Jean Pearson keeps traffic moving at Bridge of the Gods

“A lot of things have changed — the amount of people that are coming out, the questions, the walkers on the bridge,” Pearson said. “We have more Pacific Crest Trail hikers — we have hikers from all over — and some of it is people coming out for sailboat racing, windsurfing, kayaking — they come from all over the world.”

Head toll taker since 2013, Pearson thinks the increased traffic has a lot to do with the exposure the bridge has gotten in recent years.

“Some of the adventurers, they’ll talk about the movie or the book (“Wild” by Cheryl Strayed; Reese Witherspoon starred in the onscreen version, part of which was filmed in Cascade Locks), but we’ve had other things on the bridge too — Amazing Race, Carhartt did a big commercial on the bridge — it’s just gotten more popular, and with modern-day technology and internet and stuff like that, pictures of the bridge are out there and people want to come and see it.”

Built in the 1920s, the Bridge of the Gods was not designed for walkers or bicyclists, so they must cross single-file, facing traffic.

“We do a lot of walkers and bicyclists on the bridge,” she said. “Because it is part of the Pacific Crest Trail, (the port) has allowed walkers … and more bicycle clubs come out and ride through the Gorge.”

Computers are now used to keep track of traffic crossing the bridge, but when Pearson first started, they used cash registers with receipt reels.

“A lot of our transactions, such as charge ticket book sales, were done on triple copy receipts,” she said. “Cash book sales had receipts in the back we would tear out and tally up at the end of our shifts. All the reports were done by hand.”

Compare that with how she rings up tolls today.

“You use a touch screen to enter things — you’ve got to know what category, how many axels are on a truck, and what button to push for what thing: Does it have dual wheels or is it a five axel truck? And after all that transpires, you have to be able to make change — you don’t have a screen telling you, OK, they gave you a $20 and they paid $7.50, how much change do they get? You have to be able to do that in a timely fashion. You can’t be dragging your feet because you want a lot of cars through in a minute.”

How many cars go through each minute depends more on those crossing than the toll takers.

“Questions back traffic up really fast. You’re basically a tour guide,” she said. “Public relations, being friendly, smile. That’s our main focus: Public relations and customer service.”

The most entertaining questions?

“Sometimes they think they’re on an island, and wonder if the bridge goes all the way across,” she said. “They think (Cascade Locks) is like a national park or something. But the biggest (question is): ‘Are we on an island?’”

Pearson is originally from Tonasket, Wash., located in the Okanagon Valley near the Canadian border, but has found her home in Cascade Locks.

“It’s a small community. People look out for each other,” she said. “And when it was the mills and stuff, families got together, worked together, played together. It was quite the family-oriented community.

“And we’ve got fishing and everything right out your back door,” she added. “Fishing, hunting — that’s the best of both worlds!”

When Pearson started her career with the port, she was looking for a change of pace from her restaurant job, although she did both for the first few years. She began on the swing shift, but now, as lead toll taker, she has more flexibility — and more responsibility. She manages the scheduling and hiring of the other six fulltime and part time toll takers, filling in when needed and working her own shifts. Money collected is used by the Port to stimulate the local economy and create jobs, she said.

“Most of all, I enjoy being a team player in a friendly and helpful customer service, which comes with a smile, a please and a thank-you,” she said.