by hoot ramsey
The Oregon of February 14, 1859, was a vast wilderness, slowly taking on a patchwork of farms and small settlements. Pioneers coming west from more settled parts of the continent formed a government that embodied their aspirations and ambitions for the new land they would call home. It reflected what they had experienced before embarking on the arduous physical and emotional journey across a continent rife with peril and lacking pity.
As early as the 1840s, pioneers were seen along the Columbia River with the first wagon, driven by Dr. Robert Newell, making its way across the plains to the river in 1840. In 1843 the first large wagon train came through, carrying more than 800 people to the area. That fall, transportation routes began to appear throughout the territory, and Oregon was well on its way to becoming recognized as a state.
JOURNEY OF HUMAN SPIRIT
Citizens of modern day Oregon have much to celebrate, reaping the benefits of the weeks, months and years of hardship endured by their forefathers while travelling across the continent. They enjoy mobility in ways that could not have been foreseen by those early settlers in the vast Western wilderness. All that is modern in the state is owed to those men and women who sustained the journey of the human spirit, and gave it life beyond their own years.
In January 2007, Governor Ted Kulongoski embraced the vision and plan presented to him by the board of directors of Oregon 150, a non-profit corporation charged with implementing the sesquicentennial celebration. Since its inception, the plan has been invaluable as a guideline for community groups statewide in their efforts to provide meaningful public celebrations throughout the year…
