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History Pub

 

Good food, beer, wine and good spirits were on hand at a standing room only History Pub lecture on Monday, March 29, 2010 at the McMenamins Kennedy School.  Well over 300 people attended the presentation titled “The Columbia River Highway: Its History, Decline, and Preservation.”  Speakers included: Robert Hadlow, PhD, Senior Historian, Oregon Department of Transportation; David Sell, retired from Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration and George Fekaris, a current employee of Western Federal Lands Highway Division.

The audience was treated to historic photographs of the highway and its scenic points during the construction, use and later demise of some portions of the highway.  Plans and ideas for the restoration and reconnection of various segments, including the Mitchell Point Tunnel, were presented.  

At intermission, Jeanette Kloos, President of the Friends of the Historic Columbia River Highway invited people to learn more about the Historic Columbia River Highway and the Friends at a display table in the hallway.

Eliza E. Canty-Jones editor of the Oregon Historical Quarterly, published by the Oregon Historical Society which is a cosponsor of History Pub, commented that “it was one of our busiest and most informative History Pubs.  I loved it.”  George Fekaris declared “What a great turnout!  I was just bowled over.  We had some great questions.”  Bob Hadlow had the last word, saying that the highway “is an important part of our past that we need to keep for future generations.”

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