The photos below are identical in number and content to those included in the e-book version of Fire in the Dark and have been placed here for the convenience of those readers whose e-book devices do not satisfactorily display the material. Included are all photos from the Photo Galleries and the From the Times segments.
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Map of Project Area. For a working map and associated keys, go to main page for Fire in the Dark and click on the “Map of Project Area” button. Fr. Sulzman at play with Kate and her brother, Al. (From story Beginnings) Souvenir card of Fr. Sulzman’s ordination to the priesthood in New York, 1931. (From story Beginnings) Letter of support. (From story Beginnings) Photo by Paul Lobell in BCC Pipeline, August 1975. (From From the Times: Blanchet House of Hospitality: I) Article by Paul Lobell in BCC Pipeline, August 1975.It was Kate who initiated the passing out of vitamins at Blanchet House, and she was still passing them out or at least keeping Blanchet supplied with vitamins during this period (1975). (From From the Times: Blanchet House of Hospitality: I) Kate working with patient at Hooper Detox during her earlier years on Burnside, circa 1973, when detox was still on Southwest Pine Street between Second and Third Avenues. Photo is not part of BCC Pipeline article but is taken from “Burnside, A Community: A Photographic History of Portland’s Skid Row,” by Kathleen Ryan, text by Mark Beach, Coast to Coast Books, 1979. Reprinted with permission. (From From the Times: Detox) —from the handwritten clown-poem by Blake Holloway (From story Blake Holloway) Photo of Blanchet House, which in 2006 is still located at its original location, 340 Northwest Everett Street. Photo from Blanchet House web site, 2006. (From story Blanchet House) Burside Projects, Inc. letterhead. (From From the Times: Service Center/Night Shelter) Kate as infant. Born July 2, 1921. (From Photo Gallery I: The Early Years) As toddler.(From Photo Gallery I: The Early Years) With brother, Al, as young children. (From Photo Gallery I: The Early Years) A boarder at St. Mary of the Valley School in Beaverton, Oregon. Age 13. (From Photo Gallery I: The Early Years) Shortly before entering the convent the second time. At home in Victoria, B.C. Canada, 1939. Age 18. (From Photo Gallery I: The Early Years) From “English Classes” in BCC Pipeline 1975. (From From the Times: Language and Math Classes) Kate is in her first year of what will become a two-year leave of absence from the SSMOs and is being accepted for orientation with the SNJMs. The terms “apostolic service” and “apostolic mission” refer basically to service to the world at large, in the spirit of the example of the original apostles of Jesus; familiar examples of this are working with the poor and disadvantaged, teaching, and nursing. The final vow ceremony referred to does not regard Kate’s own vows, as she is still a SSMO. The letterhead in the original document reads “Oregon Province, Provincial Administration, Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Marylhurst, Oregon 97036.” St. Andrew Convent, which is named in the inside address, was part of St. Andrew Parish of which Kate still, in 2006, is a parishioner. (From From the Times: Two Roads…) Kate is allowed to continue working on Skid Road. The partially cut off picture at the upper right is a stylistic depiction of a dove, representing the Spirit of God. Several times during the course of the project Kate told Ron that one of the reasons she chose to remain a Sister was the value she found both in living life in Community and in experiencing the strong support of her Sisters individually and of her Community generally; the above letter addresses this support squarely—note the phrase “radically communal affair” in the 3rd paragraph. (From From the Times: Two Roads…) This correspondence came six months after Kate requested and was granted a second-year extension of her leave of absence from the SSMOs. She had requested a second year due to various circumstances in her life that resulted in the need for more time before deciding whether to request the transfer to the SNJMs; by the time of the above correspondence, however, she had already made her decision. The “indult” referred to in the first paragraph is, put simply, a special permission granted by the Church to deviate from a Church law. The correspondence was prepared originally on SNJM Oregon Province letterhead. (From From the Times: Two Roads…) Request to transfer from SSMOs. (From From the Times: Two Roads…) Request to transfer to SNJMs. (From From the Times: Two Roads…) Acceptance by SNJMs to receive Kate. (From From the Times: Two Roads…) Transfer accomplished. (From From the Times: Two Roads…) Words of commitment at commitment ceremony and Mass, SNJM Provincial House Chapel, Marylhurst Oregon, August 12, 1975. (From From the Times: Two Roads…) Matt Talbot Center logo. (From From the Times: Matt Talbot Center) —words written by Clinton to Kate (From story Clinton Tait) Photo caption: Burnside Hotel will close Feb 1 [1973]. In the last three years it has provided inexpensive shelter for more than 600 persons. The Burnside Neighborhood Committee is concerned about the hotel closure, other moves toward changing the character of the Burnside area. Sign above door at corner reads: “Now Open For Lunch 11:00 AM.” (From From the Times: Housing: I) Photo of Gil Lulay, from same article as previous. Gil is Fr. Jim Lambert in the stories. Reprinted with permission. (From From the Times: Housing: I) Cover of the issue of BCC Pipeline April 1975 in which article “Foster Hotel Reopens in June” appeared. The word “File” at top of image was written by Kate. (From From the Times: Housing: II) Larry Alberton, photo. Publication source undeterminable. (From From the Times: Award) Publication source undeterminable. Kate received this award along with two other recipients. While the last paragraph of the article might lead one to think that she worked with chemically dependent individuals in the Beaverton area (a suburb of Portland), this was not the case; rather, Kate worked with individuals on Portland’s Skid Road, some of whom were from the Beaverton area. (From From the Times: Award) Copy of Matt Talbot Center newsletter.(From From the Times: Jack-roller) 1940: Kate as postulant, during her first month after re-entering the convent of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, in Beaverton, Oregon. She is nineteen. While this is her first year, she had entered the same convent once before, at age fourteen, but had been asked to leave due to immaturity. She is wearing the habit that is special to the postulant period. With Kate is younger brother, Al, who has come down from Victoria, B.C., Canada to visit his sister one month before going to New York to enter the Irish Christian Brothers (now Congregation of Christian Brothers) to become a religious brother. (From Photo Gallery II. The First Twenty-Five Years as a Sister) Sister to Sister: 1942, holding hands with her little sister, Peggy. Kate is a novice now , which is the second stage of becoming a nun, and has taken the name Sister Mary Elphége (Elphége was the name of her father). She is wearing the habit that is special to the two-year novitiate period. During this period Kate will start or continue with education or training in a field the Order wants her in, or at least she will begin helping out in a field, with supervision. (From Photo Gallery II. The First Twenty-Five Years as a Sister) 1945: With her sister Peggy and new little sister, Bernie, who have come for a visit from Victoria, B.C., Canada. This is Kate’s second of three years of temporary profession, a period during which she commits to the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience for three years. With temporary profession, she begins wearing the complete and formal habit of her religious order. (From Photo Gallery II. The First Twenty-Five Years as a Sister) 1961: At age forty, Kate is wearing the first modification of her Order’s original habit, which was modified that same year. (From Photo Gallery II. The First Twenty-Five Years as a Sister) Kate with boarders in about 1963 while she was boarding school mistress at St. Mary of the Valley Academy (elementary school) in Beaverton, Oregon. (From Photo Gallery II. The First Twenty-Five Years as a Sister) With a family, circa 1967. (From Photo Gallery II. The First Twenty-Five Years as a Sister) Nurse’s Aid at Maryville Nursing Home, 1967. Kate would wear the white habit while working at the nursing home, and the black version at all other times. (From Photo Gallery II. The First Twenty-Five Years as a Sister) Twenty-fifth anniversary as Sisters, 1968. Kate is first at bottom of staircase. (From Photo Gallery II. The First Twenty-Five Years as a Sister) Photographer Bob Bach/The Oregonian. (From From the Times: In the Male World) Photographer Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian. (From From the Times: Home) Photographer Roger Jensen/The Oregonian. (From From the Times: Home) ©1979 The Oregonian. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. (From From the Times: Murder) Kate kissing the Blarney stone during her trip to Ireland. (From story Ian O’Leary) Kate and others, 1970, evaluating the condition of the soon-to-be Matt Talbot Center residence, in which her office (sometimes referred to as little “clinic“) would be located. (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) Walking down the street in the Burnside area, circa 1971. The photos on this and the next page show the final modification to the original habit worn by Kate as a Sister of St. Mary of Oregon, which included shorter skirt, simplified headgear, and options of jumper, dress, or suit. (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) Kate receives an award as part of the Beaverton [Oregon] Elks Community Project Awards Contest, along with three other recipients, 1972. Her award is for work with Skid Road alcoholics and includes $300, which she uses as seed money for her new ministry. Photo source undeterminable. (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) Feeding a rabbit outdoors at Maryville Nursing Home, Beaverton, Oregon, 1972. (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) On vacation, at home with her family in Washington State, holding one of her nephews, circa 1972. (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) Kate sitting at her desk in her small office/“clinic” at Matt Talbot Center. Poster on wall reads, “Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil; hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly, as brothers in Christ, and be eager to show respect for one another.” (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) Kate in her Matt Talbot Center office/clinic, 1970s, taking the blood pressure of one of the men. This work area of hers was approximately 8 feet by 10 feet in size. To the right of her desk (see previous photo) was a chair for the man she was helping, and probably an extra. There was no examination table or other substantial medical equipment. The room had a wash basin that was installed for her use, with hot and cold running water. In addition, there was a large cabinet which was well-stocked with over-the-counter medications and medical dressing supplies. Kate did not store or dispense prescription medications. (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) Bandaging a leg for one of the men, Matt Talbot Center. (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) Treating an eye injury, Matt Talbot Center. (From Photo Gallery III: The Skid Road Years – Part 1) Source undeterminable. (From From the Times: One Good Turn) (From From the Times: Fire in Matt Talbot Center) Photographer Tim Jewett/The Oregonian. (From From the Times: To Feel Useful—To Contribute) Cover of issue of Hobo News, The Voice of the Burnside Community, Spring 1985. (From From the Times: Letter to the Editor) From “Burnside Housing: What’s Available,” an article in BCC Pipeline, December 1976. Author not indicated in article. (From From the Times: Housing V) Room in Skid Road hotel, probably an outside room in Holm Hotel. Photo is from “Burnside, A Community: A Photographic History of Portland’s Skid Row,” by Kathleen Ryan, text by Mark Beach, Coast to Coast Books, 1979. Reprinted with permission. (From From the Times: Housing V) Example of “chicken coop flophouse” hotel on Portland’s Skid Road: partitioned cubicles covered on top by chicken wire. View is from above, looking down at the cubicles. Photo is from City of Portland Fire Department files, in “Burnside, A Community: A Photographic History of Portland’s Skid Row,” by Kathleen Ryan, text by Mark Beach, Coast to Coast Books, 1979. Reprinted with permission. (From From the Times: Housing V) Photo from 1970s of man in room of Holm Hotel, referred to often by Kate in the stories as the Chicken Coop Flop. View is from above. (From From the Times: Housing V) Kate changing bandage for Herb. Photographer Robert Gabriel/Catholic Sentinel. Reprinted with permission. ©1982 Catholic Sentinel. (From From the Times: Wandering Nun) Herb and Kate playing cribbage at Foster Hotel. Photo from undeterminable source and not part of Robert Gabriel article. Herb is “Frank” in the stories. (From From the Times: Wandering Nun) Kate and Scott at Oregon Coast with friends, circa 1974. Scott was one of Kate’s recovery success stories from the Skid Road years. (From Photo Gallery V: The Skid Road Years – Part 2) In costume for Mardi Gras at St. Andrew Parish, 1975. (From Photo Gallery V: The Skid Road Years – Part 2) Visiting with two men in one of the Burnside hotels, circa 1976. (From Photo Gallery V: The Skid Road Years – Part 2) Mexico, circa 1978. (From Photo Gallery V: The Skid Road Years – Part 2) Two photos taped together of Kate assisting men in her office at Matt Talbot Center, circa 1978. In the photo on the right side, on the bulletin board, the narrow vertical card reads, “Love isn’t love until you give it away.” (From Photo Gallery V: The Skid Road Years – Part 2) Kate and Herb, one of her Burnside men, visiting in the hospital, circa mid to late 1980s. This is the same Herb as named in 2 previous photos. (From Photo Gallery V: The Skid Road Years – Part 2) Life’s simple joys, early 1980s. (From Photo Gallery V: The Skid Road Years – Part 2) Article by Gary Vaughn in These Homeless Times: A Voice For The Homeless Community, 1986. (From From the Times: Candle Memories) Caption in photo reads: “As part of an annual service held in the Downtown Chapel, Sister Kate St. Martin and Terry Washington light candles Wednesday in memory of more than 100 downtown Portland residents who had died during the year. Story on Page E10.” [Given that Kate had written “Oregonian—3/23/89” on her copy of the photo, the annual service described would have been at least the fourth. Photo is from The Oregonian newspaper, 1989, but the article from These Homeless Times is from 1986.] Photo used with permission. Photographer Marv Bondarowicz/The Oregonian. (From From the Times: Candle Memories) Cover of issue of Hobo News Quarterly, Autumn 1984, Burnside Community Council. (From From the Times: Housing VI) From a Christmas card Scott gave to Kate. (From story Scott) Logo, taken from a thank-you note written on Harmony House stationery by Kate in May of 1978. The stationery lists the board of directors, shows “S. Kate St. Martin, Secretary,” and lists Scott as director. (From story Scott) From a sympathy card to Kate from Clay sent four months before Clay’s own death. Clay signed the card but his signature is not included here. (From story Clay Harmon) From a birthday card Troy gave to Kate the same month in which he died. He signed using his first name but his signature is omitted here. The “July ’95” was written by Kate. (From story Troy Westman) Kate and good friend at Mass in Time of AIDS, 1995. The charming tenderness and reassurance of love captured in this photo served as ongoing inspiration and energy during many periods when, over 27 years of project development, darkness and abandonment of the project were tempting options for the author. The author and young man pictured here were new friends at the time of his tragic death within a year after the photo was taken. (From Photo Gallery VI: The Later Years) Galilee, 1996, age 75. (From Photo Gallery VI: The Later Years) A lighthearted moment during Gay Pride Portland, circa 1997. The sign on the side of the wagon reads, “Honor Diversity.” Kate’s shirt is from Our House of Portland, a residential care facility for people with HIV/AIDS, where she has been volunteering weekly for more than thirteen years. (From Photo Gallery VI: The Later Years) Kate (in the middle), participating in a protest march in 1999 at Fort Benning, Georgia, in an effort to close the U.S. Army School of the Americas and change what she believes to be oppressive U.S. foreign policy. She participated in this march two years and, due only to failing health, was unable to participate a third year. (From Photo Gallery VI: The Later Years) Embracing an individual at the commitment ceremony of a gay couple, 1999, age 78. (From Photo Gallery VI: The Later Years) Enjoying a moment of relaxation and a beer on the swing in Ron’s backyard, summer 2006, not long after her eighty-fifth birthday. (From Photo Gallery VI: The Later Years) Caught off guard, again at Ron’s house, summer 2006. At the time this photo was taken and due to failing eyesight, Kate had just moved from independent apartment living to semi-independent living. (From Photo Gallery VI: The Later Years) Same visit as 2 previous photos. At a more serious point in our conversation about war and other problems in the world, Kate turned from me, fell silent, and gave the troubled expression above. This expression was one I saw frequently whenever the likelihood of improvement or resolution of a problem situation, particularly in society or the world generally, or in the Church, was unclear to her or in doubt. -Ron (From Photo Gallery VI: The Later Years) “Where am I going?” -Age 13 “How have I done?” -Age 85