Historic Hood River
Where What?
2-6-2020
Notes
I’m going to make some big guesses here. I think this may be just east of Hood River, about halfway between the Hood River Inn and the China Gorge Restaurant. The photo is from April 1939, and the bushels seem to be full of bulbs and tubers. My guess is Alva Day and his friends at the Game Protective Association are planting some wetland species to enhance waterfowl activity in the area. What do you think?
If I’m correct, their work was probably largely undone about ten years later when construction started on the river level highway.
nels
Any ideas on the bulbs or the large potato like things? One basket of greenery
and the proverbial dog.
ArthurB
nels, I was expecting you to answer that question.
nels
When you are working with these various pics, how large are they for you?
I assumed you could see more detail than we can. I helped on planting that area one spring and went to see some odf them later washed out on the Hood
River banks.
Bust those bombs look like coconuts or very large avocados! Can't imagine what they could be planting there. Probably willow shoots in that front basket.
L.E.
That is interesting. The small bulbs could be Wapato. Ducks and geese don't really eat potatoes. Maybe small ones lying on top of the ground. I wonder if it could be habitat for pheasants.
ArthurB
I sent a copy of the image to the Hood River Watershed Group. Let's see what they can ID.
The “potatoes” look a little more round and fuzzy than potatoes, but I don't have a great view.
ArthurB
I showed the image to a few people familiar with wetland species, but they couldn't ID the plants. I guess it will remain a mystery.