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"Loving Oregon…" (2/12/04)

Go to previous or next Bob Welch column.

About this page…
The exploding whale is a favorite topic of Register-Guard columnist Bob Welch. It was mentioned in the following column in February 2004. Excerpts can be viewed in the thumbnail and transcriptions below.

Page 1D:
Welch Feb 2004


Thursday, February 14, 2004

On its birthday, loving Oregon even at its worst

By BOB WELCH
The Register-Guard

Each year, around Valentine’s Day, I write something about Oregon to commemorate our birthday.

Now, to celebrate our 145th on Saturday, a twist: the 15 worst decisions made by Oregonians, with the reminder that if you love a place, you have to love it even at its worst:

[elided]

  • The then-Oregon Highway Division blowing up a whale with dynamite in Florence, the blubber-splatting, window-shattering ultimate in “seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time” thinking (1970). The video images of the explosion still attract so many Web surfers that, earlier this month, high volumes jammed the site (www.hackstadt.com/features/whale/1).

[elided]

© 2004 Register-Guard

Note:
1 The URL cited by Welch is no longer valid. It appears as it did in the article, but it links to the new address for that website.