Dave Knows Portland

December 14, 1915: Portland/Seattle Hockey Rivalry Begins

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Portland star Tommy Dunderdale in the Sunday Oregonian, 19 December 1915The first hockey game between a team from Portland and a team from Seattle took place on Tuesday, December 14, 1915, when the Portland Uncle Sams, also known as the Rosebuds, traveled North to face the Seattle Metropolitans (Morning Oregonian, 16 December 1915).

“It was a mighty hard game to lose, but we have the opportunity of evening up matters Friday night in the Portland Ice Hippodrome,” said Manager Savage, of the Portland hockey team, on his arrival in Portland early yesterday. His Uncle Sams received a 4 to 2 defeat at the hands of Pete Muldoon’s Seattle ice hockey team in Seattle Tuesday night.

“Up until the last 15 minutes of play we had outskated and outpointed them,” the local manager continued, “and just at a critical moment a penalty weakened our defense. Seattle scored a point and then added another within 15 seconds after the first. We tied it up and then with but four men on the ice wearing Portland uniforms we had two more points scored against us.”

Portland returned the favor, however, three nights later, defeating Seattle 5 to 2 at the Portland Ice Hippodrome (Sunday Oregonian, 19 December 1915).

1915 was the Seattle team’s inaugural year in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The Uncle Sams, also known as the Rosebuds, joined the league as the first American team in 1914.

Further reading:

December 13, 1916: Deschutes County, Oregon’s Last, Established

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Morning Oregonian headline, 14 December 1916Deschutes County, Oregon’s 36th and last created, was established on December 13, 1916 (Morning Oregonian, 14 December 1916).

SALEM, Dec. 13. – (Special.) – Oregon now has 36 counties. Upon his return from Portland tonight Governor Withycombe signed the proclamation declaring that Deschutes County is a political entity of the state, and is no longer a portion of Crook county.

Created from the western portion of Crook County, Deschutes County was named after the river which flows through it. Early fur traders referred to the river as the the Riviere des Chutes, which means River of the Falls.

December 12, 1942: Vanport’s First Residents Move In

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Photos from The Sunday Oregonian, 13 December 1942

The first residents of Vanport, the largest wartime housing development in the country, moved in on December 12, 1942 (The Sunday Oregonian, 13 December 1942).

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larson and daughter Nancy – so obviously happy they didn’t know just where or how to begin their new housekeeping venture – Saturday became the first family to occupy an apartment in fabulous Vanport City.

But their occupancy was not just that commonplace. They were the vanguard of 30 families who Saturday and Sunday were to occupy the first of the 9914 units comprised in a housing project that will in the next few months become Oregon’s second largest city . . .

But despite the optimism, problems plagued the brand new town. The housing was shoddily constructed, racial segregation was in full effect, and in 1948 The Miracle City washed away in a devastating flood.

December 11, 1950: Sale of The Oregonian to S.I. Newhouse Reported

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The Oregonian front page, 11 December 1950The first issue of The Oregonian, the oldest newspaper in continuous production west of Salt Lake City, was published on December 4, 1850. Almost exactly one hundred years later, on December 11, 1950, the paper reported its sale to Samuel I. Newhouse (The Oregonian, 11 December 1950).

The Oregonian had been founded by Thomas J. Dryer, and was sold to Henry L. Pittock ten years later. Pittock sold controlling interest of the paper to several prominent Portland businessmen, including H. W. Corbett and W. Lair Hill, in 1872. Five years later former, and future, editor Harvey W. Scott bought Corbett’s stock and Scott and Pittock together bought all the remaining stock. Until the 1950 sale ownership remained almost exclusively with the Scott and Pittock estates (Ibid.).

The sale price was over $5,000,000. The Newhouse family-owned Advance Publications still owns The Oregonian today.

December 10, 1805: Fort Clatsop Construction Begins

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William Clark's plan for Fort ClatsopConstruction of Fort Clatsop, the winter quarters for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, began on December 10, 1805.

all hands were employed at work notwithstanding the rain. Capt Clark and party returned to camp, they found the ocean to be about 7 miles from our camp… in the evening we laid the foundation of our huts.

The fort, near present day Astoria, was about fifty feet long on each side, with cabins in parallel on two sides and gates at the ends. The expedition spent over three, rainy, months in the fort. When the expedition left in Spring, 1806 they left the fort to Clatsop Chief Coboway.

A replica fort (the second, after the first burnt down) is now part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.