Close to the woods of Douglas County, Ore., Sutherlin proclaimed itself the “Timber Town” and initiated Timber Days celebrations in 1948 during the Fourth of July holidays.
Log rolling contests, axe throwing and other exhibitions attracted attention and spectators to the town’s annual festivities.
The 50th and final Timber Days was held in 1997 after spotted-owl preservation policies reduced timber harvests. City boosters quickly built upon the Timber Days foundation to create new unique community celebrations, such as the annual Blackberry Festival.
The Ford Family Foundation facilitated leadership training for a group of citizens in 2005 whose completed project was a flag displayed on a 100-foot pole at Interstate 5’s north entrance to the city. The city logo now depicts flags, and a second leadership class project placed a sign with a flag logo at Interstate 5’s south exit.
Sutherlin now calls itself the City of Flags.
The Sutherlin Lions Club has expanded the patriotic theme by lining the business district along Central Avenue with flags from sunup to sundown on many holidays.
Source: Diaz, Tricia. Sutherlin, Oregon (Images of America Series). Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2011. "Sutherlin Blackberry Festival picks up where Timber Days left off ." NR Today. Web. 22 June 2014.
