Last Updated on July 4, 2026
Where are the twins now?
🔍 Can You Help Us Solve a 1930s Portland Mystery?
During the height of the Great Depression, a pair of twins was abandoned at the historic downtown Meier & Frank Store (601 SW 5th Ave., Portland, OR). I wrote this post in 2016 and I’m hoping we can learn more a decade later.
Store Foster’s Baby
This image shows Nadine Inez, featured on a vintage 1932 postcard owned by Webfooter Stephen Kenney. Stephen in 2016 asked researchers Norm Gholston and Tanya March to share this image broadly. Our ultimate goal? To find Nadine Inez, trace her story, and hopefully interview her or her descendants.
What We Know So Far:
- The Postcard: Dated 1932.
- The Store Legend: Remarkable accounts suggest that the compassionate staff at Meier & Frank actually raised at least one of these foundlings right inside the department store for two years before an official adoption took place.
- The Original Names: A breakthrough lead from February 2016 (thanks to researcher Gerry) suggests the twins were originally nicknamed EMMIE and EFFIE—a clever play on the M. and F. of Meier & Frank.
- New Evidence: The team after creating the initial blog post received a digital scan of a vintage scrapbook page via email, bringing us one step closer to uncovering their true identities.
- In Aug 25, 1935, Nadine was being raised by senior home economic teachers at Oregon State Collage.
How You Can Help?
With so many historical newspapers, police logs, and archives digitized over the last decade, the answers are out there.
If you have any information, family stories about Meier & Frank employees from the early 1930s, or leads on the names Nadine Inez, Emmie, or Effie, please leave a comment or contact the team. As we uncover more artifacts and leads, we will continue to update this post.
Please share this image and story to help us solve this beautiful piece of Portland history!