Sunnyside Centennial Celebration (1888-1988)
To honor 100 years of being on the sunny side, in the summer of 1988 neighborhood residents came together to document and celebrate the neighborhood's history. The Sunnyside Centennial History Project was sponsored by the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, SE Uplift, and several local businesses. For this celebration they created a brochure (pictured below), stiched a handmade quilt, created watercolor art prints, hosted special exhibits, a reunion, and community parade and picnic.
SUNNYSIDE QUILT
Local longtime residents Mary Ann Schwab & Barbara Grimala spearheaded the making of the quilt, along with helping hands of Judy Sanders, Betty Weber, and Lorraine Chapman. It now hangs in the Belmont Branch Library on 39th Avenue.
ART BY PAT McDermotT
This lovely piece of pen and watercolor art was made by local resident Pat McDermott for the Sunnyside Centennial celebration. It was used on the cover of the brochure, and prints were made to help raise money for the associated community events. The original now hangs in the offices of SE Uplift.
PARADE + PICNIC
In the summer of 1988, Sunnyside neighbors came out to celebrate its 100 year old birthday as a community by hosting a parade that marched down Belmont, and picnic in the field of Sunnyside Environmental School. The Buttertoes Buttertoes crew helped cater the picnic event. Photos courtesy of Carolyn Newsom, co-owner of Buttertoes Restaurant.
NEIGHBORHOOD FLAG PROJECT, 1988
Although it was not a part of the Sunnyside Centennial Celebration, during the same year (1988) residents came together to create flags for each of the SE Portland neighborhoods. Sunnyside resident Mary Ann Schwab helped organize, fund the project, and design some of the flags such as the Buckman neighborhood flag. Sunnyside's flag was designed by Dennis Bias, an image of a sunflower setting over the West Hills (as seen from the Hawthorne Fred Meyer roof). Nearly all flags were sewn by Frances Parker, a Buckman neighborhood resident. Many of them are now stored at the City of Portland Archives at Portland State University.
