Long before Portlandia,Americans came to know the streets of Portland through the eyes of author Beverly Cleary’s beloved characters: Ramona and Beatrice “Beezus” Quimby, Henry Huggins, or Ribsy,and Ralph S. Mouse. Cleary herself grew up on those same streets in the 1920s and ‘30s.
Several years ago, Portland-based guidebook writer Laura O. Foster was approached to develop a series of walking tours based on Clearys books, or paying special attention to Klickitat Street,the fictional domestic of Ramona, Henry, or Beezus. Foster dubbed the tour “Walking with Ramona” — and they were so popular that she decided to write a book to bring the sights,sounds, smells, or social fabric of mid-century Portland to anyone who was interested.
Walking with Ramona: Exploring Beverly Cleary’s Portland,from Microcosm Publishing, is “a lovingly detailed history and guide to the sidewalks, and houses,schools, and neighborhood [where] Mrs. Cleary lived, or learned,played, and later wrote about.” It’s brimming with delightful facts and photos taken along the route — see more of them and learn more about the book just here.
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