Archives for December 2011

People’s Holiday Craft Fair and Farmers’ Market (21-December-2011)

December 20, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

People’s Co-op (3029 SE 21st) presents a special holiday Craft Fair and Farmers’ Market this Tuesday, December 21, 2011.

Your one stop shop just got a whole lot sweeter! With farmers in the courtyard and crafters in the community room, People’s will be the place to be get your shopping done. There will be a yarn spinning demo, hot apple cider, and tasty treats to enjoy and keep you warm. Pick up your fresh produce needs straight from the farmers, your last minute gifts directly from local artists and crafters and your last minute shopping needs in the store!

The craft fair will feature something for everyone; everything from Origami to terrariums, lampshades to rugs, toys to handspun yarn. The fair runs from 2pm to 7pm.

December 20, 1843: Fremont Maps Abert Rim

December 20, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

Explorer John Charles Frémont mapped a massive fault scarp in what is now Lake County, Oregon on December 20, 1843. He named the 30 mile long fault Abert Rim, after Colonel John James Abert, his commanding officer. Topped with an 800 foot lava cap and rising 2500 feet above the valley floor and 2000 feet above adjacent Lake Abert (also named after the colonel), it is one of the largest exposed fault scarps in North America, and one of the highest in the world.

December 19, 1910: Hawthorne Bridge Opened to Traffic

December 19, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

The Hawthorne Bridge opened to traffic on December 19, 1910 (Morning Oregonian 20 December 1910).

“Let it open.”

In that pert sentence the Hawthorne bridge was accepted for the city by Mayor Simon yesterday after a discussion of minor defects in the machinery of the bridge, which for a time bid fair to delay acceptance of the viaduct for another fortnight. . .

The Mayor, other officials and bridgemen ascended on the lift 160 feet over the level of the river. Engineer Hicks, who will operate the lift for the county, handling the levers. The bridge was then officially accepted, Mayor Simon saying to Engineer Stutsman:

“I now turn this bridge over to you, Mr. Stutsman. You are now in full charge. The bridge is open to traffic.”

The 1,383 foot long Hawthorne Bridge is the oldest vertical lift bridge still operating in the country, and one of Portland’s busiest bridges. 30,000 cars and trucks, and thousands of pedestrians and cyclists cross it each day. Lifts are required approximately 200 times a month. It was designed by the engineering firm Waddell and Harrington and was constructed by the Pennsylvania Steel Co, United Engineering and Construction, and Robert Wakefield.

Stumptown Stories: Oregon’s First (Kick-Ass) Christmas (20-December-2011)

December 18, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

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!

This Tuesday, December 20, 2011, the crack hustlers of Oregon History Doug Kenck-Crispin and Andy Lindberg present Oregon’s First (Kick-Ass) Christmas.

In which 3 Men and A Baby (plus 28 other men, a girl and a dog) eat a lot of elk, get rained on and somehow stay cheery, despite not having the latest toys.

Oh, and rumor has it a very drunk Santa may make an appearance! Check out the most recent Kick Ass Oregon History podcast for a preview of what the evening has in store.

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

December 18, 1953: The Dalles Bridge Opens

December 18, 2011 by Dave Knows Leave a Comment

On Friday, December 18, 1953 automobile traffic began streaming onto The Dalles bridge (The Oregonian, 19 December 1953).

THE DALLES (Special) – Traffic in a steady stream was flowing across the newest Columbia river interstate bridge at The Dalles, opened for public use at noon Friday by the governors of Oregon and Washington, as thousands of motorists tried out Wasco county’s $4,000,000 structure located a stone’s through downstream from the are where a huge Columbia river dam is now rising.

The steel truss cantilever bridge carries U.S. 197, connecting Murdock and Dallesport on the Washington side with The Dalles. Less than four years later the completion of The Dalles Dam nearby inundated Celilo Falls.

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