By Lloyd Musser, The Mountain Times
There is good news and not-so-good news from the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum, AKA The Museum. The good news is that Dave Winterling has been hired as the Executive Director. Dave is also the volunteer President of the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol.
The not-so-good news is that the Museum has depleted the reserved maintenance account due to three unplanned building maintenance issues. The first issue involved testing the emergency systems associated with the elevator. The elevator was installed in 2010 and tested at that time, but apparently the State records do not indicate the elevator was tested. The unplanned tests cost over $4,000. The Museum is heated with two furnaces. One furnace, in early December, wore out and needed to be replaced at an estimated cost of about $10,000. The motherboard on the second furnace burned out before the first furnace could be replaced. What are the odds of both furnaces being out of commission at the same time? It was cold in the Museum for a few days but both furnaces are working now. The unplanned elevator testing, furnace replacement and the repairs to the second furnace more than depleted the Maintenance Reserve Fund. The Museum is therefore seeking donations to the Maintenance Reserve Fund, and hoping the bad news stops at three incidents.
As we enter the year 2025, we do not know what will occur during the coming year, but as historians we can look back in time. The year 1925 was a significant year in the history of the Mount Hood area. The Oregon Highway Commission and Clackamas, Hood River, and Multnomah Counties started building sections of the Mount Hood Loop Highway in 1915. Completion of the Loop Highway in 1925 was an accomplishment and celebrated by many Oregonians by driving the new Loop Highway that summer. There were not many places to eat or stay overnight on the Loop Highway. The five accommodations along the Sandy to Government Camp section that offered rooms and meals were Welches Hotel, Twaney’s Mountain Home, Faubion’s Casa Monte, Rhododendron Inn, and the Government Camp Hotel, all of which had been established in the early 1900s.
The Portland Ad Club, in 1925, sponsored a promotion to make Mount Hood a nationally known winter playground. At the time the Ad Club did this there were no winter sports facilities on Mount Hood and no highway snow removal. The Ad Club’s vision helped change the lack of snow sports facilities and programs. The Oregon Highway Commission started doing highway snow removal to Government Camp in the winter of 1926. Everett Sickler built the Battle Axe Inn in 1925. The Battle Axe Inn was a large full-service winter and summer resort in the village of Government Camp. This rustic facility included a large lobby, sleeping rooms, curio shop, dining room, lunch counter, a taproom, grocery, and a dance hall. Outside the building was a 1500’ dual toboggan run that provided thrills in the snow. Sadly, this popular landmark was destroyed by fire in 1950.
Many recreation cabins were built in 1925. World War I was over and the 1930s depression had not started yet. People had money and the road to Mount Hood had been vastly improved and promoted as an all-weather road. Hundreds of cabins were under construction between Government Camp and Alder Creek. Henry Steiner built his second log cabin in 1925, and went on to build about 80 more log cabins over the next 25 years. Mount Hood would not quite be a winter playground just yet. Winter sports facilities and activity would begin to grow in 1926 when the Oregon Highway Commission began snowplowing the highway to Government Camp.
Will the year 2025 bring any significant improvements to Mount Hood? Perhaps construction of the proposed tram from Government Camp to Timberline Lodge will start. Maybe reconstruction of Welches Road will become a reality. Construction of more low-cost housing would be welcomed. Only time will tell if the year 2025 will be as significant as the year 1925 was to the history of Mount Hood.
Lloyd Musser is a volunteer of the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum.