The Mountain community got in its licks.

A 42-cent commemorative stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service on Jan.
14, 2009, honored Oregon’s sesquicentennial celebration.

The stamp’s early release allowed for a broader use throughout the initial
celebration and enabled the planning and execution of more pictorial
cancellations on Oregon’s actual birthday of Feb. 14.

Only seven Oregon towns were authorized to offer a special pictorial
cancellation. The villages of Mount Hood — Welches, Brightwood and
Rhododendron — were among the seven as a result of early lobbying and
approvals.

The field was rounded out by Salem — a sure thing — plus Cottage Grove,
Port Orford and Trail.

The event was made official on the 14th with an unusual three-zip-code
merger at the Hoodland Fire Hall. The three postmasters were in attendance
including Brenda Cauley Manley (Welches), Tim Park (Rhododendron) and
Judy Hilyard (Brightwood).

The designer of the pictorial cancellation, Gary Randall, of Brightwood, was on
hand to take a few bows and autograph the commemorative envelopes. This
was Randall’s eighth pictorial design for the post office and sponsoring
organizations.

Walter and Carol Ottoson, of Portland, were the first in line to get their stamps
cancelled.

"We’re not serious collectors," Walter Ottoson said. "We were in the area and
had to join in. It’s fun."

Ottoson is an avid skier and gets in "at least 60 days a year on the mountain,
or it hasn’t been a ski season at all."

Walter Ottoson is 80, while Carol is "much younger" by her own admission:
78.

Meanwhile, at a booth near the capitol rotunda, USPS personnel were on hand
and long lines waited to have their stamps cancelled.

USPS personnel on duty estimated that more than 4,000 cancellations were
executed that day.

A mock session was held by the Oregon Senate. Welches resident and Senator
Rick Metsger was on the senate floor in period attire and joined other
legislators in reenacting a typical session from early Oregon statehood.

Resolutions were read and concerns aired about many subjects, including
current Senator Brian Boquist who portrayed 1859 Rep. John S. McIlteeny.

Boquist passed on Oregon’s first Governor John Whiteaker’s concern that
Oregon was facing an inexcusable debt of $10,000.

The formal ceremony in the rotunda was attended by more than 10,000
people, according to an estimate by The Salem Statesman. All were rewarded
later when the five-tier cake was served up.

Many more events will take place through October of the sesquicentennial
year. Of particular interest to philatelists will be a September stagecoach mail
run between John Day and The Dalles.

Editor’s note: Bill White, of Brightwood, was The Mountain Times newshound
on the ground in Salem for the state’s birthday bash.)