Vanport Mosaic receiving an AASLH Award of Excellence/Leadership in History

Vanport Mosaic representatives traveled to Boise, ID to receive a national Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for its “memory activism” amplifying, honoring, and preserving the history of Vanport, once Oregon’s second-largest city and the largest WWII federal housing project in the country. The temporary company town was erased by a flood in 1948 and never rebuilt. “Vanport Mosaic put Vanport back on the map,” said Edward Washington, flood survivor, and civic leader.

The recognition is part of the AASLH Leadership in History Awards, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation of state and local history.

From left to right: Andrew DeVigal/UOSOJC Center for Journalism Innovation and Civic Engagement Director; Laura Lo Forti/Story Midwife and Vanport Mosaic co-founder and director; LaVeta Gilmore Jones/ Vanport Descendant; Janice Okamoto/survivor of American concentration camps, and of the 1948 Vanport Flood; Viola Lo Forti DeVigal/volunteer; Chisao Hata/Community Weaver and Artist; Tim Hecox/ Board Member and World Forestry Center Director of Experiences.