#Whale exploding install#

I was supposed to go down this month, for another plaque unveiling at the actual site but that’s been cancelled as well. And that became the “Exploding whale memorial park.” The river changed it course and revealed some land that they made into park.

And then when they announced the name of the new park, which is along the river by the way and it’s nowhere near the explosion site on the beach. We did a virtual parade and sent down some video. Linnman: I have not, my wife and I were asked to be Grand Marshals of the Rhododendron Festival Parade in May.

#Whale exploding install#

As it turns out, it’s being called as “Exploding Whale Memorial Park.” I was curious if you’d been out there or not.Ĭity of Florence workers install the sign for Exploding Whale Memorial Park earlier this year. Mine is a kind of a silly remembrance, but I’ll take it (both laugh)īull: This Spring, the City of Florence actually announced a new namesake for one of its city parks. So if you’re remembered for anything, that’s a pretty good deal. But then I got over that, and I kind of accepted what was going to continue to happen in my life as a result of that one story, and my bottom line conclusion is…most of us, even reporters who do very good work, are not remembered at all. There were times 10-15 -20 years ago, where I just assumed it not be ever mentioned to me again.

I’ve got to tell you, Brian, I’ve gone up and down with how I feel about the whale through the years. Do you feel like you’re branded with this whale story? At the same time many reporters feel that they are going to be remembered for one story, for better or worse. Somebody’s mentioned it to me one way or another.īull: By the way, you talk about being a reporter at 23 and you’d already done these very remarkable stories. Because it’s been a part of my life virtually every day in the last 50 years. And to this day I refer to it as the whale that refuses to die. Up until to that moment it went as planned (laughs). Then it became kinda scary, there was a feeling on the part of myself and the photographer Doug Brazil, that were at one point running for our lives as this very dense material hit the ground all around us. What wasn’t expected was that it would blow whale parts all over everybody that was there. So I figured it was a pretty big deal.ĬLIP FROM ORIGINAL NEWS REPORT: “It had to be said, the Oregon State Highway Division not only had a whale of a problem on its hands, it had a stinking whale of a problem.”Īnd so when we got down there, sure enough it took place much as we expected it would, and the explosion if you’ve seen it before, and you probably have, it looks like any explosion you see in the movies and so forth.Ī still shot from the detonation of the whale carcass by Oregon State Highway officials, on November 12, 1970.Īnd so that part of it was expected. He said “They’re going to use dynamite,” I said, “When do I go? ( laughs) They put us on a private aircraft that the station had leased and l had never heard of that happening before. And having a great time early in my career.Īnd then the news director called me in and said, “Why don’t you go to the coast today and cover the story.” And I said, “What are you talking about?” He said, “Well, they’re going to dispose a whale down there.” “And I said, “Eh…can somebody else do that?” ( laughs) By that time I’d already covered a presidential primary in Oregon, I covered an all-night negotiation, when the Oregon State Penitentiary was on fire when the inmates took it over in a riot. I was a young reporter, I was 23 years old. Linnman: My problem was, I didn’t want to cover the story to begin with. Paul Linnman, on the scene in Florence on November 12, 1970, with the infamous whale carcass.