Photo For some of those who look to landmarks to tell the history of their community, the past may seem quiet — almost as if it’s missing. There are plenty of buildings, parks and streets in Vancouver named after prominent figures, including those who have donated significant portions of money to the growth of the city. But contributing slips from a checkbook isn’t the only way to meaningfully shape a community. One of these exemplary characters was Ida Bell Jones, a matriarch in Vancouver’s Black community post-World War II. Jones was born in 1908 on a farm outside Blackwell, Ark., and remained in the South until moving to Vancouver with her family when she was 34 years old. She was one of about 72,000 people who migrated to the area during World War II between 1940 and 1943 to work at the Kaiser Shipyards, some of whom were also escaping oppressive Jim Crow laws. Once in Vancouver, Jones was quick to establish roots. She worked as a house cleaner, a position she continued until her 90s, and was a founding member of the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church in Portland, where she was a Bible school teacher.

Jones provided her home, food and time to those close to her and to strangers, as noted in “First Families of Vancouver’s African American Community” by Jane Elder Wulff. Her warmth made strangers feel welcome in any conversation or situation. But Jones also proved she was a force to be reckoned with, as she was a “small woman with a mighty punch.” Camara Banfield, Jones’ granddaughter, fondly recalled the time she spent at her grandma’s small Rose Village home and was quick to nod to her grandmother’s tenacity and charm. “I’m a person of faith, but I’ve never seen something like hers,” she said. “Her strength was that she saw the world for what it could be and how people could contribute to that. She was a woman who kept everyone together.” Banfield, a Clark County Superior Court judge, looked to her grandmother as an aspirational figure — a fierce advocate for her family, charitable in the community and incredibly hardworking. Her strength was undeniable. At 80 years old, Jones was even doing sit-ups in the living room, Banfield said. There’s a reason why people didn’t mess with Jones.

“My grandma is very much a big part of my history,” Banfield said. “There’s a reason I’m the first Black judge in Clark County. It’s because I came from her.” City recognizing notable figures To recognize the value of figures like Jones who helped weave community ties in the area, the city of Vancouver has begun naming parks in their honor. On Monday, the Vancouver City Council unanimously approved a motion for the Rose Village neighborhood’s new park, at T Street and East 35th Street, to be named after Jones. Ida Bell Jones Park is the second location to be named through this pilot process. The first was Nikkei Park in the North Image neighborhood, which pays homage to Japanese American truck farmers in Vancouver. A committee consisting of parks and recreation advisory staff and city residents conducted research to find key figures who would reflect the community’s diversity while shedding light on its history. Using school data, the city found that the neighborhood itself is mostly composed of students who identify as a race or ethnicity other than white, according to a staff report. Naming the Rose Village neighborhood’s new park after a prominent Black woman was a logical step in increasing recognition of Vancouver’s Black community.

“As a society, we look for the certain landmarks to tell us the history of our community, and I think Vancouver has done a poor job doing that,” said Nathan Webster, a park-naming committee member. “So, I think this is a good way to reconcile the sins of our forefathers.” For Webster, a Black man who was born and raised in Vancouver, this pilot program is crucial for future generations of people of color. When he was growing up, there weren’t any landmarks documenting Black leaders that could resonate with him. It wasn’t until Webster interned for the NAACP that he began to learn more the Black community’s history in Vancouver, which led him to learn about Jones. He saw someone who “put in the work” when adding to the city’s vibrancy — something that was unrecognized because a lot of Jones’ involvement was interpersonal rather than institutional. Webster never met Jones, who died at age 109; he became acquainted through reading her story in “First Families.” Naming public infrastructure after people like Jones can take their legacies beyond oration and limited documentation, Webster said.

There isn’t a limit to how many people meet the criteria of contributing to their community in a significant way. Valree Joshua, a founding member and former president of the Vancouver NAACP chapter, was also considered to have the park named after her. According to the committee’s report, Joshua lived Forth Plain Village after World War II housing in McLoughlin Heights closed. She dedicated her time to advocating for racial justice, eventually becoming the namesake for the YWCA’s Val Joshua Racial Justice Award, and taught at the Washington School for the Deaf for more than two decades. There will be a grand opening for Ida Bell Jones Park later this fall. For details, visit www.beheardvancouver.org/rose-village.