About

The Yamane-Bose Food Forest is a 2-acre property located in the Linwood neighborhood of Milwaukie, Oregon. This site features mature chestnut, asian pear, persimmon, apple trees and more. The property also contains 2 rental houses that OSALT owns and manages. We’re looking forward to continuing to develop this space to offer more opportunities to grow food and host community events!

Get Involved

Work parties are hosted the last Sunday of every month, from 11:00am-2:00pm. If you’re interested in joining, please fill out our volunteer form!

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History

Our newest property, Yamane-Bose Forest Garden was donated in 2021 by Madelon Y. Bolling and the Estate of her younger brother, Omar Bose.

In August 1947, their maternal grandmother, Amanda R. Yamane, purchased the property from Lester and Elva Perkins. Amanda was an American citizen of Norwegian extraction, married to Rio S. Yamane, a Japanese who was ineligible for citizenship at the time. They had both been detained on Aug. 20, 1942 along with their daughter, Madeline. Rio and Amanda were sent to the Minidoka relocation center in Idaho, and their daughter was released to teach in Portland. Rio and Amanda later moved to National, Utah when Rio obtained a job as a loader at the Hudson Coal mine. There, until 1947, he served as a branch chief of the United Mine Workers Local #6511. 

Back in Portland, while living and gardening on his land Rio returned to his life-long career as Maintenance of Way engineer for Spokane Portland and Seattle railroad. He continued to serve as union organizer until he retired. Meanwhile, Madeline had met Omar F. Bose, a conscientious objector of German Mennonite heritage. They were married Aug. 3, 1946 and moved to Hawk Springs, Wyoming, where Omar taught school. In July 1947, their first daughter, Madelon, was born in Wichita, Kansas, where Omar’s parents were living. Omar and his little family visited Madeline’s parents in Portland, just when the Yamanes obtained the property.

Omar taught school in Esterbrook, Wyoming and then Freeman, South Dakota, where his son, Omar, was born. Back in Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1951, Mr. Bose obtained his MA in music, before moving back to teach in Pavillion, Wyoming, where his second daughter, Eda, was born. This peripatetic lifestyle continued until 1966 when Mr. Yamane gave the south half of his Beckman Avenue property to Madeline and Omar and family. Amanda had passed in 1964.

Omar built the southernmost house and garden and planted the fir tree grove as the children moved on to lives of their own in Seattle and Denver. In 1975, Grandpa Rio went to Japan, married Taniko Murase, a friend of his family, and returned to continue his extensive gardening and fruit tree care with her help until he died in 1986. Taniko, who passed in 1987, had brought chestnut seeds with her from Japan, which grew into the trees on the northeast quarter of the property.

In 1988-89, Omar the son (he refused to be termed “junior” and Madelon spent a year living and working on the property with their parents, trying out a few Permaculture ideas. Madelon worked with Rick Valley doing Permaculture advocacy and design, before returning to work as clinical psychologist in Seattle. Omar returned to Denver where he worked as master electrician until 2019.

Madeline had passed away in 2004. At that point, her husband, Omar, took over the care of the orchard and garden, and rented out the smaller house. He moved to the smaller house, renting out the house he’d built. But by 2012, the property was more than one person could manage. The one thing he asked was that the property not be sold to developers. Madelon proposed contacting OSALT, whose vision was attractive to the whole family. In February 2019, Omar gifted the land to Madelon and her brother. She took over managing the property from her home in Seattle, using income from the rentals for Omar’s retirement housing and medical care until 2021, when the property was completely and gratefully gifted to OSALT. Omar died in 2022, at the age of 100. His son, Omar, had died of cancer in June 2019, at 69 years old.