Mount Hood and the Timberline Lodge

The day began with slightly overcast skies, but Francie kept insisting that the fog would lift and we would be able to see Mount Hood.  Viv, Dick and myself were, I must admit, a bit sceptical.  However, we soon learned that she knew what she was talking about. We arrived at the Timberline Lodge which

I knew nothing about.  After being there and learning about the history, I am enthralled with this 

landmark.  It was built in 1937 and sits on the south slope of Mount Hood at 6,000 ft. above sea level. It was built to be used as a ski lodge and mountain retreat and is to this day an impressive structure. It was a WPA project and also utilized workers from the CCC.  They had 1 million dollars federal funding 

and additional funding from Federal Arts Funding for the furnishings and art.  They gave work to many hopeless craftsmen, artists and totally unskilled and untrained workers. The men and women who had skills or training took the unskilled workers under their direction and gave these people lifelong skills to help them become employed after the depression.  The designs were to enhance or reflect the nature that surrounded the lodge.  To this day original pieces of furniture are used.  The mammoth fireplaces and much of the art is just as it was back in the early days.  This is amazing because during WWII the lodge was left to deteriorate.  By 1955, Richard Kohnstamm rescued the lodge, was granted a lease and began to refurbish the lodge.  He is pictured in this photo below with a famous skier whose name escapes me and a handsome couple between Kohnstamm and the skier on the left.  While there we encountered a man and his mother who suffered significantly from Parkinson disease.  While chatting with them we learned that the couple with their young son were his father, mother and older brother.  His father had been a pilot in the war and survived only to be killed just a short time after the picture was taken while landing a plane. It was due to an error by the control tower.  He had brought his mother there with her healthcare providers to celebrate her 85th birthday.  We were able to get a picture of them in front of the picture.

We toured the rest of the lodge and saw a movie that depicted the history and construction of the facility.  After that we had a lovely lunch in the dining room on the second floor.  Finally we went outside and did catch glimpses of Mount Hood when the clouds would slip out of the way.