99 Years Ago

Jeff Alworth

Nearly a hundred years ago, in the summer of 1905, the state of Oregon was hosting the Lewis and Clark Exposition in honor of the centennial anniversary of the explorers’ journey west. In the 4 1/2 months between June and October 15, 2.5 million visitors passed through the gates. As a result, population in Oregon spiked and Portland became a boom town, tripling its size by 1920. Carl Abbott wrote that "Times in Portland have never again been so prosperous as during the years from 1905 to 1912. Every statistical indicator told the same story of sustained economic growth." Moreover, it was a time of enormous optimism and civic growth, when, for Oregonians, anything seemed possible.

What a difference 99 years make.

Next year will mark the bicentennial of Lewis and Clark’s arrival in Oregon. Plans are far more restrained. The Oregon Historical Society plans to have four exhibits marking the occasion, and Fort Clatsop is also joining the celebration. But these efforts can hardly compare.

For the centennial, planners started preparations five years before the Exposition (officially, the "Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair"), a group composed of a cohesive union of government and business leaders. The Oregon Historical Society set the date for the event, and in short order the legislature pledged to support it financially and local businesses ponied up $300,000. Eventually, thanks to support from regional partners in neighboring states, the US Congress agreed to add $475,000. Boosters launched a two-year publicity campaign, promoting Oregon and its natural bounty. The result was greater-than-expected attendance, a small profit, and one of the most successful of the many turn-of-the-century expositions.

I’m not suggesting that the state has done anything wrong by not repeating its grand gesture of a century ago. Different times pose different opportunities and challenges, and I won't second-guess why Oregonians didn't plan for a second great party. What's more stark is the situation the state and city now find themselves in. Division is the norm, and squabbles over how to raise and spend money and how to govern the behavior of citizens are what occupy our leaders. Where 100 years ago Oregonians lifted their eyes to the horizon and asked how to make the state great, now we're too busy holding each other in headlocks over tax cuts to notice there's a horizon.

After 1905, our predecessors were described as having a "buoyancy of spirit." According to historians, "this period beginning with the fair and ending with World War I was Portland's golden age." We can all take a sizeable helping of blame for the headlocks (mmm, tasty!). It's hard not to return a left jab with a right cross. But every time we decide to lower our eyes from the horizon, we lose the opportunity to think big, to join together and bring the state a needed golden age.

There's an irony here. We're so worried about the small stuff that we can't consider something vast and grand, like a world's fair. But the lesson of 1905 is that holding the vast, grand event actually solved the small stuff. Not because the event was so amazing, but because working together produces golden ages. Headlocks produce headaches.

By Jeff Alworth July 27, 2004