A ceremony to rededicate a memorial to a woman who spearheaded efforts to preserve the Columbia River Gorge is taking place at Portland Womens Forum in Corbett a scenic viewpoint from which Crown Point and Beacon Rock can be seen at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 2.
Gertrude Glutsch Jensen was a conservationist and civic leader nicknamed the Angel of the Gorge for her efforts to protect the scenic area from commercial development. The ceremony takes place just 15 days before what would have been Jensens 110th birthday.
Several officers from the Portland Womens Forum organization, representatives from Oregon Parks and Recreation and some members of Jensens family will attend.
The stone and mortar memorial is at the scenic viewpoint, located on the Historic Columbia River Highway about 2 miles east of Corbett. It was first installed in 1970 as a drinking fountain made of rock, complete with a bronze plaque, in honor of Jensen.
The drinking fountain was later removed and replaced with a new one that was handicapped accessible.
Jensen died in 1986. The old drinking fountain had been in storage at Rooster Rock State Park for many years, but has since been converted into a new monument in memory of Jensen.
So were rededicating it and celebrating it, said Teresa Kasner of Corbett, who helped oversee the original memorials repurposing.