Better late than never: Oregon town hosts Centennial+1

Postmark Pursuit by Molly Goad

A community in Mount Hood, Ore., is having a belated birthday party, and there’s a postmark to commemorate the event.

The small town of Rhododendron, Ore., celebrated 100 years in 2020, but it had to cancel its events because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But this proud community wasn’t going to let that setback derail its plans altogether, so the Community Planning Organization regrouped and held a new celebration, called Centennial+1, on Aug. 14.

The community was named Rhododendron on Jan. 26, 1920, but the land’s story goes way back. According to the Community Planning Organization, “Indigenous people have inhabited this area for thousands of years … The area around what is now Rhododendron was a traditional gathering place for various tribes who hunted and gathered food and traded with each other … [It] was, and still is, an important spiritual, cultural and economic location where many of the tribes meet.”

The Aug. 14 events included a pop-up museum, a plant sale, history book sale, information booths and free activities.

The festivities coincided with the annual Steiner cabin tours, which brings visitors from all over to view the historic log cabins. The cabins were handcrafted by Henry Steiner and family in the 1930s and 1940s.

The postmark for Centennial+1 was drawn by local artist Sue Allen and features a depiction of a Steiner cabin and the town’s namesake plant.

To obtain the postmark, address your request to: RHODODENDRON Station, Postmaster, 73287 E. Highway 26, Rhododendron, OR 97049-9998, Aug. 14.

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