• Home
  • Archives

Dave Knows Portland

Subscribe to Dave Knows Portland by Email

Archives for December 2011

December 31, 1915: Prohibition Eve in Oregon

December 31, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Morning Oregonian headline, 31 December 1915Three years before Prohibition took effect nationwide, the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed the Anderson Act, which prohibited the consumption and sale of alcohol in Oregon after December 31, 1915.

On the last day Oregonians could legally consume a beer, the Morning Oregonian employed the death penalty metaphor:

Here we are at the saloon’s last day on Oregon earth.

The gibbet is ready. The rope is rigged and tested. All the formalities of the execution are arranged.

Capital punishment has been taken off the shelf for the great occasion, and it will be a public hanging.

January 1, 1916 was a dark day in Oregon history.

Of course, prohibition was a failure – soon enterprising individuals -and organized crime- filled the void with illegal stills, rumrunning, and speakeasies.

Mercifully in 1933 the failed experiment was repealed on both the federal level and in Oregon.

In Oregon this did not, however, mark the end of government control of liquor – the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) was established that year, and continues operating today, to selectively regulate liquor production and sale throughout the state.

Cartoon on Morning Oregonian front page, 31 December 1915

Oregon Zoo Free Admission Day (2-January-2012)

December 30, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Oregon ZooThe Oregon Zoo rings in the new year with Free Admission Day on Monday, January 2, 2012 from 9am to 4pm.

Many schools and businesses will be closed for the New Year’s holiday, so enjoy your time off with a free day at the zoo!

Stumptown Stories: Mythology of Daily Life or “How Beer Saved the World” (3-January-2012)

December 30, 2011 by Dave 2 Comments

Stumptown Stories: Mythology of Daily Life or "How Beer Saved the World"The Stumptown Stories series, geared to everyone who loves this city we live in, takes place most Tuesdays at Jack London bar (basement of the Rialto, SW 4th and Alder). Free to get in, but must be 21 or over – there’s a full bar!

The inaugural 2012 installment takes place this Tuesday, January 3. The topic is Mythology of Daily Life or “How Beer Saved the World.”

Mythologist Kate Bruner defines myth and speaks to how it has affected much of daily lives. Learn why a coward is called, “yellow” and what African mythology has to do with Bugs Bunny, along with why we use the term “werewolf” instead of “manwolf”.

Doors open at 5pm for this free event (21 and over only). Presentation begins at 7:30pm.

December 30, 1950: Governor McKay Dedicates New Sauvie Island Bridge

December 30, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Sauvie Island span dedication photos and headline in The Oregonian, 31 December 1950The Sauvie Island Bridge, the first physical link between the island and the mainland in the island’s history, was officially opened with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at noon on Saturday, December 30, 1950 (The Sunday Oregonian, 31 December 1950).

Sauvies islanders Saturday dedicated the new bridge which has ended their 100-year isolation from the mainland.

Mrs. J. W. Frater, mother of Governor Douglas McKay and early day resident of the island, cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the bridge to traffic.

Governor McKay, who lived on the island as a boy, in a dedicatory speech called the $900,000 bridge one step in a giant building program which will be necessary to put Oregon’s highway network in the shape to meet the demands of the state’s increased population and industrial growth.

The bridge replaced a nearly 100 year old ferry service, which had its last run on Sunday, December 31, 1950. A new bridge replaced the original in 2008.

Back Fence PDX (23-January-2012)

December 29, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Back Fence PDXThe first Back Fence PDX story telling show of 2012 takes place on Monday, January 23.

Story telling show? How’s that work?:

Our Back Fence Storytelling event is the kissing cousin to San Francisco’s Porchlight Storytelling Series. It is an evening with seven people telling true, unmemorized ten-minute stories based on the month’s theme. The stories must not have been performed publicly prior to their Back Fence PDX telling.

Heather and I have thoroughly enjoyed the several Back Fence PDX productions we’ve been to. For one thing free cupcakes from Saint Cupcake make the rounds at intermissions. The story tellers are always courageous and their stories are often amusing, always entertaining, and sometimes gut wrenching or cringe inducing – you really don’t know what to expect!

The theme of the January show is I Didn’t Think This Through. The lineup includes best selling author Laurie Notaro, comedianMary Van Note, photographer Carli Davidson, and more!

And, thanks to a generous grant from Portland Center Stage, admission to this installment of Back Fence PDX is FREE – tickets will become available on Tuesday, January 3 at 10am!

Next Page »

Dave Knows Portland Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in