Maple Shade Apartments

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The Maple Shade complex was funded and as far as anyone knows is still owned by an Indian developer who made a number of investments up and down the American West Coast. It was only finished in 1974, just long enough for it to fill up with residents while retaining a sense of newness to it.

The neighborhood the Maple Shade was constructed in is a relatively poverty-stricken area of the SE Portland Brooklyn neighborhood. It isn't far from Winterhaven Elementary, an area that is steadily improving (unlike some of the more destitute portions of Brooklyn).



Staff

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Myrtle Connor
Manager • Apt A10
Myrtle is a divorcee and a bank manager who took the side gig of managing the apartment complex for the break in rent on her two-bedroom apartment on the third floor (Apt A10). She is rarely in the office; if she's not at work, she's at various singles mixers or attending church (she is a life-long Presbyterian). The easiest way to communicate her is through notes left for her, something facilitated by the corkboard she's hanged on her front door, which has a handful of folded notes pinned to it at any given time.
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Haywood Mane
Security • Apt A01
A Vietnam vet, Haywood is just getting back on his feet after a difficult time re-establishing a normal life for himself (including a bout of homelessness and heroin abuse). When the previous security guard Roger Milowski was brutally killed last year, the position of security went unfilled for about six months. When the Gypsy Jokers started causing problems for residents, culminating in the firebombing of the Fast-Shop, Haywood walked into Myrtle's office and insisted that she hire him for the job. Though he walks with a prosthetic leg, he has demonstrated a willingness to stand up to bikers and other riff-raff who come poking about the apartments more than once. Haywood is a quiet, unassuming man who loves dogs and makes a mean omelette.

Ground Floor

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  • Management Office: A sizeable office set aside for the use of the complex's manager, this office goes largely unoccupied.
  • Security Office: A much smaller security office is usually manned most days during normal work hours.
  • Play Area & Courtyard: A small pleasant green space where the few kids in the complex frequently play, or other residents may take in the infrequent sunshine during brighter parts of the year.
  • Sanderberg Tailory (Tailor): Mr. Noah Sanderberg (Apt A07) works in this shop with his wife Esmie, who is also a seamstress of some experience. Between the two of them, they maintain a robust service.
  • King's Salon (Beauty Salon): A small beauty salon run by Lori King and her sisters.
  • CLOSED: Formerly the Fast-Shop, this storefront was firebombed six months ago by bikers suspected of being the Gypsy Jokers, late at night when only the shop's owners, the Scott sisters Reneesha and Imani, were along doing inventory. Though both escaped with only smoke inhalation, they quickly moved away, claiming the attack was racially motivated. The storefront remained locked down as a crime scene for almost two months before the police gave the go-ahead to the complex to refurbish it, a task which has taken some time. The windows of the place are still boarded up, though contractors have been hard at work for the last month re-doing the interior.
  • Laundromat: A business run by the apartment complex, with fancy new washers and dryers, and vending machines that sell detergent and fabric softener sheets. It is lit by bad flourescent lighting, and the floor and countertops all covered in the same, off-white linoleum.
  • Apollo's Athenaeum (Bookstore): An esoteric book shop, of the sort made popular in the "Age of Aquarius." It has a loyal following of hippies and former hippies, as well as a somewhat more academic group called the Daughters of Portlandia.
  • Marisette's Garden: Formerly Excelsior Comics, this shop is owned by Marisette Davis (Apt A02), who sells plants, pots, and the in-vogue crocheted yarn-and-wooden bead hanging baskets for houseplants.

First Floor

Floorplans

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  • Apartment A01: The Milowski Family: Roger (security for complex), Emma
  • Apartment A02: (unoccupied)
  • Apartment A03: The Thomleys
  • Apartment A04: The Forrester Family: Craig, Cassidy, Emily
  • Apartment B01: Rex Bagby
  • Apartment B02: Vivian Blackstone
  • Apartment B03: Martha Schneider
  • Apartment B04: (unoccupied)
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Emma Milowski
Housewife • Apt A01
For all that she's never had any kids of her own, Emma is everybody's mom. Happy to help her neighbors out by babysitting, Emma seems most pleased when her house has a few little ones in it, and they tend to agree, given Emma's love of feeding them cake. When dealing with other adults, Emma tends to be a little on the sweetly awkward side; she doesn't have any close friends, but has plenty of neighbors with whom she's on good terms.
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Craig Forrester & his daughters Cassidy and Emily
Construction Worker widower & daughters • Apt A04
Craig is a construction worker whose wife and brother died in a car accident a few years ago. Craig spends a lot of his time working, so his social life is fairly anemic. His daughters Cassidy and Emily love dogs, and are polite, delightful young girls who spend lots of time with babysitters (mostly Emma Milowski, who adores them).
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Rex Bagby
Biker Record Seller • Apt B01
Widely regarded as possibly the most handsome man in the complex and without a doubt the coolest, Rex rides a motorcycle and works in a record shop downtown. He always has the best new music, and is usually out at the discos most evenings. He's fairly quiet spoken, though, without any of the bravado or obnoxious "party animal" ways that lots of people might expect from him, and has been known to swoop in like a guardian angel with feathered hair to help his neighbors.
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Martha Schneider
The Cat Lady • Apt B03
Syrupy sweet in personality, Martha knows everything about everyone. Despite the fact that nearly everyone knows she is an inveterate gossip, it's hard not to find oneself in conversation with her. She has a handful of cats that live with her in her apartment.

Second Floor

Floorplans

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  • Apartment A05: The Windalls: George, Shirley (Slaughter)
  • Apartment A06: Russel Diggs
  • Apartment A07: The Sandberg Family: Noah, Esmie, and son Eli.
  • Apartment A08: Ralph Carson
  • Apartment B05: The Yales: Bruce, Desiree, Malcolm
  • Apartment B06: The Denly Family: Tom, Minnie
  • Apartment B07: Estelle & Bea Kinderly (sisters)
  • Apartment B08: Lance
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Shirley Slaughter
Punk Chick • Apt A05
Brash and aggressive, Shirley takes no shit from anyone. She is very enthusiastic about the burgeoning punk scene coming out of New York and the U.K., and wishes fervently for a punk scene to take hold in Portland. She is good friends with Rose King. She lives with her dad, George, who is a trucker; her estranged mother lives in Malibu with her two younger siblings.
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Russell Diggs
The Recluse • Apt A06
A larger man with a somewhat unsettling way, Russell keeps to himself for the most part. He has a habit of watching people in a very direct manner, particularly women. He doesn't ever say anything, even in response.
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Noah Sandberg
Tailor • Apt A07
Trained by his father in a craft that is largely falling victim to high-volume clothing retail in the modern day, Noah stubbornly refuses to abandon his vocation. In the past, a man of his skill might have been immensely successful; these days, he barely scrapes by. He's a sullen man who works incredibly long hours.
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Esmie Sandberg
Seamstress • Apt A07
Noah's wife and business partner, Esmie is easily as skilled as her husband. Esmie worries about her husband's health and her son's distance, but other than continuing to keep everything afloat, there doesn't seem to be anything she can do about it. She is a gregarious woman who gets to know her neighbors; it's an open secret that she would love to host dinners, but she is an awful cook.
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Eli Sandberg
High Schooler • Apt A07
A quiet young man, Eli is largely self-sufficient, with his parents working long hours. His grades are high and he never causes trouble, but his mother worries about him: he tends to restrict himself to his room when his parents are home, and can go entire days without actually speaking to his parents.
Ralph Carson
xxx • Apt A08
xxx
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Bruce Yale
Salesman • Apt B05
A salesman at an appliance store, Bruce has a reputation around the apartment complex as being loud. When upset, his neighbors can hear him yell at his wife and son, and general consensus is that his probably violent toward her. Still, he takes care of his family, and that's more than can be said for a lot of men.
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Desiree Yale
The Housewife • Apt B05
Bruce's wife Desiree mostly keeps to herself, taking care of her husband and son. She does occasionally socialize with other women doing laundry down in the laundromat, and sometimes wistfully looks in the windows of the salon as she passes it by, but never enters it.
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Malcolm Yale
The Yale Boy • Apt B05
Eleven year old Malcolm can often be found playing with his construction truck toy set out in the courtyard. He's a quiet boy who is never rowdy or loud.
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Tom & Minnie Denly
Janitor, Waitress • Apt B06
Tom and Minnie are a young married couple. He works as a janitor at Winterhaven Elementary, while Minnie is a waitress at an Italian restaurant a couple of blocks away. They are relatively quiet and unassuming, polite without maintaining active friendships with most of their neighbors, although they do seem to welcome Emma Milowski when she pays them a visit.
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Bea & Estelle Kinderly
The Twin Teachers • Apt B07
Estelle and Bea (short for Beatrice, though she doesn't like the long version of her name) are two younger women - twin sisters, in fact - who both teach down at Winterhaven Elementary. Estelle teaches the sixth grade, and Bea teaches second grade.
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Lance
The Biker • Apt B08
No one really knows much about Lance, and that's clearly the way he prefers it. Rough around the edges, but good at keeping to himself, most of the residents assume he has been part of a biker gang - or might still be in one!

Third Floor

Floorplans

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  • Apartment A09: Scott Powers
  • Apartment A10: Myrtle Connor: Manager.
  • Apartment A11: Vincent Carlson
  • Apartment A12: Benjamin Pardo
  • Apartment B09: The Scott Sisters: Reneesha, Imani
  • Apartment B10: (unoccupied)
  • Apartment B11: The Shelton Family: Perry, Vanessa, Winnifred "Winnie" Suttle (mother-in-law)
  • Apartment B12: The Wilsons
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Scott Powers
Veteran • Apt A09
A divorcee who returned from Vietnam with lung damage necessitating his occasional use of oxygen, Scott's life is fairly simple: drinking down at the pub, visits to the VA, long hours alone spent reading military fiction.
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Vincent Carlson
Technical Engineer • Apt A11
An employee out in the Silicon Forest for Electro Scientific Industries, Vincent considers himself a forward thinking man of science. He will happily go on and on about the kinds of wondrous advances the inevitable shrinking of computers will do for society.
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Benjamin Pardo
Salesman • Apt A12
A local salesman for some industrial parts company, Benjamin is a single, handsome man regarded as very polite and chivalrous by everyone who knows him. He is always happy to give a hand with small maintenance issues, particularly for the older ladies of the building.
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Reneesha & Imani Scott
Grocers • Apt B09
Sisters Reneesha and Imani run the corner grocery in the row of shops on the ground floor of the Maple Shade complex. Reneesha is very social and frequently gone, while Imani tends to be more of a homebody, although she is being courted by a handsome man who frequently visits.
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Winnifred "Winnie" Suttle
The Gardener • Apt B11
Most of the neighbors know Winnie: she can often be found in the courtyard on nice days, enjoying a book or watching people. She maintains a couple of large pots of flowers down in the courtyard, and is happy to chat with anyone interested in a conversation. Her daughter Vanessa and Vanessa's husband Perry are in their 30s; Perry works as a tax consultant, and Vanessa works part-time at Montgomery Wards.

Fourth Floor

Floorplans

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  • Apartment A13: Jason Rubelau
  • Apartment A14: The Rutherfords: Evelyn (mother), Isaiah (son)
  • Apartment A15: Mariah Jones & Leslie Fisher
  • Apartment A16: The Garzas
  • Apartment B13: (unoccupied)
  • Apartment B14: The King Family: x
  • Apartment B15: Jamie Sinclair
  • Apartment B16: Carol Weaver
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Jamie Sinclair
Slumming Rich Girl • Apt B15
Having grown up in the "good" parts of town, Jamie moved to the Brooklyn neighborhood to get away from her parents, ostensibly moving out to attend college (aiming for a Home Economics degree). Though her parents continue to cut her checks, she has since dropped out, falling in with multiple bad elements, and a tendency to using speed. She is also notoriously racist.
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Evelyn Rutherford
Single Mother • Apt A14
A single mother, Evelyn has raised her son Isaiah for many years. She works odd jobs here and there, picking up a shift at the grocery on the street level sometimes, other times doing mending or house cleaning to make ends meet. She is cheery and good at ignoring the ugliness life has to offer; she'll happily tell anyone who'll listen that she used to do a little singing and dancing when she was younger, and would like to maybe get back into it at some point.
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Isaiah Rutherford
Student • Apt A14
A quiet young man, Isaiah graduated high school last year and has already enrolled himself in university, shooting for a journalism degree. He works in a school work-study program to help make ends meet at home, and is very protective of his mother.
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Lori King
Veteran's Wife and Beauty Shop Owner
Lori married Captain Walter King when he was stationed in Vietnam. Everyone knows that the Kings - Lori, daughter Rose, and a whole pile of Lori's female relatives, have come over to the U.S. following the disappearance of Captain King. Lori is very contentious of her dignity, and insists that her daughter is too much of an American sometimes. She owns the beauty salon on the
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Mary Pham
Grandmother
"Grandma King" (as the neighbors often call her) largely runs the household, staying at home to see to meals and many household chores, which she frequently recruits her grand-daughter into helping with. She is an old fashioned Vietnamese matriarch, and a devout Buddhist.
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Holly Pham
Auntie and Nail Specialist
Lori's sister Holly has a talent for good and fast work on manicures and pedicures. She is also an excellent cook, and quite devout, frequently going with her mother Mary to the Nam Quang Temple.
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Tammy Pham
Auntie and Hair Specialist
Always on the cutting edge of hair fashion, Tammy manages most of the hair-dos and styling at the salon, although she frequently recruits her sisters' help. She is stylish and trendy, often going out on dates. She considers her mother and older sister Holly to be hopelessly provincial. She is quite the dancer.
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Lisa Pham
Auntie and Cosmetics Specialist
An amazing painter, Lisa tends to the occasional cosmetics make-overs or preparation for weddings or proms. By and large, though, she simply assists her sisters quietly. Though much of her style is traditional Vietnamese, she has recently become fascinated with some of the art she's discovered in the museum.

Fifth Floor

Floorplans

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  • Apartment A17: (unoccupied)
  • Apartment A18: Merideth Prichett
  • Apartment A19: The Nurses: Heidi Milligan, Vickie Higgins
  • Apartment B17: The Olson Family: Harry and Nancy.
  • Apartment B18: Matthew Wright
  • Apartment B19: Lucas Beloi
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Merideth Prichett
Busybody • Apt A18
An older Christian spinster who makes it her business to know everything she can about everyone. She usually formulates Very Disapproving Opinions in short order, and doesn't hesitate to let people know about them. She's not a gossip - she is simply making sure everyone around her is as well-informed as she is.
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Vickie Higgins
Nurse • Apt A19
A hard-working young nurse, Vickie wants nothing more than to get out of her apartment. Though rooming with Heidi seemed ideal at first, her roommate as turned out to be a bona fide modern party girl, and Vickie has quickly grown to despise her (as anyone who has heard their loud arguments can attest). She has also had yelling fits with other tenants, particularly Lucas in B18, whom she claims "stole" the apartment she was supposed to get. She also dislikes dogs, considering them unsanitary, although management ignores her insistence that they should be banned from the building.
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Nancy Olson
Waitress • Apt A17
Harry's wife, Nancy works occasionally at a local diner part time. She has some kind of ties to important or rich people, but married Harry as an act of rebellion.