I was reminded how closely Oregon culture is tied to this incredible place, when Chris Havel, Associate Director of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, emailed me last week.  The State of Oregon has committed to developing a new state park per year to create more opportunities for Oregonians to enjoy our varied landscape and learn and experience Oregon’s heritage.

To deepen the experience of the dedication of the new parks, State Parks invited Paulann Petersen, Oregon’s Poet Laureate, to consider writing a poem for an opening.   She accepted, and wrote a poem for the recent dedication of the Bates State Park at the confluence of Bridge Creek and the Middle Fork of the John Day River.  

The park’s master plan says that “many Oregonians fondly remember growing up in the town of Bates and working at the Bates Mill.  Although the buildings are gone, this is still a very important place for former mill workers, their families and for Grant County residents.   The park is at the site of the former Bates Mill and is adjacent to the Bates town site. The upper mill pond is the last remaining major feature from the former mill and town.”

The park was welcomed by the residents of eastern Grant County who were delighted to hear the words of Paulann Petersen’s poem. 

Chris Havel reminded me that “her contributions to the state park system are like the state parks themselves … they last for generations and enrich people’s lives.

 Just like culture.

Which is why the Cultural Trust helped rebuild the entrance to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, helped the Camp Sherman Historical Society rebuild three Depression-era CCC shelters along the Metolius River, and helped the Oregon State Parks Trust restore the Kam Wah Chung Museum in John Day.  

So they last for generations and enrich people’s lives.