Mar 23 2007
About portlandville.com
I started portlandville.com as a way to organize my thoughts on various personal interests, many related to the place I live — Portland, Oregon and others related to media (particularly emerging media), music, food, and other targets of my over-active curiosity. I do this for fun. If these posts lead to conversations, so much the better.
Until recently, I ran Mediamerica, Inc., the magazine company behind Oregon Business, Oregon Home and Travel Oregon. I left the company in late 2006 to reinvent my career. Before moving here in 1997, I held a succession of jobs in national media including editorial roles at Backpacker and Folio: magazines, and production, operational and executive roles at larger publishing companies. I’ve worked on many magazines, including Eating Well, Harrowsmith Country Life, New England Monthly, Catalog Age, Direct, and various web projects, newsletters and custom publications (what’s a custom publication?) .
Now, I am a business development adviser to start-ups and media companies.
In my time off I holler down this digital pipe, sail, cook, read, listen to loud music (still) and pursue an endless string of new interests.
- John O’Toole
email - jotpdx [atsignhere] comcast [dot] net
On the cover: I don’t know who the “Someday” tagger is, but I’ve seen his/her work around town and wish I had such nice penmanship. Plus I like the idea. The picture is near the intersection of Mississippi and Fremont, looking south. I’m pretty sure the tag has been removed by now.
Hi John O,
I am Janna O! I have enjoyed popping into Portlandville every now and then and have read some interesting posts.
I am writing to share that I have just posted a history of my dad’s starting G.I. Joe’s in 1952 and leading the business till his death in 1976. It also tells of my childhood and teen years in the mid 1940’s through early 1960’s in Portland. The URL is:
http://GrowingUpWithGIJoes.blogspot.com.
I invite you to take a look at it. I was hoping that one of the local papers would print at least the first chapter, but that was not the case, so I put it on the internet.
Thank you for Portlandville,
Janna Orkney