Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Centennial draws thousands

THE GORGE — “Once in a lifetime,” is how many residents like Kori Walsh described the Port of Hood River Bridge Centennial celebration on Sunday, Oct. 6. After much planning and careful coordination, the port offered pedestrians the opportunity to walk across the bridge. Port of Hood River Commission President Kristi Chapman said that 4,000 people RSVP’d to walk across the bridge. Walsh and former Gorge resident Catherine Arp were two of those who signed up and said they wanted to take advantage of the unique opportunity.

“I have crossed this bridge over a thousand times in my car,” Arp said. “I’m not sure how much longer this bridge will be standing so I wanted to take this chance to walk across.”

The port waived tolls for the day and closed the bridge to vehicular traffic for three hours to give residents a different perspective of the bridge.

Former Hood River mayor Arthur Babitz drove his Model-T car from Oregon to the Washington side where he brought Marla Keethler (White Salmon mayor), Catherine Kiewit (Bingen mayor) and Jacob Anderson (Klickitat County commission chair) out to the bridge lift span for some commemorative photos. Hood River mayor Paul Blackburn and Hood River County Commission Chair Jennifer Euwer met the other local leaders in the middle. Anderson and Euwer recreated the 1924 bridge opening by exchanging boxes of fruit and shaking hands.

Other community leaders congregated on the bridge to say hello to constituents and swap stories about the bridge. Chapman, Commissioner Heather Gehring and Event Manager Gretchen Goss spearheaded the planning. Chapman spoke to the significance of the centennial: “Not only is it a great piece of infrastructure, but it’s a bridge, literally, between two states, two communities,” she said. “It’s really impacted the fruit and agriculture industry of the entire Gorge.”

Port of Hood River Executive Director Kevin Greenwood viewed the centennial as a passing of the torch from the existing bridge to the new bridge, which is expected to begin construction in late 2025.

“There’s been a huge amount of success with the replacement effort,” Greenwood said. “So part of this is also the transition from the old bridge, and the huge need to get it replaced.”

As current residents are focused on what’s next for the bridge, Sunday’s events were celebrating the past. The Hood River County History Museum set up a featured exhibit that spotlights the construction and reconstruction efforts of the Hood River Bridge. On Dec. 6, 1924, Leslie Butler drove the last spike into the newly constructed Hood River Bridge. 99 years and 10 months later, the Gorge-wide community enjoyed sunny weather to celebrate the past and welcome the future. Chapman said the port opted for an October celebration, rather than December for a number of reasons.

“It was mainly weather,” Chapman said. “And then there was other considerations that we had to look at: harvest, tourism, and then this just seemed to kind of land on the perfect weekend.”

Greenwood added that the port held conversations and created an incident safety plan with Hood River County Emergency Management Coordinator Charles Young.

Following a trip across the bridge, attendees meandered to the Marina green where guest speakers took the stage. Bridge-goers also had the opportunity to purchase “Bridge Centennial” merchandise that was designed locally.

The Hood River County Museum exhibit is currently showing images of the bridge in its earliest years, the winners of the popsicle stick bridge building competition and the 1924 article published on the bridge opening in the Hood River News.

The port will hold their next public meeting on Oct. 15 beginning at 5 p.m.