Friends of Mount Tabor Park celebrate its centennial

Mount Tabor Park may be 100 years old, but judging from the crowds enjoying its charms on Sunday, it's keeping up with the times.

On the last day of a weekend celebration of the Southeast Portland park's centennial, the sprawling, hilly, tree-shaded expanse was alive with bicyclists, trail hikers, kids running around the playground, neighborhood folks walking their dogs and couples stopping to admire the view of the West Hills from above one of the park's open reservoirs.

"We've had thousands of people come through the park this weekend," said Dave Hillman, as he took a break from attending to the details involved in putting on a shindig of such magnitude.

Hillman, 73, is a founding member of the group Friends of Mt. Tabor Park and a key figure in planning the centennial celebration. The hope, he said, was to bring together as wide a range of people as possible while also showcasing what makes the park unique.

So the weekend mashed together a classic car and truck show, a Pacific Crest Wind Symphony concert, a green vehicle fair, bird-watching walks, a kids' parade, an outdoor painting event and exhibit, and an ice cream social. Vendors sold food and beverages; artists sold paintings of park landscapes. And all of it was happening in Portland's only city park sited on an extinct volcano. .

About that volcano: To be specific, much of the park comprises an extinct volcanic cinder cone. According to the centennial celebration organizers, Portland and Bend are the only two cities in the continental United States that contain extinct volcanoes within their boundaries.

Among the park's other claims to fame is that its summit features a bronze statue of Harvey W. Scott, editor of The Oregonian from 1865-1872 and from 1877 until his death in 1910. The statue was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, best known as the mastermind behind the presidential sculptures at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.

Some parkgoers were fascinated by the historical angle of the celebration and checked out a display of vintage photographs. Sepia-toned images recalled farmland, early businesses and views of wide-open spaces. An old handbill sang the then-outlying area's praises: "Substantial reasons why MT. TABOR is the Best Suburban Property. First -- It is the most healthful and beautiful locality about Portland."

Then, as now, mass transit was important. "Better and quicker transportation -- fifteen minute trains into Portland for five cents fare ... No other suburb has more than one train per hour. Remember this."

But nostalgia was far from the minds of the kids who dashed around sporting colorful paper hats made by Portland Parks & Recreation staffers. The parks bureau also brought a portable climbing wall, where pint-size would-be mountaineers carefully felt for footholds.

Meanwhile, pet owners massed in preparation for the centennial celebration Dog Parade. A couple dozen spaniels, retrievers, poodles, chihuahuas, and amiable mutts trotted on leashes in front of their owners.

Back at the Friends of Mt. Tabor Park tent, Hillman said the group will donate any revenue left after covering the weekend's expenses to the city for improvements to the park.

Bertha Guptill, another founding member of the friends group, has lived near the park for more than three decades. "It gives back a lot," said Guptill, 90. "It's a park to love."

Aug. 2, 2009