 today (2026), an increase of $0.39 over 13 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 2.57% per year between 2013 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 39.13%.

This means that today’s prices are 1.39 times as high as average prices since 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index. A dollar today only buys 71.942% of what it could buy back then.”

When I first expressed my gripe in a Beerchaser post in 2021, being naïve, I suspected with inflationary trends, Moda and the Blazers would up the ante for the 2021-2 NBA season to at least $15 or $20 each per assist.

No way! Evidently Moda’s slogan of “Be Better,” doesn’t spill over to its charitable endeavors even five years later. (#4 – #5)

Without trying to belabor the point, let’s look at the current cost of commercial playground equipment. According to Recreational.com, Large playgrounds – city parks, HOAs, rec centers – (the intent of the Moda and the Blazer program) cost: $90,000 – $150,000+. This includes essential play equipment, site prep, surface material and professional installation.

Other relevant statistics I found:

Recent Inflation Spikes: The highest inflationary pressure for playground equipment occurred recently, with year-over-year price changes of 3.47% in 2021, 10.86% in 2022, and 7.42% in 2023.

Key Cost Drivers: Prices have been driven up by tariffs (20–25%) on raw materials like steel, vinyl, and PVC, alongside increased demand post-pandemic.

So the Moda/Blazer annual donation of not quite $40,000 is not very praiseworthy. Perhaps they should have indexed the amount per assist to the increase in the cost of popcorn and other concession products from 2013…(#6)

One Final Irony

The Blazers have a new owner in 2026 and there is high-level and informed concern that he will move the team to Seattle or another city that could be more financially attractive. Billionaire Tom Dundon has leverage because the Moda Center is thirty years old.

Estimates for improvements to make it last structurally and be competitive with the amenities of other modern arenas for the next twenty years are at least $600 million.

The State of Oregon, City of Portland and Multnomah County realize that losing the Blazers would be another blow to the economics and credibility of Portland and the State. It would eliminate thousands of job and millions in loss revenue from taxes on player salaries, lodging and hospitality establishments, etc.

It’s been reported that discussions have tentatively developed a collective amount of $510 million in public funding. There is proposed State legislation to create “a new Oregon Arena Fund and give the state joint ownership of the building with the city of Portland.” (#7)

You’re talking about a BIG Assist!

It’s ironic and almost comical to me that while the Blazers have gone cheap on the Moda Assist Program that they come to the Oregon Legislature “hat-in-hand” for over 1/2 billion dollars. Many taxpayers are not happy as there are many other critical priorities. (#8)

And I would love it if one of our Legislators would respond:

“Let’s see, Mr. Dundon, you’re asking for and are likely to receive about $510,000,000 of the 600 million it’s going to cost to retrofit and upgrade the Moda Center for the Blazers over the next twenty years of a lease.

Currently, you and Moda contribute $20 per assist for community playgrounds. Let’s make a comparison and see how our potential taxpayer largesse amortizes for your “playground” from 2030 to 2050.

Using the Blazer average of 25 assists per game over the 80 game NBA regular season for twenty years, that equates to about 40,000 assists.

If you divide $510 million by 40,000, it results in a payout of $12,750 per assist or 637.5 times the amount you and Moda have given since 2013. Maybe you should go back and rethink this!”

Ending on a More Positive Note

We love Lake Grove Presbyterian Church where we worship each Sunday.”

Our communities, nation and the world are going through some very challenging times that have a tendency to divide us. While it would be easy to refrain from addressing current events, the wonderful pastoral staff conveyed to the congregation about one month ago that bears repeating (even on a blog primarily about bars and breweries!).

Regardless of your faith or philosophy, the conceptual message is worth remembering and affirming. (#9 – #10)

“We worship today again with a lot on our hearts and minds. The events in the world around us, including the actions of some of our own governmental leaders, often leave us befuddled.

We recognize the cloud of confusion that the actions in Venezuela stir up. We are also aware of the need to begin this new year at LGPC in a strong and positive fashion. We have not had time to shape a well-thought-out response.

We can say this: We plead with leaders, especially those who claim to be Christians, to follow the teachings and example of Jesus, the Prince of peace, and to refrain from the use of violence to accomplish political goals—in this, and in every case.”

Cheers and Blessings

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons (File:Moda Center at night.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Parker Knight – Portland, Oregon, USA – 11 November 2016.

#2. Lamar Hurd Facebook site (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102602558498898&set=pb.19706263.-2207520000&type=3) (cropped)

#3. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Isolated_basketball.png) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Photography by User: MrX – 26 September 2004.

#4. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Playground_Square_Albert_Thomas_-_Talence_France_-_22_August_2020.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Such0012 22 August 2020.

#5. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Childrens_Game_Park_01621.jpg) Lhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en. Author: Nevit 2008.

#6. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Popcorn_in_bucket.jpg) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Corn cheese – 20 January 2023.

#7. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dollar_sign_capitalism_logo.svg) This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Author: OwcaGierka – 13 November 2022.

#8. Wikimedia Commons (File:Salem, OR – State Capitol State Park – Capitol Building (4).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Jrozwado – 2 September 2016.

#9. Lake Grove Presbyterian Church Facebook site (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=791647823001675&set=a.572288721604254).

#10. Lake Grove Presbyterian Church Facebook site (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=624641723035620&set=pb.100064693928590.-2207520000&type=3).

February Figuring – Part II

Posted on February 12, 2026 by Thebeerchaser

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post. #1)

As I contemplated the title of these February posts, it harkened me back to my math courses in school – from junior high through college at Oregon State University where I had math courses. I struggled with two terms of calculus in college – required as part of my NROTC curriculum – but the foundation actually laid in junior high saved me and also helped me immensely in a career which involved a lot of budgeting and finance.

At Oregon City High School, my instructors were not notable except Catherine Westwood – my Latin teacher for two years and the mom of my good friend and fellow OCHS grad, Jim Westwood – also Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter in 2013.

She taught us a lot besides Latin and I remember being in her class my sophomore year when the announcement on President Kennedy’s assassination came over the PA system and stunned us into silence.

And I never forgot “pulchra puella” although I didn’t ever use the term as a pick-up line.

Thora B. Gardiner Junior High School

But it was from 7th through 9th grade where I had the most outstanding teachers. Their skill and dedication as educators (those shown below) prepared me for the future not only in math, but science and language arts (called English class in the ’60’s). And I also had one notable Band instructor who laid the foundation for one of my retirement hobbies over fifty years later.

I want to recognize them and although all but one is now deceased, their lessons remain with me. Cheers to Earl Gipe, Don Gribble, Eli Jimenez, Noel Jordan and Erv Lesser shown from left to right below from the ninth grade yearbook:

Earl Gipe

Mr. Gipe was a tall, imposing figure who had a strong command in the classroom of eighth- grade math students, which reflected his military service and was evident from the first day. One of his favorite expressions when an arithmetic problem on the board was erroneous was “Something’s fishy in Denmark!”

We had heard an unconfirmed rumor that he was once a Navy Frogman, but that just enhanced our respect and trepidation if we didn’t complete homework or stepped out of line in class.

I hadn’t even thought of Mr. Gipe until 2022, when six-time Oregon Sportswriter of the Year and author of twelve books, Kerry Eggers, wrote a blog post in 2022 paying tribute to Frank Cutsforth – a businessman (Cutsforth Market) in Canby, Oregon.

Canby is a small city of around 20,000 in the Willamette Valley named after a Union General killed in the Civil War. Midway through his narrative, he quoted Frank talking about childhood sports. Evidently, Earl Gipe had the same impact as he did on me:

“I had a Little League coach when I was 12, Earl Gipe, who was a taskmaster. He had been a frogman in the Navy. He was a tough guy, but he made good players out of us. He made us do stuff the right way. We learned discipline. That carried over for me. You have to have discipline in your life to get where you want to go.”

Fast forward four years when I did a little more research on Earl Gipe for this blog post. I was astounded by what I found – and from the Library of Congress Archives no less. Take a look at this excerpt from The frogmen of World War II : an oral history of the U.S. Navy’s underwater demolition teams by Chet Cunningham.

And the picture below is from the Seal Museum Association. LTJG Earl Gipe (left) performing beach master duties on Morotai. The officer to the right is Lt. Bob Eiring, the Commander of a UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) (#2)

“Before the Navy SEALs, there were the Underwater Demolition Teams. Before them came the Scouts & Raiders, and before them were the Navy Combat Demolition Units. But there was another group even before the NCDUs. It was called the Naval Special Services Unit No. 1, also known as the Amphibious Scouts.

A lot of military historians know little about Special Services Unit No. 1 because it was a top-secret group in the U.S. Navy created for a special purpose.”

“There would be three hundred U.S. 6th Army Rangers involved. One hundred would land on Dinagat with Lt. Root, Dougherty, and me. One hundred would land with Lt. Gipe. The other one hundred Rangers would be in reserve. Three APDs would be used to transport the Rangers and us

Around 2100 on the night of October 19-20, 1944, we turned on Dinagat’s Desolation Point light. Sometime around midnight we could hear some of the ships in the invasion fleet as they passed by. The invasion was a complete success, partly due to the navigation lights that we installed.”

In 1998, Earl Gipe passed away at 86 in Kansas. I wish I could have thanked him for his service and for his impact on me as a student.

Don Gribble

I got an excellent math foundation with Earl Gipe. It was with some trepidation, I then started a year of Algebra with Mr. Gribble – also the assistant football coach of the junior high team. That concern dissipated because he was patient, methodical and a great communicator.

Don Gribble, an Army veteran, passed away in 2018 at 97. He taught many years at a junior high in the Oregon City School District where he graduated from OCHS.

Eli Jimenez

My morning ninth-grade Algebra class was followed by Physical Science – taught by a young teacher new to the District. Eli Jimenez got authorization to teach our class an experimental curriculum for advanced students and was he tough. He used his prior military experience and time as an engineer at NASA to enhance his lessons. We bemoaned the homework and his difficult (and frequent) tests, but again, we learned a ton.

My parents also knew Eli and his wonderful family from church and my dad (FDW) absolutely loved this guy and what he was teaching us. Dad would sometimes encounter Eli on the way home from work to the frustration of Frannie – my mom – because they would have animated chats for an hour by the side of their two cars about the environment, public policy, education, etc. and he would miss dinner!

I still remember two projects in Eli’s class which imparted major lessons for my future education. The first was a science experiment in which he allowed me to do an ammonia fountain – something typically done in high school chemistry and ammonia – a colorless gas – wasn’t something for casual classroom exercises.

While gently encouraging me to be learn to take risks, he warned me that ammonia fountains often didn’t work, but if carefully conducted the result would be impressive. To this day, I can still visualize the astonishment of my class (and me) when as the ammonia vapor rose, it created a vacuum that pulled rose colored liquid ammonia from a large beaker, creating a spectacular fountain effect. (#3)

Ignore the script – you get the idea….

We griped when he assigned us a research project including a written paper with exhibits which typically wasn’t part of a ninth-grade science program – Eli smiled at our grousing. I was interested in the desalinization of seawater and water shortages in the West and with FDW’s help, wrote to some corporations who were pioneers with the concept.

The display (FDW constructed and helped me design it) that went with the paper is shown below and I relished Mr. Jimenez’s comments for months (and still have in my files) which included, “…The oral report was well-received by the class. The bright spots in a teacher’s life are, in part, due to students like you. God Bless You.”

I hadn’t had any contact with Eli for decades after he moved away, but he returned to the area and one Sunday morning in a church service about five + years ago, I looked across the aisle and said to Janet, “That’s my ninth-grade science teacher!” He saw me and we both ended up hugging with tears in our eyes and subsequently had lunch at an Oregon City bistro.

He moved back to New Mexico, but this guy – now in his nineties – is a Renaissance Man. He plays the bass in a combo, runs miles every day, volunteers and is a wonderful grandfather. Eli’s beautiful wife, Tijla, died when she was young and he didn’t remarry.

Eli Jimenez was a wonderful teacher and is a great human being! Just as my dad did, I love this guy! (#4 – #7)

Noel Jordan

In our first seventh-grade English class, we kids were taken aback when this young enthusiastic guy who was starting his first year as a teacher, told us what he planned. We were going to learn new vocabulary words, do innovative book reports and write creatively.

And we did in what was a wonderful classroom environment. I loved the new vocabulary words we had to memorize each week and it helped me immensely over the years – for the College Boards and even writing papers in grad school. They were not seventh-grade vocabulary, but words such as “alacrity,” “belies,” “anachronistic,” “garner,” “vernacular,” etc.

In fact, one word that I used in a 1975 grad school paper, which became a running joke for years with my brother-in-law, Dave Booher, a former English teacher, who edited my term papers was “garner.” (I learned it in Noel Jordan’s class.) He stated,” Don, that’s ridiculous. Garner is so anachronistic. Don’t ever use that word again.”

That started my collection of “Garner” files which I supplemented for years and still have. Included are clippings, obituaries, sports stories, etc. Whenever I saw the word, I would send (or personally deliver) Dave a photo of the clipping or reference which over the years included press releases for Jennifer Garner and James Garner.

Also the official logos of the Town of Garner, North Carolina and the City of Garner, Iowa (The Jewel in the Crown of Iowa). (#8) I even took a picture over some dead guy’s named Garner’s grave to prove my point that “Garner – the word -is not dead.” (see below)

Noel Jordan taught in Oregon City until he retired in1993 and then tutored and was an active volunteer in many non-profit organizations. I decided to try to find him to reunite in the 1990’s. I figured he would love the garner joke and wanted to express my appreciation for his impact on my education.

We had a few lunches and great discussions. He passed away at 77 in 2012 and I sent a letter to his sister expressing my condolences along with the Opinion Piece above I wrote for the West Linn Tidings. (#9)

Ervin Lesser

Mr. Lesser, the Band Instructor, had less influence ultimately than the aforementioned teachers, but this professional trumpeter did teach me how to play the oboe from the seventh to ninth grade.

I gave it up in high school for athletics, but achieved one of my retirement bucket-list items when I “relearned” it and took lessons for six years. Mr. Lesser was a stern perfectionist and I remember the intense anxiety I had for an opening solo for three nights of his Annual Stage Show in 1963, which was for both the junior high and high school and drew a lot of people.

I didn’t mess it up and garnered compliments for the opening bars of “Polovtsian Dances” (from the opera Prince Igor – better known as the song “Stranger in Paradise).

The culmination of my “oboe career” was performances for three years (2016-19) at Portland’s Pittock Mansion where volunteer musicians play in a side room during the Christmas season while people tour the beautiful, historic dwelling. Kelly Gronli, my oboe instructor – a professional musician, Sarah Rose (flute), Faith Carter (piano) and I played for one of the two-hour sessions during those three years.

Mr. Lesser planted the seed for this in 1960 when he said he needed an oboe player for our band and it was a better challenge then the clarinet….

Thanks for bearing with me as I reminisced and tried to honor these great educators. I would recommend that you also reach out and take one of your memorable teachers to lunch (or to raise a mug.) You will be enriched by the experience and they will appreciate it.

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arithmetic_symbols.svg) The copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. Author: This vector image was created with Inkscape by Elembis, and then manually replaced. 26 May 2007.

#2. (2003.0018.4 – B&W photo of Amphibious Scouts team leader LTjg Earl Gipe (left) performing beach master duties on Morotai. The officer to the right is Lt. Bob Eiring, the Commander of an UDT. | UDT-SEAL Museum Association.

#3. Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ammonia_fountain#/media/File:Fountain_of_ammonia_2.svg/2) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: apple502j_sub – 1October 2017. By apple502j_sub, CC BY-SA 2.0, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63264629).

#4. Eli Jimenez Facebook site (red) (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=234235316750013&set=a.234235310083347).

#5. Eli Jimenez Facebook site (family) (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2938306672921514&set=t.100004906392356&type=3).

#6. Eli Jimenez Facebook site (vest) (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100375548070596&set=t.100004906392356&type=3).

#7. Eli Jimenez Facebook site (coffee) (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100255028807166&set=t.100004906392356&type=3).

#8. Wikipedia – Fair Use – (GarnerNCseal – Garner, North Carolina – Wikipedia) By https://nextdoor.com/agency-detail/nc/garner/town-of-garner/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80935385). This logo is an official seal of a governmental entity and qualifies as fair use under the Copyright law of the United States.

#9. FindaGrave.com (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86845380/noel-andrew-jordan).

February Figuring – Part I

Posted on February 6, 2026 by Thebeerchaser

I Want My Mummy(s)

In 2016, Thebeerchaser hit the depths and regaled you with the story of one of my favorite downtown Portland haunts – that being the now gone-but not forgotten, Mummy’s Bar and Grill – only one and one-half blocks from the Schwabe law firm’s offices in the PacWest Center. https://thebeerchaser.com/2016/12/06/mummys-a-buried-portland-treasure/

I told you about the co-owners – Phillip and Ghobvial Moumir – two wonderful gentlemen who emigrated from Egypt and started the restaurant sometime around the mid-80’s in a confined, dark, idiosyncratic subterranean space across from what was then The Oregonian building – offices and printing presses.

My two law firm colleagues on one of my visits, Margaret Hoffmann and Brian (Brain) King – did not hesitate to join me for drinks even though they were both Super Lawyers and it was with somebody from firm Management.

I look back fondly on those pre-retirement days and was thus heartened by a post in a blog I follow. Writer John Chilson, a content strategist and writer for architects, developers and urbanists, also has a fascinating blog – Lost Oregon. One of John’s laudable missions is to save historic building in the State.

“‘Lost Oregon’ aims to document the history of architecture of Oregon, some buildings lost to time, others being repurposed, recast, and reused, others rising anew. Oregon has a ton of great old commercial buildings with great bones. Let’s be creative with them instead of tearing them down.”

John did a great narrative with pictures in a post entitled, “The Mummy’s Mystery.” I was flattered that he included a link to my post on Thebeerchaser, but what made it even better was a comment from another noted Northwest writer, photographer and architect – Harley Cowan. (see below)

Harley, like John, has an incredibly interesting background and we’re fortunate to have both of them in Portland

External Photo Attribution at the end of the Post (#1 – #2)

Harley’s comment on the Lost Oregon blog post was great:

“While working at Yost Grube Hall Architecture in the nearby PacWest Building, we would occasionally take an office happy hour at Mummy’s and take over the place–which wasn’t hard because it wasn’t big–because Joachim Grube enjoyed it so much. It reminded him of his time in Sudan in the 1960s. The two Egyptian guys who owned it were real characters–very friendly, talkative, and funny as hell if you were paying attention. They called Joachim ‘The Big Boss.’

My understanding was that Oregonian staff were regulars before the paper moved. We would joke that the atmosphere at Mummy’s was dead, but when it filled up, it was fun, authentic, and strange. You really felt like you weren’t in Portland anymore. The owners, always found sitting at their same places at the bar, would criticize us on entry for not coming back sooner. We need more places like this. It’s a loss for sure. A relic from another time.”

What I loved about this comment was that Yost Grube Hall was my law firm’s primary architects (we went through many remodels and expansions with them) and I knew Joachim (who passed away in 2022) and others in the firm well, although never aware of their affinity for Mummy’s.

Check into the Lost Oregon website. John is a talented writer and conveys his expertise well. https://lostoregon.org/2026/01/19/the-golden-nugget-milwaukies-almost-hidden-gem/

It’s obvious to me that although Mummy’s no longer serves great gin martinis or the best falafel sandwich in Portland in what some fondly described as a “tomb experience”, it’s legacy will never be buried.

How Dare You Discriminate!

The NCAA College Football Playoffs are now history and pigskin fans wait with anticipation for the Super Bowl on February 8. That said, a recent Substack column by my friend and former Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter – Dwight (The Godfather) Jaynes – longtime broadcaster and journalist caught my attention and brought to light a grievous situation. (#4)

“They have changed team nicknames everywhere, but there’s one that should be cancelled now!”

Take a look at this excerpt and you will see why I thought the post was excellent. (#5)

OK, I understand the new world order. I get it that we all have to look for new ways not to offend people. We must work at simply being nicer. I get it. My former high school changed its nickname from Indians to Warriors decades ago…The Redskins are gone and the MLB Indians have turned into Guardians…

I’m not fighting any of those changes. What bothers me, though, is that not all the offensive nicknames have been changed. There are some nasty ones still out there. And we’re seeing it right now in the College Football Playoffs.

There is one school out there torturing a group of people who are largely unable to defend themselves. It isn’t fair and I guess I’m going to have to step up and call attention to this terrible injustice…Mississippi and its fans are nasty. Unaware, perhaps, of what they’re doing.

‘Ole Miss.’

Come on now. One of the first rules I learned as a kid was ‘Respect your elders.’ It has to stop…This is blatant sexism, which hurts even more because of the blatant ageism…

Although I haven’t used AI for any writing, a few images for the blog have been fun to employ so I had it create the following and asked The Godfather for permission to cite his column. I thought this image nailed it! (#6)

While my high school alma mater Oregon City didn’t need to change our mascot name from “Pioneers,” there was for a time, some ill-advised clamor about “Pioneer Pete’s” appearance.

When my class graduated in 1966, our parting gift was a massive plywood rendering of Pioneer Pete (replete with musket and bowie knife) to hang at the entrance to the gym which it did for years until a new school was built in 2003.

Fortunately, in 2001 when a few activists wanted to “emasculate” our mascot by “photo-shopping” out his musket or trashing existing images, the ill-conceived move was ultimately resisted – overcome by objections from a broad swath of alumni.

One suggestion was to replace the musket with a flagpole. (It might have been hard for pioneers to kill game with a flagpole…. #7)

I recounted this story in a 2012 Beerchaser post, because it was quite interesting as reported in this excerpt from the December 12, 2001 story in The Oregonian:

” A burly guy with a coonskin cap, Pioneer Pete stands like a sentinel throughout Oregon City High School. He stares from hallway murals, the backs of varsity jackets and walls in the gymnasium and football stadium.

A musket in his grip and a knife slung off his hip, Pioneer Pete is catching some flak these days. Some students and administrators say his weapon-toting ways break rules that apply to students. He’s even been booted off the cover of a brochure advertising the search for a new superintendent.”

For Better or Worse? (#8)

The pandemic brought global and national changes from its declaration in March 2020 to May 2023, when it was officially announced as ended by the World Health Organization. That said, many of the adjustments we made as individuals during that difficult period linger or have become permanent parts of our daily lives.

It changed our routines in working, shopping, traveling and socializing. A Pew Research study from just a year after the pandemic started revealed:

“The vast majority of Americans (89%) mentioned at least one negative change in their own lives, while a smaller share (though still a 73% majority) mentioned at least one unexpected upside. Two-thirds (67%) of Americans mentioned at least one negative and at least one positive change since the pandemic began.“

One old guy’s (not me….) response was pretty representative –“The destruction of our routines has been disorienting.”

It was very difficult for quite a while, to see our four granddaughters exclusively and then primarily by FaceTime. Trips to the gym stopped and ZOOM became an ongoing occurrence in everything from attending church, non-profit board meetings and Happy Hour and social gatherings.

I had visited and reviewed almost 400 bars and breweries from the start of Thebeerchaser.com in 2011 until the pandemic and in the next three years, the additions numbered only about twenty until I could hit new establishments with abandon again.

Since travel was largely restricted, it did, however, motivate me to reconnect with some of my former college and work associates I hadn’t seen in years by ZOOM.

NROTC Class of 1970 — Mulvey, Palmer and Williams

For example, Jerry (Rodent) Mulvey, Bill Palmer and I started a quarterly ZOOM meeting which has continued and provides an opportunity to recount stories from our midshipman summer training cruises and college pranks. (Usually, they’re the same ones we related one quarter before, but forgot…)

Janet and I initiated one hobby in 2020 which has continued and we really enjoy – jigsaw puzzling. Maybe it was Deepak Chopra’s quote that started it although it was probably more due to boredom and trying to divert our minds from the news and figure out what was happening.

“There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.”

We started with 300-piece, graduated to 500-piece and now only do 1,000 piece. Since 2020, we have done at least 100 puzzles of all different brands and images. You can see a few of our favorites below:

And the experts have supposedly asserted that tackling these challenges is good for the brain:

“Studies have shown that doing jigsaw puzzles can improve cognition and visual-spatial reasoning. The act of putting the pieces of a puzzle together requires concentration and improves short-term memory and problem solving.” (https://blogs.bcm.edu/2020/10/29/a-perfect-match-the-health-benefits-of-jigsaw-puzzles/)

I would suggest, however, that the concussive ramifications of knocking one’s head against the wall when stumped may refute that theory. And oh, are they addictive – “I’m just going to get one more piece or make this connection before I go to bed….”

Janet and I are both grateful to my former legal management colleague, Linda Lehmann (see photo below) for her encouragement and generosity in helping us get started and continuing in this healthy activity. (#9)

And finally, after the pandemic, puzzles have been a good family activity (albeit sometimes competitive) especially on beach trips – and the granddaughters participate.