Alice and Howard Shapiro: A Life of Creativity, Activism and Adventure
Alice and Howard Shapiro
Terwilliger Plaza Members
Howard, you have a unique story on what brought you from the east coast to the west coast.
Yes. I was born in the Bronx, and as a child I came down with rheumatic fever. I had been sick for well over a year when the doctor arranged for me to go to a rehab camp in upstate New York – a facility called Irvington on the Hudson where I stayed for almost eight months.
It was just after the war, in 1945. The military had been using this miracle drug, called penicillin, to fight infection. Now that the war was over it was being released to the civilian population. I began receiving penicillin shots once a week for 12 weeks. For me, this was truly a miracle drug since I had a remarkably quick recovery.
After I was discharged, my doctor recommended to my parents that we move out of the cold climate in New York. My parents, focused completely on my total recovery, gave up everything and moved us to Long Beach, CA.
Alice, your family moved to Los Angeles in the 1950’s?
Yes. I was born in Chicago, a first generation American. My dad emigrated from Ukraine and my mom’s parents emigrated from Romania to Montreal, Canada, where she was born. My family moved to Los Angeles in 1950 – the land of opportunity.
You eventually went on to study at UC Berkeley for the first of two undergraduate degrees?
Correct. In 1963 I began studying at UC Berkeley and received an undergraduate degree in history. After that I taught elementary school in the suburbs outside of Berkeley for two years. My husband at the time, who died young, finished his doctorate, and was hired as a professor at UC Riverside. I decided to go back to school at UCR to pursue my interests in biological science. I continued in the program and earned my second bachelor’s degree, this time in biology.
And then you went on to receive your master’s degree?
I was accepted at UC Irvine for my master’s degree in biology. Soon after receiving my degree, I landed a teaching job at Cypress Community College in Southern California and moved to Laguna Beach. Several years later, after my first husband died, I moved with my 2 ½ year old son to Seal Beach.
Before we move on, can you talk about being at UC Berkeley in the 60’s?
My time spent there, from 1963 to 1970 shaped my world view and continues to influence me to this day. When I moved to Berkeley, I was a somewhat sheltered seventeen-year-old lower-middle-class kid from LA. The 60’s and 70’s were heady times. The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Vietnam War protest movement, People’s Park. My family wasn’t very political, and we didn’t have political discussions. My outlook was broadened by my experiences at UC Berkeley, and I began to question “mainstream values”. I opposed the Vietnam War, became involved in the free speech movement, and had numerous intellectual discussions about the world, activism, the futility of war and the importance of environmentalism.
We were also recycling back in the 60’s and belonged to food co-ops when it was just a “hippie” thing to do. To this day, I continue to be involved in environmental justice, human rights, and other related issues. I believe that climate chaos is one of the most existential problems that we face today, and I remain very involved with this issue. You can’t separate climate justice from general human justice. If you pay attention to who is suffering the most--urban communities with virtually no tree canopies for example--you quickly see that people of less economic means don’t have a voice. Racial and social justice are intertwined.
Fascinating, how our life choices build upon and impact our lives. Howard, tell me about your life in California.
Art has played a central role in my life experience. I received my undergraduate degree in art and my master’s in art education from Cal State Long Beach. I had a 30-year career teaching high school art, as well as adult education courses at the local college. I was the first person in my family to go to college. The opportunity to have a career in teaching was quite fulfilling. California is also where I met Alice. I was also living in Seal Beach at that time, and we were introduced on a blind date by the local cantor and his wife, the choir director. I had a 36-foot sailboat that we frequently used for afternoon sails and weekend cruises to the Channel Islands.
What was the motivation to relocate to Oregon?
Shortly after Howard retired, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and during my second surgery to insert a catheter for chemotherapy, the surgeon punctured my aorta. I almost died. In addition to the intense, prolonged pain caused by the emergency thoracotomy, I developed what is now called PTSD. Howard and I had, even prior to this incident, been discussing moving and the possibility of me retiring early. After the catheter episode, we decided it was time.
I had some friends who had retired to Florence, OR – and we had purchased a piece of property there while it was still affordable several years before our retirement. We had five acres on a bluff overlooking the ocean. We decided to move and build a house on the property. Howard was the general contractor for that project, and we lived in a motor home and then purchased a small home until our house was finished.
The house you built was quite special – can you provide more detail?
We built a three-level yurt which we designed with the owner of Oregon Yurtworks in Eugene, OR to meet our needs.
More details, please.
The main feature is that the structure is round which allows for maximum interior space and a minimum of walls, creating an open, inviting space. The lower level was our garage, a studio where we had several pottery wheels, space for glazing, a pottery extruder, slab roller, an office, and enough room so Howard could teach pottery in our home studio.
The second level was the main area with the living room, kitchen, and two guest bedrooms. The upper level was our bedroom. It was an inspiring space with an incredible view of forest and ocean.
At the foot of our driveway was our kiln shed and a motor home pad with hookups.
You then lived in Florence for the next 15 years?
Yes. Howard taught ceramics and I was able to work part-time as a dietitian. Back when I was at Cypress College, during my sabbatical I went back to California State University Long Beach and studied nutrition. While I didn’t want to pursue another master’s degree, I accrued enough credits to take the registered dietitian exam. With that added expertise in my portfolio, I was able to work part-time at Peace Harbor Hospital as well as teaching part-time for Lane Community College and as a substitute in the Siuslaw School District when we lived in Florence.
Howard also substituted for the Siuslaw School District, including a long-term substitute position as the Art teacher for Siuslaw High School. He also did a long-term substitute position at Camp Florence, a juvenile detention facility in Florence.
He was later asked to teach for Princess Cruise Lines on two ships that did the Hawaii, Alaska, and Caribbean cruises. This lasted for about two years for several months a year.
And during this time, you visited Japan and China?
Florence has a friendship city relationship with Yamagata, Gifu and Howard was invited to show his artwork. This was a two-week visit. Howard also taught a few classes at the local middle and elementary schools and participated in art critiques at the high school. Several years later we chaperoned high school students on a return visit to the city.
The China trip was a pottery-oriented tour of China’s pottery cities and villages sponsored by a Chinese national that owned a pottery supply business in the Bay Area in California.
What were the factors in your decision to move to Portland and eventually Terwilliger Plaza?
We had a condo in the Hawthorne section of Portland and traveled back and forth when we were living in Florence. We began to recognize that Florence was small and lacked some of the services that we were beginning to need. Also, my son and his wife had moved to Portland, and when they had their first child, in addition to our need for a more urban setting, we decided to move in 2008 full-time to Portland.
While we had downsized significantly in our relocation to Portland, we grew tired of maintaining a house. We have friends at Terwilliger whom we would visit. We often talked about getting older and what that might mean. When it was time to make a change we decided on Terwilliger. We liked the location, the community, and the fact that we didn’t have to buy a meal plan.
Alice, you mentioned that you are the Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee?
Yes. I prefer to reference it as diversity awareness. Once a month we do educational programs. We have what’s called Mindful of Diversity, which is a discussion often prompted by a video or a reading. For example, most recently we showed a video of how Chinese New Year is celebrated in Beijing by two different families.
We also collaborate with other Member-run committees at Terwilliger, such as the Library Committee, the Art Display Committee, the Saturday Forum, and others. Our primary goal is to expand knowledge and understanding and celebrate a broad spectrum of cultures and traditions.
Howard, you have an upcoming exhibition.
Yes, in March, in the third-floor display case near the garage elevators there is an exhibition that features some of my ceramics, as well as ceramic pieces of different cultures that we have collected in our travels to various countries.
And the two of you are involved in the Plaza Players.
We have done a few readings with our readers’ theater. We are old hams. When we were in Florence, Alice and I got involved in community theater. I enjoyed it…back in the days when I could memorize lines! Readers’ theater is a perfect fit for us now!