14
Columbia River Highway
(Cover Picture)
By ERNEST A. ROSTEL
Who could soon ’ forget the ,scenic
thrills of a motor trip over the famed
Columbia River ¿Highway where such
spectacular rock formation as Bishop’s
Cap, with its crown of lofty firs,?* is
only one of many inspiring sights?
The highway1 executes easy curves
around the towering block of basalt as
it approaches from cool, green Shep-
perd’s Dell state park with its tumbling
Young’s creek happily on its way from
upland snow fields to the mighty Co
lumbia, River of the West.
One day last month Ralph Gifford,
State Highway Commission Travel In
formation Department photographer^
found the mood of lights and shadows
just right for his latest J picture of
Bishop’s Cap, adding new photographic
beauty and meaning to a familiar sub
ject.
It is easy to understand' why t;he
grandeur of the Columbia river gorge,
the eternal beauty of Mt. Hood, Crater
Lake’s symphony in blue, the ceaseless
surf of the Pacific nurture -a pride,
strong and deep, in the hearts of Ore
gonians. W ith the nation’s expansion
westward came covered wagon trains
of heroic men and women who in days
of courage set up homes in the untried
wilderness to lay foundations for what
is the great state of Oregon today. They
took great pride in the present and the
future of their new homeland. N ot only
is this pride peculiar to native Oregon
ians and early pioneers. It soon captures
the fancy o£ those from other states
who have adopted this state as'*' theit
home in more recent years.
Trips to such impressive areas as the
Wallowa mountains of northeastern
Oregon, to the sparkling lakes and shin
ing peaks of central Oregon, to the
great outdoors of southeastern and
western Oregon and to countless other
vacation lures can only serve to in
spire all Oregonians to 'be increasingly
more proud of their state. They know
it is a privilege to live in Oregon, which
holds so much beauty for one lifetime.
"ONCE UPON A TIME”
IN OREGON
By Marcia M. Hill, School Reference
Librarian, Oregon State; Library
Speaking from a literary standpoint,
did you come to Oregon Via The Cov
ered Wagon? Perhaps you have-not
read a fiction title about Oregon since.
There are several novels that have now
become classics, although their publi
cation dates are, for the most part, in
the 193X)’s and 1^40’s. We are .sug
gesting a few for summer time ready
ing. When you travel in Oregon you
may visit one of the places mentioned.
Some of .ns- live in historic spots and
do not appreciate our surroundings. All
of us thrill to the description of a
familiar place when it appears in book
form.
Since the. daysi when William Guljen
Bryant wrote in Thanatopsis, "Where
rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound
save his own dashings— ” the Columbia
has meant "the river” to Oregonians.
It is not strange that at least two titles
contain the word river, Sw ift Flows the
River by Nard Jones and They Came to
a River by Allis McKay. Pioneer days
on the Columbia form the background
fo r Sqvift. Flows the River. The hero is
Caleb Paige, whose parents were killed
in 18 56 in the assault of the Indians
on the ,Cas£adès.. Caleb’s, ambition was
to become a river boat pilot. He had
an instinct for his chosen work. Before
he was thirty the river was his great
passion. ^Caleb’s wife, Mary, felt at
home only when she was,. surrounded
by fields, cattle and the security of
possessions. The river frightened her.
That was one reason why Caleb turned
to Victoria, who felt the excitement of
the river and understood how it could
hold a man. . Nard Jones is writing
about something he loves and Under
stands. Those who have never seen the
Columbia will-still "feel” the river and
appreciate the craftsmanship which has
gone in to th e book.
They Came to a River is the story of
the development of the apple growing