For the History Buffs and Music Lovers

Photo Contributed by All together The Dalles

By: Karl Vercouteren

The last HISTORY missives were way back in February, when we had five well-attended Regional History Forum programs at the Original Courthouse.  The last MUSIC announcement was for the Cascade Singers’ “St. Pat’s at St. Pete’s” event that never happened— you'll recall that March 17, 2020 was the very day everything closed down because of COVID-19.

We’re still in the precautionary stages re: the virus.  But some things are happening.  So get out your calendar and check some links and prepare to find out what’s happening.

ORIGINAL COURTHOUSE HOLDS ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING SATURDAY, OCT. 24 AT 1:30 P.M.   There will not be a program and members are encouraged to attend via conference phone call.  The business meeting has been postponed since June.  The Courthouse was only open Saturdays during August and September this year.  Plans are to hold the annual February Regional History Forum but in an online format— watch for further info.  To renew your membership or to join in support of the Original Courthouse, and to get annual reports and contact numbers for the Oct. 24 meeting, open this file: 

ALL TOGETHER THE DALLES MURAL UNVEILING IS SATURDAY, OCT. 31, AT 11 A.M.  The Art Center’s big project, also postponed because of the virus, is finally going up on the former Tum-a-Lum/Chronicle building at 811 East 2nd Street.  I’ve kept busy during the stay-at-home days/months writing blogs about the various buildings and places depicted on Beth Kerschen’s mural.  Look up some of them at this link:  https://www.alltogetherthedalles.com/news

CASCADE SINGERS IS ALIVE AND WELL, EVEN THOUGH WE CAN’T SING FOR AWHILE.   Under the leadership of our new director, Garry Estep, we’re humming this fall!  We meet Sunday evenings, 7 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church for 45-minute rehearsals, keeping distance and wearing masks.  We will be humming our Christmas concert one of the weekends in December— with limited audiences keeping distance and wearing masks.  Watch for dates and times, and read about Christmas with the Singers in Garry’s file.

SPEAKING OF GARRY, HERE HE IS, AND HE’S DOING A HYMN MARATHON FUNDRAISER SUNDAY, OCT. 25.  The music starts at noon and continues as long as there are requests and as long as Garry lasts.  He is fine organist and plays the fine organ at Zion Lutheran Church.  The marathon is a benefit for replacement roof recently installed at Zion.  Here’s how it works. 

NATIONAL VOTES FOR WOMEN TRAIL MAP IS ANOTHER HISTORY PROJECT.  It grew out of last February’s presentation on the 19th Amendment Centennial, one of the Original Courthouse programs.  Presenter Jan Dilg challenged local historians to get on the national map— a project lifting up local people and sites having to do with equal voting rights for women.  So between All Together The Dalles blogs and other projects, I researched some possible entries, wrote about them, and submitted them for the national map.  Click on the link, zoom into Oregon, zoom into The Dalles and surrounding area, and then click on the purple circles to bring up info about early suffragists, the big push for the vote in Oregon in 1912, and the national amendment in 1920:  http://ncwhs.org/votes-for-women-trail/#trail

AND FINALLY, THE WALLDOGS PROJECT.  Carolyn Wood, Lynn Wilcox and I became “The Walldog Historians” this past summer with help from David and Kirsten Benko of the Neon Sign Museum.  We were asked to come up with possible themes for murals to be painted around The Dalles in fall of 2021.  “Walldogs” is a nickname for old-time billboard painters.  Painters will come from far and wide to do around 15 murals in one long weekend.  We came up with over 100 ideas and boiled them down to 30 that we then researched and wrote up.  Next, between our sense of “must do” murals and the decisions of the larger committee organized by The Dalles Main Street, the final 15 mural themes will be chosen and given to lead designers/painters from the Walldogs.  A “teaser” mural on the wall west of the City Hall parking lot was completed the first weekend in October, just as a warm-up for the 2021 event.  Doesn’t it look great?!  Here’s the link to learn more about the project:  https://www.thedallesmainstreet.org/walldogs