Historic Hood River
Belly Flop Contest?
3-15-2013
Notes
Was your first reaction “Cool!” or “that looks dangerous”? We’re viewing summer fun at Koberg Beach, with Stanley Rock in the background.
A small advertisement: I’ll be giving a lecture based on the Museum’s photo collection next Tuesday, March 19th, at 6:30 PM at Springhouse Cellars (by the train station). Doors open at 6:00. It’s the final lecture in this year’s “Sense of Place” lectures sponsored by the Columbia Gorge Earth Center.
charlott
What a place that must have been in its hay day. I am fairly certain that the young man on the top tier, playing life guard is Price Koberg himself. He was an extremely capable swimmer.
Probably Norma and Judy know about all of this. Isn’t just above and to the left of the top tier, where the "gutsy" boys used to dive off of Stanley Rock. Yes, my husband included……I think that is where Spencer Erickson injured his neck………………..right or wrong?
l.e.
That is quite an ingenious platform.
Nothing like hometown swimming holes for memories. You can feel the heat of the sand.
Interesting high level water marks on the rocks.
Judy
Many so-called "divers" were injured at Koberg Beach. Our Museum has some really nice memorabilia from that era on display. COME ON DOWN! We are open year ’round now – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day.
Barbara
There was an oval concrete swimming pool on TOP of Stanley Rock.. Pat Clark took our health class to the beach around 1957, and some of us climbed the face of the rock and found the empty pool. Somebody explained that the Kobergs has their house up there, too. How on earth did they dig the pool and get the concrete up there? Is there a photo of their house?
Buzz
Yes, this is where Spencer was seriously injured. Believe it was Aug. ’56 and hot.weather. Football practice had started and coach Kindred didn’t allow us to swim once football started. But Spencer went anyway. Had many good times swimming and waterskiing from Kobergs in late 50’s. And yes, Dick Jones was one of us "gutsy" fools who used to jump off the rocks. There was no diving platform at Kobergs at that time, and they didn’t require us to pass an IQ test before we pulled many stunts in our youth.
charlott
It is rather amazing that more of you lived after things such as that. Such as Dick and Barney walking across the river on the ice. They got scared after they across and decided might not be smart to return the same way………well, neither had any money, but walked across the bridge to the toll house, explained to the toll taker what they had done and he let them pass free of charge…………..All of you would have failed an IQ test…..
l.e.
Well, Charlott…at least they weren’t sitting in the house watching TV or playing computer games.
Of course….you don’t get hurt and risk your life doing those two things.
charlott
Alright, Terry says that Spencer broke his neck when he dove in on the west end of the beach and hit one of the old cribs that was just under the surface of the water. Yes, he said he also dove off the rock, but only went half way up to do it. Did anyone actually ever go off the top?
Darlene Boggs
Very nice action shot! I was on the stern-wheeler tour out of Cascade Locks in July 2014 and saw a platform very much like this off shore in front of a Native American fishing camp, with about a dozen young boys diving off the top