In 2009, Oregon will celebrate 150 years of statehood. The sesquicentennial will be a unique opportunity to honor our past…look forward and share with each other our hopes and dreams for Oregon’s future.
—Governor Ted Kulongoski
City Matters -- by Mayor Alice Norris
Oregon City will celebrate Oregon’s 150th birthday next year with many activities, but also with the expectation that we will leave a legacy for the future. Oregon’s oldest city is just beginning to gather ideas and plan for the sesquicentennial. How can YOU participate?
- Send us ideas for Take Care of Oregon City Day, likely to be Saturday, May 16.
- Should we plant 150 trees in Oregon City? Or do 150 worthwhile things?
- Theme your 2009 event to “Sustain the Spirit” of Oregon’s birthday.
- Share your Oregon (or Oregon City) story. Tell us what you think of Oregon in poetry, music, painting or prose. Your story may appear in print or on the radio.
- Send your story to www.oregon150.org, the state’s birthday resource and activity
center. - Join the Youth Legacy Parks project and encourage our kids to rehabilitate a neglected park.
- Along with your fellow Oregonians, read Stubborn Twig by Lauren Kessler and discuss it at the OC Library in 2009.
- Look for the new postage stamp and new Pendleton blanket, issued just for Oregon’s birthday. What will Oregon City do?
- Spiff up for the sesquicentennial…clean up, fix up, plant flowers, paint, or help your neighbor.
As we appreciate the past, celebrate the present and imagine the future, our statewide Oregon 150 committee hopes to inspire us all to experience Oregon (or their inner Oregonian) and together, create a robust and sustainable future. As Oregon City schools, organizations, clubs and institutions plan ways to celebrate Oregon’s birthday in our unique community, we will also be celebrating a renewed commitment to our beloved state and her future health. Send your thoughts and creative ideas to me or Commissioner Daphne Wuest—or better yet, put your ideas to work and get the party started!