Wikipedia: "The Oregon Centennial was the 100th anniversary of the statehood of the U.S. state of Oregon. The day of the anniversary was February 14, 1959, but centennial events took place throughout the year. Festivities where held all over the state, with the major attractions at the Oregon Centennial Exposition and International Trade Fair in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland, which took place from June 10 to September 17, 1959. The exposition's theme was 'Frontier of the Future.'" Of course every reader of Danny's Land (and the Journal of Ride Theory) are vitally concerned with expositions and fairs. What may be of special interest, however, is one of the last artifacts of the Oregon Centennial still standing, the statue of Paul Bunyon in the Kenton neighborhood and the crucial role your representative ride theorists have played in its history.

The oldest image I've found of our Paul...


The above may have been his original paint job, but maybe not. The below image isn't especially recent either...


... and features some pretty dramatic eyelashes, a hankie in his back pocket (see below) and checkered shirt courtesy of a repainting by a local Boy Scout troop. The eyelashes are gone now...


... but the hankie remains. In 2002 the statue was moved to make way for a new public transit train. Trevor Blake and Dan Howland were there!


We were treated to a brief presentation by the son of the man who made the statue...


... and a chance to see what was under the big man's feet...


... before the whole operation was moved dozens of feet forward...


... hankie and all. I like to think Paul has moved slightly closer to the dangerous Oregon / Washington border and is thus slightly more menacing to the Northern Aggressors.

Labels: portland