Last Updated on July 4, 2026
Photographer Fred DeWolfe
Every Thing She Needed was on the Block
The late Myrtle Casper was a longtime resident of the Slabtown neighborhood in Northwest Portland. Her husband, Ben Casper, owned the Saw Shop, which is now the site of the former Northwest Portland Library (2001-20025) parking lot of 2300 NW Thurman. Myrtle enjoyed spending her time shooting pool with the men at the Northwest Tavern & Pool (now McMenamins Tavern & Pool) 1716 NW 23rd Avenue. After all, what else was there for a lady to do when her husband spent his days sharpening saws?
She Loved Playing Pool
Myrtle Clara Casper was born in Kansas in 1890. She was married three times and spent much of her early years working as a housekeeper. She passed away in 1974 at the age of 83 in an apartment above her favorite pool hall. Ben died four years later at the age of 93.
A large copy of this photograph of Myrtle is displayed on the wall of McMenamins Tavern & Pool. If the tour group is small your tour guide will take you into the bar that was Myrtle’s home away from home.