This gravestone above lies behind the Columbia Gorge Community College sign on the Scenic Drive curve at the college's entrance in The Dalles.  It lies outside the upper boundary of Pioneer Cemetery.

But why?

Lookout towers will be featured in the first Regional History Forum program at the Original Wasco County Courthouse Saturday, Feb. 1. Forum begins at 1:30 p.m. in the upstairs courtroom of the 1859 courthouse, 410 West 2nd Place, The Dalles.

Lloyd DeKay of White Salmon will concentrate on the Ice Age Floods that developed some of the geologic wonders and beauty we marvel at today. The History forum will take place Feb. 4, at the Original Courthouse in The Dalles at 1:30 p.m. The stunning beauty of the Columbia River Gorge is the result of 50 million years of volcanic arc eruptions, massive fissure eruptions of flood basalts, catastrophic sediment-saturated Ice Age Floods, huge landslides, and massive earthquakes.  

Lorena Trickey was a three-time winner of the McAlpin Trophy for bronc, Roman, and relay riding at Cheyenne Frontier Days. In 1925 she won the bronc riding title at Chicago and several championships at Pendleton. She was also acquitted for putting a knife to her husband, ‘Smiling Slim’.

The story of John Woodruff, The Hermit of The Dalles, wagged tongues of older people and conjured mysteries of the bogey man for the children of this gentle man that lived in a cave above the Catholic Cemetary more than 100 years ago. Learn more about his interesting life in a history forum on Saturday, Feb. 20.