Thank you, Clarence Mershon

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Clarence Mershon who passed away on May 10, 2013. Services will be held on Monday, May 20th at 11:00 am at Bateman Carroll Funeral Chapel in Gresham.

The Portland Women's Forum- Dedication of the New Water Fountain!

May 2, 2013 was a celebration and ceremony to dedicate the new water fountain at the Portland Women's Forum. What exactly IS the Forum, and why celebrate a new water fountain? Gertrude Glutsch Jensen was the very first chairwoman of the Columbia River Gorge Commission, from 1953-1969. She was also the Portland Women's Forum "Woman of the Year" in both 1963 and 1964. Gertrude was born in May 1903 and attended first Lincoln and then Franklin High School before heading to Reed College, studying Political Science. Gertrude had one son, Fredric Jr. and was an active writer for the Oregonian, and a Realtor. She succeeded at most everything she attempted. When Gertrude visited the Columbia Scenic Gorge with her son, she fell in love. She also noticed that there was a great deal of logging and was afraid that too many industries were wanting to "set up shop" in the Gorge. Gertrude was a leading environmentalist that was "unrelenting, ferocious and constant" in her attempt to preserve the beauty of the Gorge. She was known by many as the "Angel of the Gorge" and also known to wear many, many hats. Literally. She had a huge variety of different styles of head coverings and was often sporting one at events. In May 1970 she was honored for all her efforts to preserve and limit building in the Gorge by a monument with a drinking fountain. It was created in her honor. The fountain was often frozen in the winter months, came into disrepair and eventually landed in the workshop of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept. for several years. Today a brand new ADA drinking fountain has been created and a new capstone for the original monument was rededicated, just days shy of what would have been her 110th birthday. Active since 1946, The Portland Women's Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and beautification of the Columbia River Gorge, and is made up of the principle women's organizations of Portland. The organization was founded by and is comprised of individual women. The original 3.71 acre tract for the scenic viewpoint was purchased by the Portland Women's Forum in 1956, using proceeds from fundraisers; it was donated to the state of Oregon in 1962. The original tract was the site of the old Chanticleer Inn restaurant. An additional 3.55 acres was purchased after litigation in 1970. More than 265,000 visit the viewpoint each year. Gertrude passed away from heart troubles on Dec. 27, 1986 and was responsible for preserving over 3 thousand acres in the Gorge during her lifetime.

Recent Corbett Fire Burns the Home of Charles Post!

Charles Post built his family home to enjoy the beautiful Gorge area and the lifestyle it offered. Many say that he put in an overabundance of windows in the three story home to capture as many views as possible. After several years, the Sprague family purchased the home and property on Wand Road from the Post family. In the early 1970's, Paul and Ethel Tomlin's son who had grown up just across the road purchased the home from the Sprague family. Eventually Paul and Ethel sold their home and property to Phil "Big Bear" and his wife, Judy DuFresne and they bought the the original home of Charles Post from their son. Paul and Ethel grew older and their daughter Starla and husband Thomas Daniels moved in and raised their four children in the home. On Valentine's Day this year, the home had a chimney fire during the day. The family immediately called 911, but the fire spread rapidly and burned most everything. It was a devastating loss for Starla and Thomas as well as their daughter and two grandchildren who were living with them. Soon the Daniels family will be able to rebuild. Starla's nephew will be charge of the re-build and they will keep a historic look to the exterior but will create more spacious rooms on the interior. Hoping they could salvage some of the framing, they were recently told by experts that this will not be possible, and they will use just the foundation.

Who was Charles Post??!

Charles Post purchased 10 acres of land on "Cabbage Hill" in 1910. He and his son then built a family home. In 1912, he set up a portable studio close to the Chanticleer Point Inn in the Gorge. Fortuituously, for the historian, Mr Post's photos and sketchings provide an unequalled pictorial record of the Gorge before, during and after the construction of the Columbia River Highway, which commenced in the fall of 1913 and was completed in the fall of 1915. Charles W. "Wes" Post was born in Portland on Jan. 2, 1915. He had a sister nearly five years older, and his mother gave birth to another child in 1918. Edith died during the delivery and so did the baby. Father Frank decided to let his young children, Lillian and Wes now live with their grandparents on the acreage that they had purchased for $500.00 in the Corbett area. They named their homestead "Mayview" after the daughter that had died shortly after they made the move to the Gorge from Illinois. Wes Post's grandfather was a renowned artist that had completed artwork for the Chicago World's Fair in 1896. Together Wes and his grandfather traveled extensively up and down the Gorge, sketching and taking photos of the Gorge. Wes' grandfather died unexpectedly at age 64 and the children were left under the sole care of their aging grandmother, Rosa Post. Wes graduated from Corbett High in 1932 and his grandmother died shortly thereafter. His sister Lillian had already graduated and married by this time. This information comes from "Living East of the Sandy, Volumes 1 and 2" by Clarence Mershon.