Oregon Trivia & Tidbits - Page 5

Looking for Oregon trivia? Try our list Oregon little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Desmond Tutu, of South Africa, is one of the notable figures who has visited Ascension Chapel, an Episcopal church built in 1869 in Cove (pop. 594). The community is nestled at the base of Mount Fanny, which was named for one of Cove’s first settlers, Fannie McDaniel. In 1863, she became the first woman to climb the mountain.

first appeared: 11/19/2006

—In 1878, Sweet Home (pop. 8,016) measured just four blocks in size. A logging boom in the 1940s and the construction of the Green Peter and Foster dams in the 1960s boosted the town’s size and population. The community gained its name from the valley in which it lies.

first appeared: 11/5/2006

—When the U.S. Postal Service issued stamps earlier this year celebrating 40 of America’s natural and man-made wonders, Oregon superlatives appeared in three. One stamp features Crater Lake, the nation’s deepest at 1,943 feet. Another highlights the Pacific Crest Trail, which courses 2,650 miles through California, Oregon and Washington. A third features the world’s tallest trees: the coastal redwoods, which grow from California to Oregon.

first appeared: 10/22/2006

Settled in the early 1800s, the Chehalem Valley, including Newberg (pop. 18,064), is becoming known for the quality of its wines. The valley’s name comes from an American Indian word that means “valley of flowers.”

first appeared: 10/22/2006

One of just a handful of the nation’s saké producers, SakéOne built its production plant for rice-based wine in Forest Grove (pop. 17,708) in 1997. To create the Japanese-inspired wine, rice is milled and steamed, mold spores are added, and then the mixture is allowed to ferment. The American-owned company produces traditional saké wines along with fruit-infused varieties.

first appeared: 9/24/2006

Shore Acres was the name given by timber baron Louis Simpson to his property on a scenic bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, near Coos Bay (pop. 15,374). Although the two mansions that Simpson built no longer exist, his estate lives on as Shore Acres State Park. The state bought the property in 1942. Simpson's five-acre formal gardens, including the Japanese-style garden built around a 100-foot lily pond, are restored.

first appeared: 9/10/2006

Katy Steding earned a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta as a member of the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team. Steding, who graduated from high school in Lake Oswego (pop. 35,278) in 1986, also starred on the Stanford University team that won the NCAA championship in 1990.

first appeared: 9/10/2006

Guests staying at the Out ‘n’ About Treesort in Takilma, near Cave Junction (pop. 1,363), can sleep in the Treezebo, a treehouse 37 feet above the ground that’s reached by a spiral stairway leading to a platform, another staircase, a ladder, a 90-foot-long suspension bridge and finally a 45-foot-long suspension bridge. The 36-acre Treesort features 18 different treehouses.

first appeared: 9/8/2006

With just six square acres of water, Depoe Bay (pop. 1,174) on the Pacific coast has one of the world's smallest natural navigable harbors. The community also is home to a phenomenon known as the "spouting horns." This occurs when stormy weather or turbulent seas force seawater through fissures in lava beds, creating waves that resemble geysers shooting up to 60 feet high.

first appeared: 8/27/2006

Annie Creek and Annie Spring in Crater Lake National Park are named for Annie Gaines, who on Oct. 9, 1865, accompanied citizens and U.S. Army officers from Fort Klamath, north of Klamath Falls (pop. 19,462), to Crater Lake. While camping there, Gaines became the first pioneer woman to descend to the lake's waters from the cliffs, which reach heights of 2,000 feet.

first appeared: 8/13/2006

The Sara Hite Memorial Rose Garden, located near the Milwaukie Center in Milwaukie (pop. 20,490) and named for the center's former director, features more than 450 rose bushes cared for by volunteer "rose guardians." The 8-year-old garden was funded in part by supporters who purchased memorial bricks for the garden's central plaza and walkways.

first appeared: 7/30/2006

Mel Counts, who hails from Coos Bay (pop. 15,374), was a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won gold at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. A two-time All-American who attended Oregon State University, Counts was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1964, and was a member of the Celtics' winning 1964-65 and 1965-66 NBA World Championship teams.

first appeared: 7/30/2006

The USS Blueback, a Barbel-class submarine used in the filming of The Hunt for Red October, can be toured at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. Launched in 1959, the Blueback was the U.S. Navy's last non-nuclear submarine and in use for 31 years before being decommissioned. "Blueback" is a common name for sockeye salmon.

first appeared: 7/16/2006

The skateboarders who run Dreamland Skateparks, LLC, based in Lincoln City (pop. 7,437), built their first skateboard park in Portland in the 1990s. Known as the Burnside Skatepark, the park has been featured in a video game by skateboarding pro Tony Hawk. Dreamland now builds parks throughout the nation, and as far away as Austria.

first appeared: 7/2/2006

At 260 feet high and 8 feet in diameter, a Sitka spruce in Munson Creek State Natural Site near Tillamook (pop. 4,352) is one of the world's tallest spruce trees. The area, which also is home to ancient western red cedars, includes Munson Creek Falls. At 319 feet high, the waterfall is the tallest in Oregon's Coast Range mountains.

first appeared: 6/25/2006

The Iverson family began growing tulips in 1974, opening the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm near Woodburn (pop. 20,100) in the mid-1980s. Today, the family grows tulips and daffodils on 18 acres of land.

first appeared: 6/25/2006

Track and field athlete Joni Huntley, of Sheridan (pop. 3,570), earned a bronze medal in the high jump event at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, clearing the bar at 6 feet, 5.5 inches. Huntley, who attended both Oregon State University and California State University in Long Beach, also set several American indoor and outdoor high jump records during her career.

first appeared: 6/4/2006

Mary Graham and her family made a serendipitous discovery while beachcombing earlier this year on Sunset Beach, near Astoria (pop. 9,813). A wine bottle had washed ashore with a message inside. A boy from British Columbia, Canada, had tossed the sealed container into the sea in 1995 after enclosing geography tips and a request to send him a postcard.

first appeared: 5/21/2006

The voice of Coyote, a character in the native spirit world, introduces visitors at the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute near Pendleton (pop. 16,354) to the story of three American Indian tribes that have lived in this region for some 10,000 years. The institute focuses on the past, present and future of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples, now known as the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

first appeared: 5/14/2006

Carol Menken-Schaudt, a native of Jefferson (pop. 2,487), earned a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team at the 1984 Summer Olympic games in Los Angeles.

first appeared: 4/23/2006

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