January 19, 2019
Hello ,
Hope all is well with you this week. I've been traveling again, and not getting any work done.
But seeing some interesting things while driving to Vancouver, WA for the Oregon/Washington library conference.
Many are familiar with the famous Multnomah Falls east of Portland, Oregon, but on this trip along the
Columbia Gorge I had the chance to see a series of five waterfalls including Horsetail, where we took a short hike up the cliffs to see Ponytail Falls which feeds into Horsetail.
This photo doesn't do justice to the way the spring sunshine sparkled in the water spray from the falls.
The views from the cliffs were spectacular as we traveled the winding curves of Historic U.S. Route 30 in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
Leaving the scenic area and arriving in Troutdale, O.R., we spent the night at McMenamins' Edgefield Hotel. I run the risk of sounding like an advertisement here, but this place is charming! I'd visited before and looked very much forward to chance to stay for the night.
Edgefield was built in 1911 as the county poor farm, and the original buildings have been restored throughout the 74-acre piece of land. At the height of the Depression the farm housed six-hundred people.
The purpose and intent of the project when it opened was to help the indigent become self-sufficient through farming. This "back to the land" social welfare offered the poor fresh air and country living and the chance to
provide for themselves by growing their own food.
According to the Oregon Encyclopedia, 'By 1914, the Poor Farm was a success on paper. It housed 302 residents and managed a herd of Holstein dairy cows, 100 Duroc hogs (that ate the leftovers from the dining room), 420 Plymouth Rock hens, and 225 chickens. The crops, vegetables, fruit, hay, grain, eggs, and twenty-seven acres of potatoes were shared with the county jail (which provided some trustees to work in the fields), a hospital, and a juvenile
home."
We stayed in a spacious room on the first floor. Apparently, during the most crowded years at the farm, residents lived three or four to a room.
I enjoyed my morning coffee and pasty on the grand front porch, lined with comfortable rocking chairs and bistro tables.
I'll be traveling against next week, but also hope to get some work done! I do plan to have some great stories coming up for you, so please stay tuned.
In closing, this day in history, April 19, 1943, marks the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which I wrote about in Irena's Children.
Until next week...
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