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Brookings - Harbor Chamber of
Commerce
P.O. Box 940
Brookings, OR 97415
(541) 469-3181
(800) 535-9469
Fax: (541) 469-4094
Email: chamber@wave.net |
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A bizarre weather
phenomenon known as the "Brookings Effect" continues to
take visitors here by storm. According to reports, these
Pacific-bound travelers are getting blown away by what appears to be
a year-round temperate clime.
Improbable as it may
seem, Mother Nature has apparently chosen the Brookings Harbor area
to reveal her gentler side. The result is an American Shangri-la, a
geographical pocket of perfection tucked into the southwest corner
of Oregon. The natives call this temperate strip the "Banana
Belt." Its centerpiece, the city of Brookings, is likewise
known as the "Home of Winter Flowers." While much of the
Pacific Northwest sits in a perpetual fog, the Banana Belt's Home of
Winter Flowers basks in the warmth of sunny skies even when the
calendar suggests it should not.
The Brookings-Harbor area
is bordered by California's Siskiyou Mountains to the south, the
Pacific Ocean to the west and the Siskiyou National Forest's ancient
redwoods to the east.
These natural wonders
combine with the seemingly unnatural Brookings Effect to create a
unique environmental niche. Throw in some of the world's most
incredible fishing, a colorful parade of festivals, and coastal
Oregon's myriad attractions, and you have a vacation package that
will rival any.
In fact, tourism now
stands as one of the Brookings area's top four sources of income,
which include agriculture, wood production, and fishing. Home of
Winter Flowers' chief agricultural crop is Easter lily bulbs.
Producers here and in neighboring Fort Smith, California account for
over 90 percent of the world's Easter lily bulbs.
The Home of Winter
Flowers also is known for its beautiful Azalea Park. This floral
showcase hosts the annual Azalea Festival on Memorial Day weekend.
The renowned American Music Festival's summer concert series begins
in June. Concert performances take place in the park's all-natural
amphitheater.
The Brookings area boasts
Oregon's largest Monterey Cypress, and Loeb State Park, located
about eight miles up the north bank of the Chetco River, is home to
320 acres of myrtlewood, a rare lumber found only in Oregon and the
Middle East. All beauty aside, though, Brookings may be best known
for the historical event that sought to destroy its natural assets.
In September 1942,
Japanese World War II pilot Nobuo Fujita bombed the Siskiyou Forest
just east of Brookings Harbor. This marks the only time a foreign
power has bombed the Continental United States by plane. Twenty
years later, Fujita returned to the area to make amends. He
presented his more-than-300-year-old Sumarai sword as a gesture of
friendship. the sword remains on display at the Chetco Community
Public Library. |
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