Dave Knows Portland

Archives for May 2011

History Pub (30-May-2011)

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Witch of KodakeryTrials and Triumphs of an Oregon Photographer: Myra Albert Wiggins 1869-1956, this month’s History Pub event , takes place Monday, May 30, 2011 at the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd) at 7pm.

Carole Glauber’s book, Witch of Kodakery: The Photography of Myra Albert Wiggins, is the groundbreaking biography of Myra Albert Wiggins, the successful turn of the 20th-century Oregon photographer and painter with connections to New York photographer Alfred Stieglitz and the Photo-Secession. Myra Wiggins embodied the ideal of the “new woman” – independent, energetic, and ambitious – as depicted by the Eastman Kodak Company’s “Kodak Girl” and promoted in advertisements as “The Witchery of Kodakery.” Carole has resurrected Wiggins pioneering role as an early photographer and vividly describes her need in midlife to carve a new career for herself as painter.

Join event co-sponsors Oregon Historical Society and Holy Names Heritage Center at 7pm Monday for a beer and history!

Admission is free and this event is all ages. Please bring canned food donations for the Oregon Food Bank!

Rose Festival Fireworks Spectacular (27-May-2011)

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Fireworks!The 2011 Rose Lighting Ceremony & Fireworks spectacular takes place Friday, May 27.

Portland’s downtown waterfront illuminates during the Fireworks Spectacular, the Portland Rose Festival’s kick-off event.

One of Oregon’s largest fireworks displays, this thunderous pyrotechnics show soars over CityFair beginning at nightfall.

Festivities begin at 8pm at Tom McCall Waterfront Park with a special performance by the Curtis Salgado Band.

The Rose Lighting Ceremony takes place at 9:45pm, followed at 10pm by the one of the state’s largest fireworks displays.

(After the Milk Carton Boat races – May 12, 2011 – the fireworks are my favorite part of the Rose Festival.)

Admission is free, and the good fireworks viewing can be found any place with a nice view of the Willamette River downtown.

Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 2 #1: Bobbie The Wonder Dog

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Kick Ass Oregon History: Bobbie the Wonder DogKick Ass Oregon History is the latest series of podcasts from the enthusiastic historians behind ORHistory.com.

Volume 2, episode 1 is here: Bobbie The Wonder Dog

The previous episodes:

  • Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 1 #1: The Roseburg Blast – The city of Roseburg goes up in smoke
  • Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 1 #2: The Eggs! – 1942 poisoning at the Oregon State Hospital for the Insane
  • Kick Ass Oregon History Vol 1 #3: Balloon Bombs!

The brains behind this project are the crack hustlers of Oregon History Doug Kenck-Crispin and Andy Lindberg. Doug is a graduate student studying Public History and Pacific Northwest History at PSU, and Andy, though a Portland native, is currently working as an actor in New York City. Doug does most of the research and writing for the podcasts with input from Andy, who voices the broadcasts with a thespian’s flair.

With the Kick Ass Oregon History podcast they plan to cover just the good stuff: Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and Earth Shattering, Devastating Destruction.

Ultimately, our goal is to take Oregon History out of the hallowed halls of the academy, get folks excited and enthused about this shared history, and get them out into the state, digging it and experiencing it. Get them to embrace it, and get their boots muddy in the process. It’s all OUR History; nobody owns it.

Visit ORHistory.com and stay tuned to @Oregon_History on Twitter for further details on specific episodes and the series.

KBOO’s Monday Sampler Live from Hall of Records (30-May-2011)

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KBOO at Hall of RecordsJoin KBOO at Hall of Records (3342 SE Belmont) on Monday, May 30, 2011 from 2pm until 4pm for a special live remote broadcast of The Monday Sampler radio show hosted by Matthew Clark.

The Sexy Water Spiders will perform live during the broadcast, and from the Hall of Records tap, Hopworks‘ special KBOO IPA will be available.

Oh, and of course if you can’t make it to Hall of Records on Monday (1/2 price sandwich night from 6pm to close!), tune in to 90.7 from 2pm to 4pm, listen online at KBOO.fm, or listen to the podcast after the show!

May 26, 1928: Jantzen Beach Amusement Park Grand Opening

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Jantzen Beach Grand Opening (The Morning Oregonian, 26-May-1928)With much fanfare, and expensive advertising, the Jantzen Beach amusement park opened on Saturday, May 26, 1928 (The Morning Oregonian, 26-May-1928)

With the opening of Jantzen Beach all of Oregon will welcome an amusement spot that sets as a jewel in America’s Great Outdoor Playground – the Pacific Northwest. Clear, sparkling water, over 1,000,000 gallons every eight hours, will flow into the mammoth swimming pools which are considered the finest in point of cleanliness for swimming and competition in America. They present in themselves a model for the nation to follow.

The park also featured the Big Dipper roller coaster, the largest of its kind in the west, a Tilt-a-Whirl, The Skooter bumper cars, and a spacious promenade. And the park was easy to get to:

Hop the trolley at Broadway and Washington or drive out to the Interstate bridge. You can’t miss it. Right on the highway, set in the waters of the Columbia river on Hayden island.

Visit PDXHistory.com for more of the story of Jantzen Beach, including an impressive collection of postcards and other memorabilia.