OregonScape

Abstract

OREGONSCAPE IN MAY 1955, Stanley Earl, Portland city commissioner, and Leo Faust, president of the Portland Rose Society, planted a rose bush in Mill Ends Park to promote an upcoming festival. Inaugurated in its current form in 1907, the Portland Rose Festival takes place each June in Portland, Oregon. The festival’s traditional parades, rides, and firework displays in and around the city have been modified in 2020 and 2021 to slow the spread of COVID-19. The 1955 Rose Festival was notable because former president Harry Truman and his wife, Bess, took part in the Grand Floral Parade while riding in a convertible along the parade route with then Portland Mayor Fred. L. Peterson. Mill Ends Park was conveniently located in front of what was then the Oregon Journal Building, near Southwest Front Avenue, now Naito Parkway. The park was originally conceived by Dick Fagan, a columnist at the paper, whose office window overlooked the small natural area. According to Fagan, he wished for a park he could call his own after catching a leprechaun . For better or worse, the leprechaun granted his wish by declaring the 452-squareinch parcel of soil a park. While always known for its small size, it was not until 1971 that the Guinness Book of World Records officially declared it the smallest park in the world. Over the years, the Mill Ends Park has been a place for promoting and LEO FAUST (LEFT) AND STANLEY EARL (RIGHT) plant a rose bush in Mill Ends park on May 8, 1955. celebrating various Portland events — notably the Portland Rose Festival. You can read more about the Rose Festival and Mill Ends Park on The Oregon Encyclopedia. — Matthew Cowan, OHS Moving Images and Photography Archivist OHS Research Library, photo file no. 1890, photographer Al Monner ...