OTA Dispatch Issue1, 2021

20 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch Oregon Capitol Trivia — Answers Below are the answers to our Oregon Capitol trivia questions found on page 19. How many did you get right? Question 1 Answer: B Oregon’s official birthday is February 14, 1859, making it the 33rd state in the nation. The transition from territory to statehood was not smooth. Even then, the Democrats and the Whigs (an offchute of which later became the Republican Party) were fighting over many things, including where exactly the state capital should be. Question 2 Answer: B & D Before Oregon became a territory in 1848, the Oregon Country provisional government selected Oregon City as the capital. Intense debate between Whigs and Democrats resulted in the legislature designating Salem as the capital. The governor and Oregon Supreme Court refused to move and it took an act of Congress to settle in Salem’s favor; however, that was overturned in favor of Corvallis. After several more years of wrangling, a new capitol in Salem was built and dedicated…only to mysteriously burn down 11 days later. Question 3 Answer: A Oregon may have gained statehood in 1859, but the first capitol building didn’t open for use until 1876. The Oregon Constitution, enacted in 1857, prohibited expenditure of public funds on a capitol building before 1865. Finally, with an initial legislative appropriation of $100,000, construction began in 1873 (using convict labor from the nearby state penitentiary) and finished in stages until, in 1893, it was complete with a central dome. It served the varied branches and departments of government for fifty-eight years until, on the night of April 25, 1935, Oregon’s capitol building was once again destroyed by a quickly-spreading fire. No exact cause was found, but it was believed to be accidental. Question 4 Answer: C Although he’s carrying an ax, the “Gold Man” is not a lumberjack. When the statue was criticized for his puny ax, the artist (Ulric H. Ellerhusen) explained the ax was to represent the tools used by settlers to build their new homes. While it may look like it from afar, the Pioneer Man is not in fact wearing a superhero cape, but instead has a canvas tarp over his shoulder that came from his covered wagon or tent. Like many early European settlers, the Pioneer Man had quite the journey to reach Oregon. He arrived in Oregon via the Panama Canal and was then transported by train to Salem. Of course, he couldn’t make it those last few miles to the capitol building without a truck! Question 5 Answer: It could be argued that the bottle bill was ultimately a bipartisan effort; however, it was Gov. Tom McCall—a Republican—and Paul Hanneman, a Republican state representative, who were the strongest proponents of the bill. Richard Chambers, an outdoor enthusiast who was disgusted by the amount of waste he saw while out hiking, inspired them. The bill passed with overwhelming support in the Republican-controlled House (54-6) and the Democratic Senate (22-8), although there were reports of anonymous calls to legislators saying that there would be “plenty of money for Democratic candidates” if the bill was killed. Bonus Trivia! Gov. Oswald West, Chairman of the first Highway Commission, observed that beaches along the coast were used routinely for travel and petitioned to have the entire Oregon Coast declared part of the highway system. The resulting 1913 statute paved the way for today’s public access to all beaches in Oregon.