Historic Hood River
Powerdale Dedication
7-15-2013
Notes
Welcome to “Electricity Week” at Historic Hood River.
I believe this image shows the dedication of the Powerdale Dam and powerhouse in 1923. There are a few other frames which make it clear the location is just upriver from the Mt. Hood Railroad bridge across the Hood River.
With a few notable interruptions due to floods or burst pipes, the powerhouse generated electricity until the flood of November 2006. The dam and much of the pipe was removed in 2010, though the powerhouse is still here.
spinsur
Are those cars above the bare slope in the background? Any idea what the machine is at picture left?
charlott
My guess the machine would have something to do with generating power. Cars, I don’t know, as there wouldn’t be any roads on the other side of the river until you got clear to the top. You must have good eyes to see them.
Look at the variety of head gear……
Arlen Sheldrake
A very important piece of HR history…..still on my "to do" list is developing an article for our National Railway Historical Society newsletter on the role the MHRR had in building both the power house and dam. I understand that the PP&L archives has a lot of pictures. I understand that the pipe was removed after the railroad discovered that the easement was only for the duration that the pipe was being used.
What are the plans for the powerhouse?
Yes, love the hats.
spinsur
As far as I know, Arlen, there are no plans yet for the property, let alone the powerhouse. No money for development or maintenance. Biggest issue right now, is the MHRR’s concerns w/ limiting access across and along their tracks from a liability standpoint. It appears to me, that any funds available first will have to deal with this issue before proceeding to a "park" development. The Copper Dam site has access issues to be resolved also prior to development.
Dan
I believe those cars you see are actually traveling on what is now hwy.35
Arthur
Dan is correct, those cars are climbing the eastside grade. Other frames in the series make it clear we’re looking ENE, and we’re actually on a sandbar on the west side of the Hood River, across from the powerhouse. The "machiine" spinsur asked about looks like a pair of light bulbs with some knife switches and rheostats. My guess is that at the appropriate time someone flipped the switch and the lights came on, proving the generator was working.
charlott
Okay, I thought we were looking directly across the river towards the east end of Hood River proper.
Someone said the power house was a haven for snakes….
Jill Stanford
There is a small boy on the ‘stage" wearing a Scotch cap – and he has a piece of paper. I wonder if he was going to read a poem or the decication or something? All the men have hats on — my father told me that no gentleman was EVER seen without a hat on.
Arlen Sheldrake
Speaking of hats, Arthur can you read what is imprinted on those five military type hats in the audience? Are they VFW or ?
Jill, any idea where that hat "rule" came from?
Arthur
The hats are "Kiwanis"
Jill Stanford
I think Arlen is was written by the same person who said no lady ever left the house without her gloves (white in the summer and black in the winter) on. 🙂
The fashion rules of yesterday were pretty strict, weren’t they?!
Charlott
Always a trip to Portland meant hat, gloves and high heels. Also church and funerals. I sometimes miss those days when I see how people "slop" around. Women when I was growing up would have never even thought about wearing shorts………….
Lesa
Great grandma, Maryann Zimmerman Roberts, came to Hood River, cir. 1914, from Edgar, Wisconsin, to be near her sister, Carrie Zimmerman-Rouget, whose husband, Amos Rouget, was one of the builders of the power house & dam. Auntie Carrie had lived in a very nice home in Chicago, before coming out West. She had to get used to living in a tar paper shack, down where the dam used to be. I have some pretty funky pictures of their shack.
The old partly balding man, with glasses, seated on the right, looking down at his lap, with his hat in his hand, looks like Uncle Amos.
l.e.
Is that elderly gentleman falling off of the podium?
Jeffrey W Bryant
An article for the Power Plant dedication can be found at:
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1923-05-17/ed-1/seq-1/
Basaltgrouse
I question whether this image is reversed. If that is east side grade "SR35" and we are looking from the west side of the river to the east side, the river should not be flowing from the left and the sun should not be from high left (North). It doesn’t add up. Perhaps the plates or negative was flipped.