Historic Hood River
Misplaced In Time?
Notes
This great image is full of fun details of life on Oak Street in the 1920s. I suspect it was taken only a few years after this image by Alva Day.
There are a few interesting mysteries here, but the one which I’m asking about concerns the symbol on the front of “The Guide Restaurant” which looks suspiciously like a fallout shelter symbol. I’ve enlarged it in the inset box above. The problem is the photo dates to long before the 1960’s. The cars seem to be 1920’s models, and the Butler Bank only operated at that address on Oak Street between 1924 and 1932, when the bank failed. I have seen this symbol in other photos all the way into the 40’s. Can you explain what it is doing on Oak Street in the 1920’s?
If you can’t solve the mystery of the symbol, tell us what you recall about civil defense shelters in Hood River County.
Charlott
I can’t see the symbol close enough to have any input.
Living in the country I don’t have an idea what they did during the area of civil defense in town, other than up there across from the swimming pool and on the side of the street above the Hood River shops was this look out tower. Now whether that was for WWII or later I can’t tell you.
In the country,k my aunt would save us all. She put tin foil over her basement windows, had us each pack a bag to keep down there, because that was where we would survive, because that was where all her zillion of jars of vegetables from the garden was canned up..
Charlott
This is definitely some sort of celebration as there is what one might call the area for speakers, etc. Flag, with greens around that area in front of the drug store. What was Dixie Bread???????????
Dan
The very first First Friday event? 🙂
Dr. Steelhead Catcher
I see a camping scene…..pup tent and "Smoky Bear hat" on possibly a Forrest ranger….could be some static camping display???
Dr. Steelhead Catcher
Correction….Forest Ranger…
l.e.
Any idea who owned The Guide Restaurant?
l.e.
That appears to be a Crag Rat shirt in the middle of the photo.
Arlen Sheldrake
Hanging near the Keir sign is a neat Union Pacific (RR) sign that I think says Union Pacific Stages, can’t tell what the diagonal word is…….on other UP signs it says Overland.
Yes, my memory of the old look out tower near the swiming pool was a WW II relic. Love the memory of the regular duck and cover drills…..get under your wooden desk to protect yourself from a nuclear blast……..and yes, we did duck and cover thinking that we were now saved…………
Sure looks like a great celebration.
judy
There was the "Yellow" and black sign indicating an area where the courthouse employees could go in the event of a "nuclear attack". It was on the wall just above the stairwell when you went down to the basement/first floor of the courthouse during the 70’s I often laughed because the little room was so small and there were no provisions, etc. we would not have lasted long. Government at work?
l.e.
In 1961, the Army Corps of Engineers began researching the production of signs for public shelters.
Blair Inc. was hired to come up with the designs. The colors yellow and black were chosen because yellow was an easy color to see by the light of a cigarette lighter.
The triangular design was chosen in late 1961. At the time, it was noted that the design already existed…….
"The circle and triangle arrangement is not new and original. Fig. 349 in Hornung, Handbook of Designs and Devices (1946) shows this same circle-triangle arrangement."
In early 1962, contracts were sent out, to begin manufacturing the signs.
spinsur
http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/signs/index.html need to look at the sign closer. it’s not a fallout sign. fallout signs have triangles that point down – presumably to the shelter.
Arthur
Excellent work finding the pup tent and the ranger in the middle of the street. I can see it now– it sure does look like a camping related display. Maybe Esther has seen something like this in the HR News archives.
I agree with spinsur that the light and dark areas in the sign are reversed from the fallout shelter design.
To answer Arlen’s question, the diagonal word on the "Union Pacific Stages" sign is "Columbia River". It is a beautiful old sign– I’m sure a collector would kill for it.
Arlen Sheldrake
Thanks Arthur. Union Pacific Stages was acquired by Overland Greyhound Lines in 1952 and yes, the sign is worth $$$ as are these pictures.
Interesting audience on the "balcony" with "stairs" going to the upper "balcony". An amazing picture…..Arlen
Jim Gray
What I found interesting besides the signs, was the guy in uniform or is it a statue on the stage and that the street looks like it is paved in concrete and that the "gutters" or next to the curb are brick pavers. Again a lot of kids attending this event. Another Cash and Carry store where the Hallmark store is now.
Jeffrey Bryant
There appear to be lots of young men in the photo. Could this be a Boy Scout related event?
Ralph
Looks like cobblestones next to the sidwalk.
Could the structure with the pup tent and soldier be a parade float?
Kate D
I am weirded out by the possible "Fallout Shelter" sign (1960’s) in a photo from the 1920’s….Maybe the photo IS from the 60’s and there’s going to be a parade of old cars?
Arthur
Looking at the photo detail again I see the office of Dr. Plyler, Chiropractor right above the symbol. I was surprised to find Hood River had a Chiropractor in the 20’s. I wonder if he had anything to do with the sign.
Arthur
The National Register app for the EL Smith Building says Dr. Plyler’s offices were there from 1926-1933.
Charlott
Every time I look at this I see something else. I definitely think now that that is a float and look up at the bank. There appears to be a man and woman standing much higher than others, could they be on some type of float that is blocked by the crowd.
Why the ladder up on the drug and meat store?
Love the little girls in the left part of the picture with their arms around each other and is that sister holding little brothers hand? Where do you suppose the lady in the middle of the picture is off to in such a rush?
Ralph
She appears to be avoiding horse apples on the road.
Esther Smith
Oh, I wish I had time to ferret out some of this information right now. I know I’ve come across all kinds of references to parades and what the highlights were and so forth. The float strikes me as a forest service display of some sort or that of some other outdoors group. I was really intrigued by the "fall-out shelter" icon, too, and tried looking it up online. There was a cracker company in the early years (I’m thinking before 1920) that had a swastika as its logo, long before the Nazis used it, and it’s probably a similar type of thing. That "fallout" symbol (which has a name, which I can’t remember) is ancient, as someone mentioned.
Anyway, I’ll try to spend some time on this sometime soon.
l.e.
This photo is like a Waldo puzzle.
Esther, it might help to know who owned the "Guide Restaurant" at the time. I wasn’t able to find any information.
I am assuming the sign is attached to the building?
Dorothy
Does anyone else remember doing duty in the tower by where the swimming pool and Mormon church are now? My sister and I were part of the volunteers for the Civil Air Patrol and we spent a few hours a week reporting all the planes that flew over. The Hood River name which I had to say when we communicated with other towers was "Alpha Foxtrot Zero Zero Red"! That would have been in the mid ’50s.