PORT TOWNSEND — The Fort Worden Commons now will carry Nora Porter’s name — and those who knew the indefatigable activist were divided on whether or not that would have pleased her.
The State Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously approved Thursday changing the name of the Fort Worden Commons.
It will be changed to the Nora Porter Commons.
Despite her tendency to disdain needless ceremony, Porter, who died in October, would have appreciated the commission’s action, said former state Rep. Lynn Kessler, who spoke in favor of the proposal honoring her longtime friend and ally.
“Nora never wanted to take credit for anything. One of her famous sayings was that you can get a lot done if it doesn’t matter who gets the credit,” said Kessler, a Democrat from Hoquiam who hired Porter to run her office when she first went to Olympia at the beginning of her 18-year career — 12 as House majority leader — for the 24th District, which includes Jefferson and Clallam counties.
“There are people who have said that she wouldn’t like the building to be named after her, but I think she’s up there and she’s all right with it.
“Naming the Commons after Nora is a perfect lasting statement for a life well-lived,” Kessler said.
Of the six who spoke at Thursday’s meeting, Barbara McColgan Pastore was the only one who opposed the action.
“She would have been embarrassed by being singled out by this proposal,” Pastore said.
Former Port Townsend City Councilwoman Laurie Medlicott, who was Porter’s neighbor for the last years of her life, did not attend the hearing but said Friday that Porter would not have liked the commemoration.
“Nora loved Fort Worden, but she was no fan of Washington State Parks,” Medlicott said.
“If I supported this, I think she would rise up out of her grave and haunt me for the rest of my life.”
Porter, a Port Townsend civic leader, died of lung cancer Oct. 31 at the age of 75, leaving behind a list of accomplishments.
Those ranged from co-founding the Port Townsend Foundation and Port Townsend High School Scholarship Foundation to serving as Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce president to being a member of the Port Townsend School Board, the Fort Worden Advisory Board, the Peninsula College Board of Trustees and the board of Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County.
She was in the 1982 electoral college; was a member of the national, state and local Democratic Party for many years; and was one of four authors of City of Dreams, A Port Townsend Companion, published in 1986.
“Nora always said that she didn’t want any credit,” said longtime friend Dave Woodruff on Thursday.
“But when she came back to the table after winning the Heart of Service Award [in May 2011], she was basking in that honor.
“Nora was a firm believer in the common good, and I urge you to allow her that honor to have the Commons named after her.”
At the time of her death, Porter was an at-large member of the Fort Worden Advisory Committee, where she participated in park planning and argued tirelessly against establishing an admission system for state parks, including the Discover Pass, which was instituted last July.
Former Port Townsend Deputy Mayor George Randels served on the panel with Porter.
“And I want to say that it was so appropriate that she served on an advisory committee because she certainly gave advice,” Randels said.
Said Kessler: “Even if you disagreed with Nora, you couldn’t help but respect her.
“She always knew the issues and did her homework, and there was never any pie in the sky.”
As a Habitat board member and volunteer, Porter helped found the group’s Furniture and More Store.
Kessler acknowledged comments that Porter’s commitment to Habitat for Humanity should be commemorated “by naming a cul-de-sac for her, but that would not be enough.
“Nora was bigger than Habitat; she was bigger than the parks,” Kessler said.
“But there would not be a Commons without her.”
Pastore suggested that the Commons keep its name but that a plaque honoring Porter be placed in the lobby.
“The Commons was named after a public process that included many suggestions and much discussion, and Nora was happy with the final decision,” Pastore said.
“Although it sounded collegial, it seemed to express a vision that everyone who visited the park could meet and mingle on an equal footing.”
Parks Commissioner Rodger Schmitt, a Port Townsend resident, said Porter had encouraged him to submit his name for appointment to the panel.
“Then she turned right around and told me everything that was wrong with this commission,” Schmitt said.
“I’m sensitive to some of the comments in the community that a building is not enough for Nora, but as a commission, naming a building after her is all we can do.”
No dedication ceremony has been planned, but Woodruff suggested that something be set up around April 28, when the Jefferson Museum of History and Art will open an exhibition of art donated by Porter that will be attended by her son, Kyle Porter, who lives in Amsterdam.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
