Wilsonville, Oregon: Statue of Gentle Ben
Along with Yogi and Boo Boo, Gentle Ben was one of the few bears to star in his own TV series.- Address:
- SW Parkview Drive, Wilsonville, OR
- Directions:
- Ben stands in the center of a small park in a housing subdivision, on the northwest corner of SW Parkview Drive and SW Orchard Drive.
- Admission:
- Free
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Statue of Gentle Ben In 1965, author Walt Morey, who lived in Wilsonville, wrote the young adult novel "Gentle Ben," the story of a bear and his human pal in Alaska. Walt Disney bought the rights, moved the story to Florida, and turned Gentle Ben into a late 1960s TV series. When Morey died, his family donated land for a small park in his hometown. Its centerpiece is an eight-foot-tall, carved wood statue of Gentle Ben. The 500-pound bear sculpture was stolen by some teenage morons in 2012, but Ben was found in a ditch and quickly returned to the park.
[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 08/13/2012]Nearby Offbeat Places
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