Way back in 1940 or ’41, I made
a fast walking trip up
and down the
basin of the Columbia River and its
tributaries,the Snake, the Hood,
Willamette, Yakima and the Klickitat,
making up little songs about what
I seen.
    

   I made up 26 songs about the
Bonneville dam, Grand Coulee dam,
and the thunderous foamy waters of
the rapids and cascades, the wild
and windward watersprays from the
high Sheliloh falls, and the folks
living in the little shack house
just about a mile from the end of
the line.

   The Department of Interior
folks got ahold of me and took me
into clothes closet there at the
Bonneville Power Administration
house in Portland and melted my
songs down onto records.

       --Woody Guthrie
          Daily People's World
          April 28, 1947                                                                  

 

 

Recently Added Items

Construction of Fish Ladder at Bonneville Dam

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Construction of Washington Shore Fish Ladder at downstream end of Bonneville Dam.

Portland Auto Camp

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Photograph of cottages at Portland Auto Camp, located 9000 NE Union (now MLK) in Portland Oregon

Rock sculpture at Woody Guthrie Circle

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Photograph of rock sculpture at Woody Guthrie Circle. Engraved with lyrics from Roll On, Columbia by Woody Guthrie.