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Burnside Community Council records, 1969-1992

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Burnside Community Council (Portland, Or.)
Title
Burnside Community Council records
Dates
1969-1992 (inclusive)
1972-1990 (bulk)
Quantity
22.16 cubic feet, (17 record cartons; 3 legal document cases; 1 slim legal document case; 2 letter document cases; 1 slim letter document case; 1 card file box (12x5x3))
Collection Number
Mss 6038
Summary
Administrative, fundraising, and property records of the Burnside Community Council. The organization, which was founded in 1972 and dissolved in 1990, provided services to unhoused and low-income people in Portland, Oregon, including the operation of the Baloney Joe's shelter. In addition to records, the collection includes photographs related to the organization's services and activities; issues of publications including BCC Pipeline, Hobo News, and These Homeless Times; and records of other organizations, including the Junior League of Portland and the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

Materials in Boxes 19 and 20 are restricted until 2040. All other materials are open for research.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

The Burnside Community Council was founded in 1972 in Portland, Oregon, to provide services to people experiencing homelessness in Portland. It operated three shelters: Baloney Joe's; the West Women's Hotel and Emergency Shelter (later called the West Women's and Children's Shelter); and Ma's Community Inn. Baloney Joe's was established in 1978 by Michael Stoops (1950-2017), who had come to Portland in 1976 and became a leading member of the council's board. The council also ran a job placement program and a medical clinic. Starting in 1981, it ran the annual Hobo Parade (later renamed Parade for the Homeless) to bring awareness to the issue of homelessness in Portland.

In November 1987, the newspaper Willamette Week published an article reporting allegations that Stoops had had sex with boys under 18 who were served by Baloney Joe's. Stoops denied any wrongdoing; three months later, he resigned from the council and left Portland. Facing financial difficulties, the council transferred management of its shelters to the Salvation Army in 1990 and subsequently dissolved.

Sources: Articles in the Oregonian: "Homeless Remain as BCC Sinks in Ocean of Troubles," July 1, 1990, page C8; "Sign Marks Changes at Burnside Shelter," December 14, 1990, page F1; cover story, Willamette Week, November 19, 1987; obituary for Michael Stoops, May 2, 2017, page 3.

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Content Description

The collection consists of the records of the Burnside Community Council, an aid and advocacy group for unhoused and low-income people in Portland, Oregon. The records represented in the collection fall into three main groups: administrative records, which are the largest group and include papers of BCC staff members; records relating to events, fundraising efforts and grants; and records relating to properties that the council owned or operated, including the Baloney Joe's shelter, the West Women's Hotel and Emergency Shelter (later the West Women's and Children's Shelter), and the Eastside Community Clinic. Staff members represented in the collection include leading figure Michael Stoops, executive director Richard Meyer, Cindy Banzer, Michael Kaplan, Beverly "Ma" Curtis, Gene Ediger, Sue Elwood, and one-time Eastside Community Clinic director Neal Rendleman. The collection also includes newsletters that the council produced, including BCC Pipeline, Hobo News, and These Homeless Times; photographs; press releases; clippings; and public service announcements in audio and video form.

The collection also includes records of other organizations, including the United Way of Columbia-Willamette, of which BCC was an agency; and the Junior League of Portland, which undertook a grant project for the West Women's and Children's Shelter.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Burnside Community Council records, Mss, 6038, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Collection is arranged in six series:

  • Series 1: Administrative records
  • Series 2: Event, fundraising, and grant records
  • Series 3: Property, shelter, and clinic records
  • Series 4: Publications
  • Series 5: Publicity and memorabilia
  • Series 6: Records of other organizations

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Burnside Community Council, care of Chuck Currie, November 1990 (Lib. Acc. 20265); gifts of Chuck Currie, July 2009 and May 2018 (Lib. Acc. 26796; Lib. Acc. 29280).

Preservation Note

Researcher access to negatives, audio recordings, and video recordings in the collection is limited for preservation purposes. To inquire about access, contact library staff. Fees may apply.

Due to technical limitations, the contents of the floppy disk in Box 8, Folder 17, was not reviewed during processing and is not available for use by researchers.

Processing Note

Collection was initially rehoused in archival folders before 2011, most likely in the early 1990s. Additions from Lib. Acc. 26796 were processed circa 2009. Entire collection, including additions donated in 2018, was processed and arranged by Jeffrey Hayes in 2025. Processing included rehousing papers into new folders. During processing, documents showing Social Security numbers were either redacted or marked for restriction.

Related Materials

Additional issues of Hobo News and These Homeless Times are also held in the periodicals collection, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Separated Materials

A commemorative brick and a racing baton were transferred to the Oregon Historical Society Museum Collections.

Materials from Lib. Acc. 26796 and Lib. Acc. 29280 that post-date the Burnside Community Council's dissolution or were unrelated to the council were processed as the Chuck Currie papers, Coll 1090.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Community-based social services--Oregon--Portland
  • Homeless persons--Services for--Oregon--Portland
  • Homelessness--Oregon--Portland
  • Shelters for the homeless--Oregon--Portland

Personal Names

  • Banzer, Cindy, 1947---Correspondence
  • Kaplan, Michael--Correspondence
  • Meyer, Richard--Correspondence
  • Stoops, Michael, 1950-2017--Correspondence

Corporate Names

  • Burnside Community Council (Portland, Or.)--Photographs
  • Burnside Community Council (Portland, Or.)--Records and correspondence

Form or Genre Terms

  • administrative records
  • clippings (information artifacts)
  • correspondence
  • newsletters
  • photographs

Revised by Jeffrey A. Hayes
2012; revised 2025

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