history museum Archives • DAVIDPDX

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UNCHECKED SPEECH, GUARDED WORDS

December 18, 2025 by David Gillaspie

If you’ve heard unchecked speech, then you know guarded words when someone says them. One might be a raving crack-head angling for another piece of the rock. The other might be a priest in a confessional. Each has their place, sometimes more than one place. There’s only one problem: If they switch back and forth […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, art museum, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blog post, blogger, boomerpdx, booze, despair, drinking, drunk, education, family, family tree, guarded words, history, history museum, homeless, I love you, learning, Love, married, MOVING ON, old guy, old man, Oregon, speech, story, street people, unchecked speech, weight of loss, writer, writers, writing

GOOD EXPECTATIONS, VARIED RESULTS

August 20, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Good expectations, not great, are the more reasonable expectations for most people. Even when you harbor feelings of greatness, who would you tell without sounding like a nut-job? Yes, I hear you with your, “But Muhammad Ali . . .” He was ‘The Greatest’ and proved it over an over, until he became what all […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: American civil war, American History, art, autobiography, big jobs, black market, cancer, Civil War, death camps, diverse interests, expectations, family historian, General Eisenhower, general grant, good expectations, good teachers, great expectations, history, history buff, history museum, I like Ike, jobs, literature, loss, memoir, monuments men, muhammad Ali, museum men, museum mistake, plunder, primary sources, racial, racial profiling, reasonable expectations, serious research, teachers, The Greatest, throat cancer, WWII

GETTING READY TO GET READY, THEN WHAT

March 9, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Are baby boomers getting ready? They’ve been getting ready all their life. The boomer baby is continually shown as a rebel, a kid who grew up with a pledge to ‘not be like our parents.’ It was fine until one day we became parents. It was fine until we got all the left-overs.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, BOOMER, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, childhood, education, educational value, get ready, getting ready, history, history museum, murdered, parents, travel, writer, writers, writing

CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS AND US

January 15, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Cultural institutions like new members. They like to get people involved and interested. It’s a good idea, unless you’re like me and had no idea what an institution is. Or what culture is. Now I know, and it’s just in time.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: cultural institutions, culture, fire department, go bag, historian, history, history guy, history museum, join, oregon historial society, safe, social institutions, society, wall of flame

BETTER WORLD IN THE 90’S? BETTER THAN WHAT?

October 10, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Do you remember a better world that existed thirty years ago? Talking 1994? I’m trying without looking, but I hit the archives on history.com. Ron Rule from twitter inspired me with this:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: 1990, anxiety, better than what, better world, blog, blogger, college, cycles of history, david, died off, educational anxiety, fourth turning, generation, history, history museum, nostalgia, nostalgic, nostalgic twitter, Portland, public education, quote, suburbs, twitter, world, write, writer, WW2, X

DEDICATION, DEVOTION, WRITING A BLANK SCREEN ALIVE

April 4, 2024 by David Gillaspie

BoomerPdx spam is very encouraging with kudos for dedication, devotion, and persistence. Persistence, not pestilence. For the most part I work to promote persistence in whatever field you find yourself in. You didn’t get there by accident. It may have started from an accident, or happenstance, but once you settle in, keep going.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, big loser, big question, BOOMER, boomerpdx, bowery, dedication, devotion, education, empathy, fitness, history, history museum, kids, looking forward, museum, persistence, spam, the bowery, what happened, wife, writer, writers, writing

LIVING HISTORY? IT WORKS FOR ME

March 28, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Living history is what you see when people put on costumes and churn butter. At least that’s what comes to mind for most people. It’s a farm, a museum, a town. History is one thing; living it another. Which one is right for you? I have the right answer:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: artifacts, experience, family, fish packing, hand guns, historical resume, history, history museum, life, living, living history, machine guns, museum artifacts, museum collections, museum objects, museum robbery, northwest, oregon historical society, Oregon History, Oregon History Museum, Oregonian, robbery, saw mill

HISTORY WORK NEVER ENDS FOR THE CURIOUS

December 8, 2023 by David Gillaspie

Doing history work where you live is the only way to get to your happy place. Or at least you’ll know where you are. The Oregon Historical Society’s downtown Portland history museum is just the place. But first ask yourself, “Am I curious?” If you read boomerpdx regularly, you pass the curious test. Take this […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomerpdx, curious, David Gillaspie, education, happy place, historiography, history, history museum, history work, history workers, millennials, museum, Oregon, oregon historical center, Oregon History, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMER, portland monthly, Portland Oregon, reimagine portland, The Oregon Historical Society, Thomas Vaughan, travel, writer, writers, writing

HISTORY PEOPLE IN OUR MIDST

September 21, 2022 by David Gillaspie

History people carry a little extra with them. That’s the off-putting part because too many of them add their own extras. Does history need extra, or is ‘what happened’ good enough? I’m in the ‘good enough’ camp, and here’s why:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, battered women, bigotry, blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, bullying, Central Oregon, community activists, Divorce, gay rights, gay uncle, hatred, history, history museum, history people, MARRIAGE, Portland, Portland Oregon, social stigma, stalwart citizens, what happened

READING HISTORY BOOKS YIELDS MORE THAN BARGAINED FOR

February 3, 2022 by David Gillaspie

Reading history books is about more than validating the opinion you already have. George Washington, first president and father of our country, chopped a cherry tree down and confessed because he would never lie? Honest Abe Lincoln never told a lie? No one questioned their honesty? Reading history books could answer those sort of questions, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: American History, history, history books, history degree, history museum, learn history, reading, reading history