The Mightiest Wind: The 1962 Columbus Day Storm
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Presented by Portland General Electric   The Mightiest Wind: The 1962 Columbus Day Storm 50th Anniversary Exhibit Opening October 12, 2012 In 2012, the Oregon Historical Society will open an exhibit commemorating this notorious Columbus Day Storm that hit Oregon over 49 years ago. October 12, 2012 will mark the 50th anniversary of The Storm, which is regarded as the most powerful weather event in modern Oregon history.
The Storm brought widespread devastation to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Wind gusts in Portland reached 116 miles per hour in Portland, 127 miles per hour in Corvallis, and gusts in excess of 145 miles per hour were registered at Cape Blanco on the Oregon coast. Nearly 50 fatalities were attributed to The Storm, more than any other Pacific Northwest weather event in history. The Storm also blew down over 11 billion board feet of timber in northern California, Oregon, and Washington combined. The Columbus Day Storm damaged countless buildings across Oregon, with the State Capitol grounds in Salem and the state's college campuses being hit especially hard. Economic damage caused by The Storm has been estimated at $6 billion in today's dollars. The Storm also forced portions of Oregon to rebuild their power systems from the ground up, with some locations going without power for several weeks.
Contribute to the Exhibit The Oregon Historical Society will be displaying photographs and artifacts from its collections to tell the story of an event that changed the lives of many Oregonians. However, to tell the complete story, OHS needs the help of all Oregonians who remember The Storm.
OHS is looking for submissions of photographs, film footage, diary entries, artifacts, or personal memories of the Columbus Day Storm 50 years ago. In addition to images and stories, we are very interested in finding artifacts for the exhibit. This could be a household item that survived the storm, something that was found in the wreckage, a souvenir, or memento.
If you have something that you would like to contribute, please fill out this online survey, or fill out and return the exhibit submission form to OHS (1200 SW Park Ave., Portland, OR 97205).
Unfortunately OHS will not be able to include everything in the exhibit. If your artifact or story is selected for inclusion a representative of the Oregon Historical Society will contact you before March 31, 2012. Thank you.
Donate to the Exhibit Help us create the very best exhibit possible. Make a gift in support of the exhibit online at https://shop.ohs.org/secure/donations.asp. Be sure to mark in the comments that your gift is for the Columbus Day Storm exhibit. 2012 Exhibit Series Sponsors Presenting
Benefactors Ritz Family Foundation Brot and Mary Bishop Harry A. Merlo Foundation Ronna Hoffman
Patron Series Sponsors Bank of Oswego Peter Belluschi ZGF Architects LLP
Partner Series Sponsor Leslie Kolisch |
