Oregon Historical Society

OHS’s museum recently received a donation of an anniversary jersey from the Pink Phoenix Dragon Boat Team (OHS Museum, 2026-16). Stop by the museum to see the jersey on display in our permanent exhibition, Rivers, Roses, and Rip City: The Remarkable History of Portland!

Pink Phoenix is the first U.S. dragon boat team for breast cancer survivors. This jersey celebrates their 30th season, weaving Portland’s skyline, bridges, and river into its design. The roses on the sleeve are a nod to the team’s ceremony honoring those affected by cancer. The phoenix rising over the city is a celebratory symbol of survivors reclaiming their strength.

The Pink Phoenix Dragon Boat Team will race in the Portland Rose Festival June 6 and 7 on the Willamette River near the Hawthorne Bridge. Best of luck, Pink Phoenix Breast Cancer Survivor Dragon Boating Team!

https://museumcollection.ohs.org/argus/ohs/Portal/portal.aspx?component=AAAI&record=bebde384-36de-4628-ba1d-1e9eadd3779d

Our virtual Oregon Connections series concludes Thursday (June 4 at 12pm) with panelists Diane Hess, Kimberly Jensen, and Carmen Thompson sharing stories of grassroots activism and organizing in Oregon and reflecting on what those histories can teach us today.

In a recent interview in Oregon ArtsWatch, Jensen shares how the conversation will highlight ways ordinary people have shaped their communities and advanced generational change. “People are looking for hope. With rights under attack, it is important to look back and learn the lessons and strategies of community organizing.”

https://www.orartswatch.org/focus-on-america-250-the-people-who-make-a-difference-in-community-organizing-yesterday-and-today/

This free online series has invited audiences to listen, learn, and consider how Oregonians have defined and defended freedom over time. If you missed earlier conversations on incarceration, immigration and deportation, tribal sovereignty and civil rights, or race, citizenship, and labor, recordings are available anytime on our Past Programs page at ohs.org/pastprograms

Image: Black United Front march against racist violence in 1992, with Margaret Carter leading chant of U-N-I-T-Y. Photo by Julie Keefe. OHS Research Library, The Skanner Photographs Collection, Org Lot 1286, box 33, folder 22

Since its dedication 100 years ago on May 28, 1926, the Burnside Bridge has helped shape daily life in Portland, carrying pedestrians, streetcars, bicycles, buses, and cars. The Strauss-type double-leaf bascule bridge is particularly notable as the first Willamette River bridge in Portland designed with input from an architect. Today, the Burnside Bridge is one of the city’s business east-west routes and is the only non-freeway river crossing designated for use in an emergency.

To honor its centennial, a free celebration will take place on the bridge Saturday, May 30 from 12pm to 5pm, featuring family-friendly festivities including a picnic, Lego bridge-building, and interactive exhibits that tell the bridge’s story.

Learn more: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/71c52db69e2e42369beeffe56ed3cfe7

Image: Photograph, taken from the west side of the Willamette River, showing the Burnside Bridge decorated with flags for a dedication ceremony celebrating the bridge’s opening. OHS Research Library, Oregon Journal Negative Collection, Org. Lot 1368, box 371, 0371N5520.