Photo from Oregon Roma (Gypsies): A Hidden History by Carol Silverman
Records of Romani people in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) go back more than 100 years; in fact, Rose City Cemetery in Portland holds the largest collection of Roma graves in the United States. However, as with many minority groups, their traditions and customs are frequently misunderstood and misrepresented. Written histories are incomplete and colored by European norms, and there are few reliable sources available online.
Romani people in the past were known as ‘gypsies’, a term derived from ‘Egyptian’ and coined by Europeans who assumed these dark-skinned travellers came from Egypt. It ultimately became a term used to describe a wide variety of travelling folk from many different backgrounds, usually in a pejorative sense and, in the worst case, as a way for Nazi Germany to categorize and eliminate them. While some Roma still use the term, it is generally considered a slur. In the United States, for the most part, it is no longer used in formal media or government communication, and its use is discouraged in general conversation. Growing awareness from activists is helping to educate people about its use.
NOTE: The word ‘gypsy’ is used in this article only when referencing historical documents.
One account of Roma in the PNW was documented in the book History of the Three Wallulas and Area, 1811-1988 by Bernice Cummings. The traveling groups used horses and wagons to move around, and frequented the area in the early 1900s. When they arrived at a new location, they would camp for a while, making their living through barter and trade, odd jobs, or fortunetelling. They were described as having dark complexions and wearing colorful clothing with a lot of jewelry.
According to Cummings, interactions at Wallula were mixed. One story relates how the town would be on guard whenever they heard word that the Roma were coming. In contrast, an account from Donald Church (a schoolchild living in the region at the time) recalls the town collaborating in 1915 to help a large group of wagons pay for a boat to Portland. Church’s account describes enjoying watching the wagons approach, and a cheerful, friendly atmosphere; but it is difficult to know if the memory of someone so young, from so long ago, tells the whole story.
In 1991, a reporter spoke to Pauline Struve Durham, who was a child in 1916 when she saw a group of Roma watering their animals at the well at the Garden Tracts plots. Durham recalls her mother discouraging her daughters from interacting with the Roma, instructing them to run home when the Roma were around. In Cummings’ book, the Shaughnessy siblings, who grew up in Kennewick, remember that the Roma would camp close to where their family lived near Historic Downtown Kennewick during the same period.
The Kennewick Courier, published from 1905–1914, contains several reports about so-called ‘gypsies’ in the Tri-Cities area, but the usage of the term can be misleading. Not only is its use and origin specious, it became a catch-all word for anyone labeled as a ‘vagabond’. Articles published at the time started to blur the lines between Old World understanding of the Roma as a distinct ethnic minority and the vision that many people have today — colorful travellers with beads in their hair and crystal balls in their wagons.
According to The Courier, on October 18, 1912, the police arrested two women who robbed the Kennewick Trading Co, getting away with $25 in bills and $12.50 in silver coins (about $1,234.29 today). The women were labeled ‘gypsy’, though there is no way to know if they were ethnic Roma, or if they were simply the aforementioned ‘vagabonds’ caught up in the term at the time.
The next major mention is July 19, 1915. The article, titled ‘Party of Gypsy Campers Worry the Local Police’, tells the story of a traveling group who was awaiting the trial of one of their own, a woman who had been charged with fortune telling — illegal in Washington State at the time. According to the article, the travelers were harassed by police who were worried about their extended stay and what they might do if they remained there, even though the Roma had paid for the privilege of camping by the river. The paper reported that “their very presence rather gets on the nerves of Mayor Richardson and Chief Copeland.”
Less than a month later, The Courier mentions the steamer boat Twin Cities, loaded with fourteen carts — Roma families traveling to Portland, an event also mentioned in History of the Three Wallulas.
It is nearly 20 years before there is another media report. In 1935, the paper at White Bluffs mentions a family of traveling beggars (also labeled ‘gypsies’) soliciting money around town. There is no way of knowing if this group were, in fact, Roma.
There is also a historical media mention in 1947 about an event that had happened 30 years prior. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Ross, their daughter, Elsie, and her fiancé traveled from Pasco to Richland to secure a marriage license for the young couple. In an unfortunate mishap, their car fell from the Pasco-Kennewick Ferry during the river crossing. No one was hurt, and a nearby Roma camp helped the family, providing them with dry clothing by the side of the river.
It is clear from my research that Romani folk are a deeply misunderstood group who, due to their strong traditions and self-reliance, are frequently treated as ‘outsiders’. If they are, in fact, such terrible troublemakers in society, why could I not find more evidence of this in the media? Perhaps it is because the Roma, like all of us, are simply trying to exist on their own terms, and people find it difficult to accept what they don’t understand.
For those who wish to deepen their understanding of this fascinating community, I recommend starting with ‘Oregon Roma (Gypsies): A Hidden History’ by Carol Silverman.
Ashleigh Malin is a historian and cosplayer.
Sources:
- Cummings, Bernice. History of the Three Wallulas and Area, 1811-1988. B. Cummings, 1988.
- Silverman, Carol. “Oregon Roma (Gypsies): A Hidden History”. Oregon Historical Society, 2017.
- Durham, Pauline Struve. The Courier 13, no. 4 (August 1991).
- “From the Past.” The Kennewick Courier-Reporter, 10 Apr. 1947, p. 10.
- “Party of Gypsy Campers Worry the Local Police.” The Kennewick Courier-Reporter , 29 July 1915, p. 1.
- “The Blackboard.” White Bluffs Spokesman , 10 Oct. 1935, p. 8.
- “Two Stories: Victims of Sneak Thieves.” Kennewick Courier, 18 Oct. 1912, p. 1.
