By Krystal Eldridge | 4-minute read
For more than 50 years, Oregon has benefitted from the visionary work of the leaders who worked with Oregonians all over the state to pass Senate Bills 100 and 101. This landmark effort solidified a thoughtful and intentional approach to how we build our cities and towns while protecting our farms, forests, and watersheds. We have many minds to thank for such a forward-thinking piece of legislation. This Earth Day, we honor one of these brilliant leaders: Nancie Peacocke Fadeley. Nancie chaired Oregon’s House Committee on Land Use and the Environment and helped pass SB 100.
Nancie passed away on April 7, at age 93, leaving behind a legacy that’s nearly unparalleled in Oregon for its impact on the way we live, work, and interact with the lands around us.
Nancie Peacocke Fadeley was “a name every supporter of 1000 Friends of Oregon and Senate Bill 100 should know.” In her first term in the Oregon House of Representatives, in 1971, she supported Oregon’s now-famous bottle bill, a strong hint at the environmental protections that would come from her long career, both in public service (“campaigning from sea level to ski level”) and as a private resident.
“Men [in the legislature] didn’t take environmental issues seriously. It was perfectly okay with them for women to be environmentalists – they thought that was the height of their ability.”—Nancie Peacocke Fadeley
Within two years, she volleyed for chair of the legislature's House environment committee, ensuring that she would be there to shepherd SB 100 through the legislature and into law. “The bill barely squeaked through the divided committee” but passed with bipartisan support – and every single woman legislator voted for it, regardless of party affiliation.
“Men [in the legislature] didn’t take environmental issues seriously,” she said. “It was perfectly okay with them for women to be environmentalists – they thought that was the height of their ability.” We can’t imagine a better day than Earth Day to honor her inspiring, lasting life’s work.
For Nancie, environmental legislation was just the first imprint of a mark she would leave on Oregon society. She went on to sponsor legislation that supported widowed homemakers and reaffirmed the Equal Rights Amendment in Oregon. She chartered an organization that shed light on double standards women face as they age. She worked in public radio and education. She mentored formerly incarcerated Oregonians, gave her time to the League of Women Voters, and – thankfully – shared her skills with 1000 Friends of Oregon.
“She helped me see remarkably into the distance – that for all the time, toil, and grit in our work, whether in the legislature or at plot line, that our backbone is the working lands’ friends. Those with their fingers in the dirt or fir pitch or saline shoreline.”—John Allcott
A former board member, serving with 1000 Friends of Oregon in the late 2000s, Nancie took a direct role in ensuring that Oregon’s land use system could flourish in the years after its passage. “Nancie took me under a wing,” says longtime 1000 Friends board member John Allcott. “She helped me see remarkably into the distance – that for all the time, toil, and grit in our work, whether in the legislature or at plot line, that our backbone is the working lands’ friends. Those with their fingers in the dirt or fir pitch or saline shoreline.”
As recently as last year, Nancie was back in Salem with us, celebrating the 50th anniversary of SB 100. We are so thankful for Nancie’s advocacy in the legislature and her support for our work, and humbled by one of her last acts: encouraging memorial gifts to 1000 Friends of Oregon so that we may inspire even more Oregonians to get involved in land use decisions across our state. Tributes to Nancie can be shared via her online memorial page and gifts in her honor can be made on our donation page.
Join us as we celebrate Nancie Peacocke Fadeley
1000 Friends is cohosting a special screening of An Oregon Story, an independent documentary, at the Hollywood Theatre on Thursday, May 9. The movie starts at 6:30 p.m. with a panel of community leaders and audience Q&A after.
1000 Friends of Oregon will be organizing a shuttle from Portland to Nancie’s memorial service, on Thursday, July 11, in Eugene. Please reach out to us at inquiries@friends.org to join us that day.
You may have noticed that 1000 Friends of Oregon is not participating in this year’s official Earth Day Oregon campaign. That decision came after learning that Intel would be the lead sponsor for the campaign. At this time, while we cannot participate in a campaign being funded by Intel, we continue to applaud and support the good work of all the nonprofits that are part of that campaign. You can directly support 1000 Friends of Oregon this Earth Month and always at friends.org/donate.