So here's the first in what I'll call the mural series. Mateo and I like to jump in the baby jogger (well,
he does; I push it) and visit places in town. Now that we're enjoying summer, the "like to" above is more often becoming "do". It's good exercise for Dad, and yet another opportunity for Mateo to satisfy his most frequent request: "Outside?"
Our favorite place to visit is the park, which has a great new play structure, and a river runs through it. But pretty much on the way to any place we'd go is one of Silverton's Murals. The first was painted in 1992, and we're at 15 and counting. Along with the antique and craft shops, they help to make Silverton a destination in itself for those who are on their way to Silver Falls State Park, the Oregon Garden, or Mount Angel's Oktoberfest. They're a great piece of Americana and small town history that ratchet up the quaint factor almost as much as our penny parking meters.
So here's the first in the series. Everyone say hello to:
Bobbie, the Wonder Dog
Silverton Bobbie, as he's also known, was a scotch collie and farm dog who lived on the Abiqua River north of town back in 1922 (not far from a house we nearly bought when first moving here.) Later, when his masters sold him to the new owners of their farm and moved into town, he began walking the several miles to their cafe on weekends. Good training, because the next year, when they bought Bobbie back and took him on a cross-country trip to visit relatives, he became lost in Indiana. Six months later, he turned up back in Silverton and became a national sensation, starring in a silent movie, a
Ripley's Believe it or Not cartoon, and in a few bi
dographies. Some claim his story inspired the book "Incredible Journey". The links below will fill out the story for you:
http://www.igougo.com/story-s1221155-Silverton-Footloose_and_Footsore_The_Tale_of_Bobbie_the_Wonder_Dog.htmlhttp://www.silvertonor.com/murals/bobbie/bobbie_wonder_dog2.htmhttp://www.silvertonor.com/murals/bobbie/bobbie_collie.htm"Silverton's Bobbie" book"Wonder Dog" Book
Here's the little guy at Bobbie's mural. His hands are up because he's clutching his brand new camera. He's been starting to say "no pictures" when mom and dad get snapshot happy, so I thought I'd need a little assist to get through this mural project. I found a little kid's camera with his hero "Lightining McQueen" from the movie "Cars" on it. I figured he'd be more amenable to pictures if he got to take some too. It worked. This is the first day he used the camera. For the first couple of days, his favorite subject was his own nose (he couldn't tell at first which direction to point the camera) to the extent that we could have produced an Andy Warhol-like series on his nostrils and made a killing with an exhibition at one of those art galleries in Portland's Pearl district.
Detail shots of the mural, including Bobbie's journey, and his press coverage.
Here's Mateo between Bobbie's statue and a replica of his house, one of the gifts lavished on him after his journey. The original is at the Humane Society in Portland, where he's buried (Rin Tin Tin laid a wreath on his grave.)
And finally, a shot destined to be remembered as the first, thoughtful work of a truly great photographer. his thumb and my studly calves frame the road in front of the Bobbie mural
Our friends, Greg & Angela Murphy, invited us to help celebrate their niece's 21st birthday. Angela invited Nona to join us...and she agreed. Nona is sporting a new dress...which is really much more blue & purple than this picture indicates.
