From left to right: Marc Berry, Farron Brougher, Susie Conklin, Mark Cherniack, and Rose Szapszewicz enjoy the walking tours offered by the Hood River County History Museum every Friday morning through Sept. 6.
From left to right: Marc Berry, Farron Brougher, Susie Conklin, Mark Cherniack, and Rose Szapszewicz enjoy the walking tours offered by the Hood River County History Museum every Friday morning through Sept. 6.
Noah Noteboom photo
The River Daze Cafe used to be a car dealership.
Noah Noteboom photo
Marc Berry and Farron Brougher listen to tour guide Susie Conklin’s anecdote about the first gas station in Hood River.
HOOD RIVER — The Hood River County Museum is hosting walking tours around the downtown Hood River district every Friday morning through Sept. 6. Each tour will be led by a local guide who will provide commentary and facts, and bring the history of Hood River to life.
The Hood River County Museum describes the tour this way: “Walk the streets of historic downtown Hood River with a local guide. First inhabited by Chinookan-speaking tribes and then settled by those who braved the Oregon Trail, the city of Hood River is home to more than 40 pre-World War II buildings. Hear about Nathaniel and Mary Coe, the first permanent settlers whose home served as the community center, courthouse, church and funeral parlour. Learn how first the steamship, then rail and finally the new highway system shaped the town and its agricultural economy.”
I signed up to join the tour July 26 and made some history of my own. Almost exactly five years ago, when I interned at the Hood River News in the summer of 2019, I featured tour guides Buck Parker and Fran Finney in my “‘How a town came to be’: A young local’s take on the downtown history tour” article published July 24, 2019. Tour guide Susie Conklin said Parker and Finney are retiring and recruited her to lead the tours.
The tour starts at 9 a.m. at the intersection of State and Second streets. Last week, about a half dozen participants joined the walking tour. Curious to learn more Rose Szapswewicz, Farron Brougher, Marc Berry and Mark Cherniack, Conklin’s husband, who all eagerly followed Conklin’s lead around Hood River.
The tour makes a loop around downtown Hood River and you will hear stories about Lewis and Clark’s journey through the Gorge and what they found when they passed Hood River. Conklin pointed out historic buildings and locations for important moments in Hood River’s history, naming notable residents including Mary and Nathaniel Coe and Minoru Yasui.
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Tickets are $10 each and include admission to the museum down by the marina green. Walks are limited to 12 guests and you can secure your tickets at www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org.
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