My Oregon
by Alice “Granny” Krausert, 90
as told to Lynne Palombo
The “Oral History at ElderPlace” project
Portland, OR
Alice grew up in St. Cloud Minnesota. Her family (husband, Paul and 3 children) followed her parents and siblings to Oregon to work in ship building. The family made the trip from Minnesota about 3 times before staying permanently. Alice did not want to stay in Oregon because it was “not home”. Unfortunately, they lost everything they had in the Vanport flood and did not have the means to return to Minnesota.
Alice’s parents and sister went to live in Seattle after the flood. Alice and her family lived in someone’s basement while they got back on their feet.
The Krauserts eventually settled in an old house on SE 99th Ave and SE Foster.
Paul “Bud” Krausert was a truck driver for Garret Freightliner for 22 years. He worked the local routes so that he could be home every night.
Alice Krausert worked in retail. She was a cashier at Meier & Frank in downtown Portland. She talked about how the cashiers were not suppose to take the elevators or draw attention to themselves. She had to dress proper, but nothing too flashy. She remembers her legs hurting form all the walking up and down stairs. Meier & Frank had 11 floors.
Alice later worked at Montgomery Ward, aka Monkey Ward, in NW Portland.
When not working Alice liked to play cards. Her father taught her how at age 5. No gambling though: “It takes out the fun.” Although, most of her time was spent taking care of her household. She purchased most of her produce at the area farms in SE Portland. The family loved her gravy and potatoes.
The Krausert family vacationed in Seaside a lot, along with many other Portland families that they knew.
Alice currently lives with her daughter Maria. Illness brought them together again. They have been living together for appromatley 20 years. Two years ago they moved to ElderPlace in SE Portland.
