The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1917-08-01
THOUGH ROBBED OF ROSES,
PORTLAND INSISTS ON FIESTA
Her Favote Flowers Locked in the Bud by Laggard Spring
Oregon Metropolis Goes Ahead and Celebrates With More
Venturesome Posies-Then There's Always Her Pride
the Great Columbia River Highway to
Furnish Her Soace
By ZOE BnCKLEY

Portland, Ore, July S0.-(SpeciaI)- III
you were deprived of maps, you coult
tell Oregon from California by it's mer,
color. Greens replace yellows. Vast un.
dulating valleys planted with apple or
chards and vineyards lie emerald tinted
| between rich-timbered mountains. De.
prived of sight you could smell your way
into Oregon. Acres on acres of fresh
hewn forest trees sweeten the air with
a tang all their own.
Besides the scent of the sawmills there
is the ever-present hum and squeal OF
them as the train with it's two straining
engines hauls you through one mountain
pass after another.
And when you get fairly to Portland
you see great pungent-smelling log RATS
that come down the Columbia river all
alone with lights at bow and stern, to
be taken care of by somebody, sup
pose, at the end of their journey.
Oregon, 1 am told, has one-fifth of the
standing timber in the United States.
1 should think it had four-fifths, judging
from the logging camps we passed
through.
I want to come back some day and get
acquainted with the women l saw stand
ing in the doorways of their implanted
homes-big, fresh-faced matrons with
white aprons and sleeves rolled up,
sturdy wives of sturdy men.
Portland has much besides logs. 1t has
the Rose festival, Mount Hood, and CO.
lumbia river highway, and culture
Portland, I should say, is the Boston OF
the west coast.
ROSES FRIGHTENED BACK
1t is a good-looking city, with shady
residence streets, which follow the west
ern fashion of running up hill. The
houses are enormous. l should think the
pioneer families must never have had
fewer than 20 children. In the newer
sections the homes are smaller, and If
the families have diminished the taste in
architecture has not.
People had told me of Portland's Rose
festival, and by chance l arrived in it's
very midst. Two blocks on Park street
have been fenced and turned into
mosaic of flower beds. A flattering re-
PLEA of the Statue Of Liberty, all ready
to be unveiled by the push of button
beneath President Wilson's thumb,
stands in the midst, and garlands of cleo
trio lights are everywhere.
Games and children's parades, led by
j
And all Portland is to turn out, flower
decked and flagdraped to march for lib
erty and roses.
The only trouble is that there aren't
any roses. A laggard spring has left
them in unyielding buds ON all the gar
den bushes. Housewives have cajoled
and watered them in vain. They simply
would not come out
So the decorators did their best with
peonies, peoples and geraniums, prim-
roses, thyme and yellow marguerites,
putting a rose here and there for sugges-
ton.
Under the misapprehenson that l was
going to see the Columbia highway, I en-
gagged passage on a rubberneck wagon
my favorite method of seeing town
dhe Lecturers" give you so much in
teresting inofrmation, unspoiled by
facts). u
BATTING A RUBBERNECKER
We went out to the city park instead,
and then it was / learned that, even as
Portland was short on roses the captain
of the sightseeing ship was short on
facts and totally lacked magination
Ladies and gentmun," he mentioned,
hoping we were all from the far east
that there mountain you see to your
left is Mount Hood perpetnally
crowned
go on!" interrupted a voice in the
rear seat. That's Mount st. Helens.
lived at the foot of it for 80 years
Hoods to the right" We all gazed to