Music fans take in a Little River Band concert at Delta Park. (Photos: The Oregonian)

A contentious midterm election with the ruling party's majority at risk. An unpopular president trying to redefine the office. Racial tensions bubbling over.

So it goes for 2018 -- but it also describes the scene 40 years ago. Which certainly isn't to say nothing has changed.

The sexy fashions, the unique pastimes and obsessions, the style of political campaigning: Me Decade Americans did everything in their own way.

Want proof? Below we offer a pictorial stroll through Portland and Oregon in 1978, when President Jimmy Carter visited the state, protests filled the streets, and, yes, disco ruled.

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Portland in 1978 was still known as a working-class city, with the inner east side and what's now called the Pearl District predominantly industrial zones. Here, in a photograph taken from the Fremont Bridge, "a weak winter sun breaks through Portland's cloud cover to glisten on rail yard's rain-polished tracks and silhouette the city's downtown towers against the bright southern sky."

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The Oregonian called Portland "the pornography capital of the West Coast." Strip clubs and adult book shops were a common sight for anyone walking or driving around the city.

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In this double exposure, wrote The Oregonian in 1978, "the full moon floats lazily in the clear summer sky behind some new high-rise apartment buildings in downtown Portland."

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The Bowery Tavern's regulars had to find an alternate drinking spot one week during the summer of '78. Wrote The Oregonian's photographer: "Portland pubkeeper has closed and gone to gamble but his sign indicates he expect to be no match for Lady Luck."

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King Tut mania was sweeping the country in 1978, with the blockbuster "Treasures of Tutankh­amun" exhibit in the midst of its 2-year tour of the U.S. In this photo, "members of Portland's Dancers of the Ancient World donned the dress of Egyptians for a performance of centuries-old dances."

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A decade after civil unrest on Union Avenue (now Martin Luther King Boulevard) in Northeast Portland, the area had only deteriorated more. Wrote The Oregonian in 1978: "A proposed city of Portland project would remove all buildings on four blocks, including this one at Union Avenue and Skidmore Street, for development aimed at bringing jobs to the depressed Albina area. The neighborhood is divided over the project."

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Paulie Walnuts' walk-in closet? Nope, the jogging craze had become big business for tracksuit makers by 1978. "The warm-up suit manufacturing business started by Dick and Susan Reinhart of Lake Oswego projects $600,000 sales by end of first year," The Oregonian wrote. "The Reinharts, shown with a sample garment, moved the business out of the family home into Southeast Portland quarters."

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President Jimmy Carter waves at bystanders during his visit to Oregon. The commander-in-chief had recently said he was enjoying his job in spite of his poor poll numbers.

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Wrote The Oregonian: "The concentration of taverns and hard-liquor bars in Portland's Kenton District caused a neighborhood group to protest plans to award yet another dispenser license for the neighborhood."

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The 1970s is famous for its fashions. Here's a good example of why that is: "The crew-necked sweater called 'Hearthstone' ($29)," offered the caption to this photo, "can be combined with the 'Super Tube' cowl ($6) to create two versions of the same sweater."

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More Seventies fashions: "A gathering of whites, from sporty men's blouses to beaded white jersey evening gowns" opened a Portland show.

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Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" hit theaters in 1977. A year later, the "Annie Hall Plus" look reached Portland's fashion runways.

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Seventies decor also was distinctive. "Regula Gnehm stands in her office in the Governor Building in downtown Portland, which she and Nadine Bixel use to read palms and Tarot cards," The Oregonian photo caption offered. "She believes such an office betters the image of her calling."

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The Central Intelligence Agency faced harsh press scrutiny in the 1970s, so it began to promote itself. That included setting up a recruiting booth at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convention held at Portland's Memorial Coliseum.

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Injuries kept Trail Blazers star Bill Walton, here arriving at Portland International Airport, off the court during the 1978-79 season. He would never again suit up for the Portland franchise.

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A little piece of heaven? "Max Shillock of Portland, who recently purchased the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, took a trip by dory to view his property," The Oregonian wrote. "The wind-driven waves made landing impossible, so after a few times around the rock the party returned to shore."

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"Portland City Commissioner Francis Ivancie displays a laundry line of congratulatory note from constituents." Ivancie, now 94, served as the city's mayor from 1980 to 1985.

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A worker at Swan Island's ship-repair yard.

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"The raw material, alumina, entering the Reynolds Metals Plant as a fine sand on a conveyor belt." The Troutdale aluminum plant, built by the U.S. government during World War II, operated for nearly 60 years, employing some 800 workers at its peak. The planet closed in 2000.

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An elephant was born on May 19, 1978. Wrote The Oregonian: "Roger Henneous, elephant keeper at the Washington Park Zoo, shares a playful moment with Khun-Chorn, son of Me-Tu. Kung-Chorn, 19th baby born to Portland's pachyderms, has been separated from his mother and auntie, Pet and Belle, and is housed in the zoo's new quarantine facility, where he will learn a few manners and be weaned before sale to another zoo."

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Pinball machines, seen as vehicles for easy, untraceable cash flow for underworld figures, were illegal for years in Portland. But the diversion went legit in the late '70s.

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Portland high-school students try out retro looks.

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The Socialist Workers Party's newspaper proved to be a tough sell to downtown businessmen, The Oregonian reported.

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The Oregonian labeled the Barber Block at 532 S.E. Grand Avenue "one of Southeast Portland's oldest standing commercial structures. Built in 1890, the building served as East Portland's premier funeral home."

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Actor Bing Russell, father of Kurt Russell, owned the Portland Mavericks, an independent minor-league baseball team. In this 1978 photo, he greets Portland Civic Theater board members Bette Sinclair and Betty Herman.

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"Vapor from underground heating systems condenses as steam in the air on Portland's downtown streets during a winter cold snap," offers this photo's caption.

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Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt, later publicly disgraced when it was revealed he had sexually abused a minor, is out front here among a group biking to work. It was "Bicycle Commuter Day," long before bike commuting became widely popular in the city.

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"U.S. Marines take part in a parade staged to remind pedestrians to not jaywalk. ... Parkrose High School's state-champion basketball team also took part on the march."

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"If any Portland Interscholastic League basketball team resembled the Philadelphia 76ers' last season, it was the Jefferson Democrats," The Oregonian wrote. "Now the Demos play a pattern game much in the style of the Portland Trail Blazers. The man responsible for the Democrats' change of image is coach Bobby Harris, who took the reins at Jefferson three games into the 1976-77 season and threw out one-on-one basketball in favor of the team concept."

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All that jazz? A year after leading the Trail Blazers to the NBA Championship, head coach Jack Ramsay showcases his footwork.

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Jack Ramsay liked to showcase his '70s fashion sense. Offered The Oregonian: "Jean Ramsey takes no credit for husband Jack's latest sartorial splendor, unveiled at the Trail Blazers-Golden State Warriors game. The coach's trousers were a paisley patchwork and included every color on a pastel palette."

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Kent M. Grewe, a pre-medicine student at Oregon State University, captures the Portland Marathon in action.

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"The disco phenomenon has spread far beyond the flashing strobe lights on the dance floor," The Oregonian wrote. "There are disco records, disco scarfs, disco bags and hustle lessons. There are disco skirts, disco dresses, disco jackets and disco jewelry."

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"For 48 years, Frank Nudo was Portland's Coney King," The Oregonian wrote last year when Nudo died at age 83. "As the owner of the Hawthorne District's Nick's Famous Coney Island restaurant and bar, he dished up fully loaded hot dogs, beer, and political and sports talk to a parade of Oregon politicians, local athletes and celebrities, and everyday working men." This photo captures Nudo in 1978 at the height of his success.

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Muggings and other crimes were rife near Portland State University and in the central business district. Here, women take to the streets to call for greater official efforts to make downtown safe after dark. The New York City-based Guardian Angels would soon launch a Portland chapter that would patrol the city's downtown.

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"Neighborfair always draws a big crowd to downtown," The Oregonian wrote. "Billowing hot air balloons lifted passengers high into balmy skies above Waterfront Park for a birds-eye view of the thousands of visitors and hundreds of vendors at the annual festival. Large crowds enjoyed a variety of ethnic foods, beverages and festivities as temperatures hit 89 in Portland."

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Taking it easy on a pleasant summer day. Offered The Oregonian: "Taco snoozed in shade next to his owner as Portland's weather hit 77 degrees."

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Some parents needed reminding that "busing" did not lower the quality of education. Wrote The Oregonian: "Portland School District has not yet completed studies to determine the effect of desegregation on the achievement of black students, but officials know the average achievement of white students has not declined as a result of black children being bused into white-majority schools. Other big-city districts report the same finding."

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"Sen. Mark O. Hatfield and Mayor Neil Goldschmidt look upriver from waterfront construction during a downtown tour conducted by the mayor," The Oregonian photo caption offers. "Hatfield has expressed interest in viewing Portland economic development, and Goldschmidt quickly extended an invitation to take a tour."

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City Commissioner Connie McCready takes control of a street sweeper in Southeast Portland. In 1978, politicians temporarily taking on everyday jobs became a common stunt. (Florida gubernatorial candidate Bob Graham, for example, worked as a bellboy, a parking attendant, a bus boy, a delivery man and a tire salesman during his campaign.) McCready, a former reporter at The Oregonian, served as Portland's mayor in 1979 and '80.

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"When things warm up a little and skies begin to clear, out come the fishermen, two of whom are shown here casting a line into the Willamette River at the city dock, south of the Hawthorne Bridge."

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Supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment took to downtown Portland's streets, seeking an extension of the March 1979 ratification deadline for the constitutional amendment. A congressional resolution did extend the deadline, but the amendment still was not ratified.

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President Carter wore a Gov. Straub campaign button during his Oregon visit, but the president's support apparently didn't help Straub. State Sen. Vic Atiyeh defeated the incumbent in November.

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Anti-nuke protesters turned out to yell and chant during President Carter's Portland visit.

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Pan American World Airways ended its 29-year history in the Rose City with its last Portland-to-Hawaii flight in October 1978. A Pan Am employee's doodle said it all. "It's breaking a lot of hearts," a manager said. "Everyone has worked so hard to keep Portland on the Pan Am map. Now their efforts are going down the drain."

Pan Am ceased operations entirely in 1991.

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A Shriner marches in Portland to raise awareness of the fraternal organization's charitable work.

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Portland didn't have all the fun during the Me Decade. Eugene launched a "Bed Race" in 1978. Wrote The Oregonian: "Entries from Bon Marche and Original Joe's compete in an early heat of the first Eugene Downtown Bed Race, held on a 400-foot stretch of 10th Avenue. Sixteen beds were entered in the event, sponsored by downtown merchants."

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In this photo, Lloyd Deless, who guarded customer parking near the University of Oregon campus for a store and bank, places a time slip on car.

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Carol Probasco, an eighth-grade teacher at Creston Elementary School in Southeast Portland, "enjoys motivating students in her class," The Oregonian wrote. The paper added: "Parents occasionally frustrate her efforts."

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The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in 1978.

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Preparation for the 4-H Lamb show at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds.

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A Northeast Portland legal office sought to serve clients at low cost, "without government aid." The sign in the window listed fees for basic services.

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Carrying signs taunting the FBI and "corrupt government officials," 200 members of the Church of Scientology marched in front of the new Federal Center in Portland, where the FBI and other government agencies were headquartered. The marchers were protesting indictments against 11 fellow Scientologists.

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The upswing in Northwest Portland was underway. "Residents have dramatically resurrected the once decaying Victorian housing of the area, such as these houses on Northwest Hoyt Street," The Oregonian wrote.

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Long before the internet made information easily accessible, the Portland Public Library heralded its microfilm collection.

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"Southeast is southwest in part of Multnomah County because one is a Portland address and one is a Troutdale address," The Oregonian pointed out in 1978. Forty years later, Gresham's population is comfortably over 100,000.

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"An ultra-modern computerized traffic signal system is being installed on 82nd Avenue by the City of Portland and the Oregon Transportation Department to help solve congestion and accident problems," The Oregonian wrote. "The system will extend from Northeast Prescott to Southeast Flavel."

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Smokey the Bear visits students from Reynolds School District at an outdoor school. "Smokey spoke to the students about campfire safety and presented each with a gift."

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Winter turned icy during a 1978 cold snap. Here, a woman heads for a bus at Southwest Sixth Avenue and Morrison Street. "Many motorists abandoned their cars and boarded buses to get to work," The Oregonian wrote.

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In 1978, Al Tauscher was in his 55th year as a paid instructor at the Multnomah Athletic Club.

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On the front lines of the Sexual Revolution: "Portland attorney Steve Janik and activist Mary Beth Wilson model T-shirts the council will have on sale as part of Venereal Disease Action Week," The Oregonian wrote in April 1978. "The action week, which includes informational workshops and presentations, is designed to help combat the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases in Oregon."

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Arts and culture became a city priority in the 1970s. "Dance is just one of dozens of classes offered by the Portland Bureau of Parks," The Oregonian pointed out. "Both young and old may find that certain something they always wanted to learn."

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The best crime prevention is education. In a school presentation, The Oregonian wrote, "Beaverton High School students Pam Hoover and Barbara Friedsam improvise a shoplifting scene to show fifth- and sixth-graders at the Merle Davies school the consequences of stealing."

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Johnny Stallings as King Lear. Stallings would be a familiar sight on local stages for years.

More history

Want to dive deeper into Portland's endlessly fascinating history? Read on...

-- Portland gloried in its sexy, secret gambling dens in the 1930s: Take our walking tour

-- Why a Portland vice scandal in the 1950s riveted the nation

-- 1970s Portland was smutty, corrupt and dance-crazed

-- 1980s Portland: Gangs, skinheads loomed ... and also something special

-- Portland in the 1990s: dirty, weird, a place to disappear

-- Iconic Portland photos from the 19th century to 1940s

-- How the Hawthorne district remade itself while retaining its character, history

-- The 'real D.B. Cooper revealed: Skyjacker hunter wanted true adventure

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