| Remarks by Governor Kulongoski |
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| February 14, 2005 |
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Joint Commemoration of the Bicentennial of Lewis and Clark
Thank you Senator Johnson. Speaker Minnis, President Courtney, Rex Ziak, and fellow citizens of the great state of Oregon.
I called you my fellow citizens. But today we are much more than that. We are fellow heirs to the original stewards of this beautiful land – our native brothers and sisters, and now we are heirs to the courage, imagination, and spirit of adventure of Lewis and Clark, and the Corps of Discovery.
This joint commemoration by the people’s elected leaders is the start of a yearlong honoring of Oregon’s role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. I don’t just mean what they saw and memorialized in their journals – I mean the legacy of respect for the land, respect for other cultures, and respect for the human spirit that Lewis and Clark brought to Oregon and has been part of our collective conscience ever since.
So this is a very important day in the life of Oregon. Not only is it the 146th birthday of our statehood – starting with this joint commemoration we begin our own journey of learning, honoring, and remembering that will end this coming November, two hundred years after the Corps of Discovery opened their eyes to the Pacific – and to the future.
For me – that’s what this bicentennial commemoration is really all about: Oregon’s future. Yes, we’re looking back. But I believe that 2005 – and all of the national attention that Oregon will receive this year – is also an opportunity to look forward.
There are unmistakable parallels between the Corps of Discovery – and what we are capable of discovering in ourselves. Lewis and Clark – and the Corps – struggled not only against nature’s fury – but against the unknown. Yet, throughout their journey their answer to hardship was resolve. Their answer to disappointment was perseverance. Their answer to fear was hope.
And when they finally returned to Washington, their three year journey of discovery sparked an era of optimism and self-confidence in America. Before Lewis and Clark reached Oregon, we were a nation with an uncertain future – on one edge of a large continent that was being eyed by foreign powers. After Lewis and Clark returned from Oregon, we became a nation on the move – a nation filled with promise and without limits.
That’s how I see Oregon today. Like the Corps of Discovery, we too have faced some real hardships. But like the Corps of Discovery, we know how to steer our way through strong currents and around tough obstacles.
With our economy getting stronger – and thousands of Oregonians going back to work – now it is our turn to light a spark of optimism and self-confidence. That’s why I call on all Oregonians – Democratic and Republican, urban and rural, old and young, native and non-native – to make this bicentennial year not just a commemoration of courage and discovery, but also a reminder that even after two hundred years we are one Oregon – with one common destiny. And that our best days are still ahead.
I want you to know that we are more than ready for this bicentennial commemoration. But it wouldn’t be possible without a lot of help from a lot of very hard working people.
In particular Senator Betsy Johnson, the Board of Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in Oregon, and its Executive Director – Barbara Allen. I also want to offer special thanks to this outstanding legislative assembly, our congressional delegation, Oregon’s native tribes, and all of the public and private organizations that have been working tirelessly to plan events – and make this a year for Oregon to stand at the center of the world stage.
This has been a team effort. A non-partisan effort. And a labor of love for everyone. Our congressional delegation is stepping up and securing the money we need to expand Fort Clatsop by 1,200 acres.
Corporations stepped up, entered into strong public-private partnerships, and made extraordinary donations of time and resources. One of those great corporations is Weyerhaeuser, which helped make it possible to complete the Fort to Sea Trail.
Also stepping up to help complete the trail in time for the bicentennial was Clatsop County, our Military Department, Oregon’s Parks and Recreation Department, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
The Oregon Historical Society stepped up and will feature a major national exhibition on Lewis and Clark. Other museums and galleries in Oregon will have their own Lewis and Clark exhibits and educational programs.
Universities, artists, tribes and countless Oregonians from one end of this state to the other have stepped up to contribute their ideas, money and memories, making this a commemoration that grows from ground up – instead of being directed from the top down.
I mentioned the Fort to Sea Trail. The trail is only one of many legacy projects tied to the commemoration. These are projects that will remain – and become part of Oregon’s history and quality of life – long after this bicentennial is over.
So I say again: We are ready. Ready to welcome the world to Oregon – and make this a record breaking year for tourism.
Ready to work in partnership to strengthen Oregon’s cultural economy – which is an important engine for growth and jobs.
Ready to preserve our natural heritage so that even as our population and economy grow – the mountains, rivers, forests and coastline that Lewis and Clark first saw two hundred years ago will be protected for future generations.
And ready to begin an era of optimism and possibility, not unlike the era of optimism and possibility that Lewis and Clark began, when – after three long years – they reached the confluence of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.
In April 1805, Meriwether Lewis wrote this in his journal: “The party is in excellent health and spirits, zealously attached to the enterprise, and anxious to proceed.
Lewis and Clark helped map the Oregon Territory – literally providing direction to generations of Americans who would follow them to this beautiful and sacred corner of the world. But Lewis’ journal entry is a different – but equally important – kind of direction. It is direction for our hearts and spirit: That we too should zealously attach ourselves to enterprises that will build a better Oregon – and then proceed with enthusiasm.
One of those enterprises will be our yearlong commemoration of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Believe me – Oregon is ready for its close-up. Between now and the end of the year we are going to create a showcase of culture, education, and recreation the likes of which Oregon has never seen before.
But there is another kind of enterprise that we should remain zealously attached to long after our bicentennial commemoration is over. That is the enterprise of passing on to our children an Oregon that is even stronger, more prosperous and more tolerant than the Oregon that has been given to us. That has been the real story of Oregon for the past two hundred years – a continuous mission to add new promise to what is already America’s Promised Land.
Today I ask each of you to join me in writing another chapter.
Thank you.
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