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Roger Tilbury Memorial Park
Edited from article by Eric Apalategui in the Beaverton Valley Times, 6/23/15

Walking through the woods behind her former home on a recent warm day, Margaret Tilbury was transported back in time, to a sweltering summer day nearly four decades ago.

On that day in the 1970s, she noticed that her husband, Roger, had been working outside for hours in the 90-degree heat and found him carrying buckets of water to pour on newly planted seedling trees on land that was previously covered in brush.

“What are you doing?” she told him. “You’re going to have a heat stroke in this weather.”

“I couldn’t stand it,” she remembers him saying. “It’s like watching little people die.”

Thanks to Roger Tilbury’s devotion and Margaret Tilbury’s donation, those little trees near Cedar Mill have since grown into a towering forest now known as Roger Tilbury Memorial Park.

Roger Tilbury was a prominent Portland attorney who won a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, presided over labor arbitrations and served as a pro-tem judge. He liked to spend his spare time outdoors and spent five years reforesting the hilly landscape sloping down to a tiny creek.

“Roger planted every one of these trees. I don’t know how he did it,” she said, craning her neck skyward toward a canopy including Douglas fir and Western red cedar.

When Roger died in 1996 at age 71, they hadn’t yet decided what would become of the property, but they knew they didn’t want it to become just another subdivision, Margaret said. When someone later suggested donating the land to the park district, she decided it was the right fit and donated the more than nine forested acres to Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District in 2002. At the time, the property was appraised at $1.7 million and still ranks among the biggest gifts in THPRD’s 60-year history.

Plenty of kids were on hand for the ribbon cutting. Margaret Tilbury (center, in white) wielded the scissors.

Until last week, she hadn’t walked through the woods behind her former home for about a decade. “I can’t believe the job they’ve done,” she said of THPRD’s development of the 13-acre park, which includes additional acreage the district purchased. “It’s just wonderful to see how they’ve preserved the best and added to it.”

The process to get from Margaret Tilbury’s 2002 donation to today's people- and pet-friendly park hasn’t been quick. It took six years to get funding for the park improvements approved as part of the 2008 THPRD Bond Measure. Neighborhood involvement, the Master Plan, and final park design didn't occur until the summer of 2012. It took three more years to complete the playground, picnic area, trails, and three Nature Play areas. Phase I of the Roger Tilbury Memorial Park finally opened in January 2015 and was dedicated on June 20th, 2015.

Margaret Tilbury

Because neighbors decided that they didn’t want to include a parking lot, access to the park is by foot or bike via NW 93rd, or by parking on NW Shadywood Lane and walking up some stairs to the entrance near the playground. When Phase II is built—pending funding—there will be two more entrances from the south end— through the Trillium Hollow co-housing development via a trail and bridge, and another off NW 94th Terrace near Leahy Rd.

THPRD's efforts, and time, have made a distinct difference between Margaret Tilbury’s early memories of the property and today’s park, which is mostly forest crossed by several trails connecting densely packed neighborhoods.

 “I think the park is a great addition to a place like that,” she said, allowing residents a place to step into nature.

There’s a small clearing with a modern playground and picnic tables and, just down the trail, a fort-like log structure made from trees that were cut down to create the park. It is supplied with sticks that allow children to use their imaginations, part of a growing movement known as nature-based play. A Park Ranger noted that having the Nature Play feature also encourages children to venture into the forest to explore.

As Margaret Tilbury strolled down the trails, a couple of mothers with children were visiting the park for the first time after one had seen THPRD's Facebook page announcing its June 20 dedication. Margaret Tilbury was a featured guest at last weekend’s event, but the families didn’t know who she was until it came up in a brief conversation.

The Nature Play area is supplied with sticks that allow children to use their imaginations, part of a growing movement known as nature-based play.

“I like that it’s tucked back into the trees,” said Natasha Pressler of Bethany, who brought her two boys to play. “It feels like it’s a hidden gem.”

“It’s nice to actually see the children enjoying it,” Margaret Tilbury said as she walked back toward a park exit. “I like children’s voices, hearing them call and shout. I love seeing them explore.”

Just then, one of the children, 7-year-old August Perkins, ran after Tilbury with three younger children in his wake.

“Thank you for putting a park here!” he told her before all four kids raced back to play some more.

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